AMC Cancels Lodge 49 After Two Seasons

Lodge 49 has closed its doors for the last time, with AMC having decided to cancel the series [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Lodge 49 has closed its doors for the last time, with AMC having decided to cancel the series after two seasons. The season finale, which aired on October 14, will now serve as the series finale for the oddball comedy. The series, which centered on a guy whose life was falling apart before he stumbled into being a part of a local "fraternal order" by error and chance, offered a warm and strange sense of humor almost completely devoid of the cynicism and sarcasm that most indie comedies thrive on. Beloved by its small fan base and by critics, the series has been on the bubble nearly since it began.

The network released a statement that makes it pretty clear they understand all that. In the brief comment, given to Variety, AMC praises the series and expresses pride in what it represented.

"We are so proud to have had Lodge 49 on our air," AMC said in a statement. "This wonderful show gave audiences fresh and unforgettable characters in a world that did not exist anywhere else on television. Thanks to the stellar cast including Wyatt Russell, Sonya Cassidy and Brent Jennings and to our partners in this unique labor of love, Jim Gavin, Peter Ocko and Paul Giamatti for two remarkable seasons that initiated the world into The Ancient and Benevolent Order of the Lynx."

In Lodge 49, "looking for any semblance of the idyllic middle-class existence he knew before his father's death and the family business collapsing, a charming, eternally optimistic ex-surfer named Dud stumbles into his life's new path. He finds himself on the doorstep of a rundown fraternal lodge, where a "Luminous Knight" of the order, plumbing salesman Ernie, welcomes him with open arms. Lodge 49 offers Dud a world of cheap beer, easy friendship and some strange alchemical philosophies that may help him confront his deepest fears and greatest hopes."

"I think in this case most of the characters in the show are searchers," Bruce Campbell, who played a quirky antagonist called The Captain, told ComicBook.com last year. "They're searching for something. Meaning, connection, purpose, and whatever. The guy who cleans pools is searching the same way as the guy who builds pools. So I think the character of Gary fits right in with everything, once they finally get to him in episode seven. He's a rich developer, very successful, but his life is falling apart around his ears and he's looking for connection as meaning, too. And he runs into these two guys and they sort of, in a way, change each other's lives a little bit. So it's fun. It was a well-written part. Paul Giamatti's the exec producer, so where do I sign?"

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