Major New FOX Series Canceled After Just One Season

Fox’s star-studded new series Monarch will not return for a second season, meaning that Tuesday’s episode will serve as the series finale. The show, which stars Anna Fiel, Trace Adkins, Joshua Sasse, Beth Ditto, and Susan Sarandon, opened with fairly solid numbers, making it one of Fox’s most-watched scripted debuts in years (per Deadline, who broke the news of its cancellation) — but ratings quickly sank, and by the end of the season its audience share (the percentage of viewers watching it live instead of whatever else is on TV) was cut in half.

The series was a nighttime soap set in the world of country music and centering on the Roman family. It launched in September and ran for 11 episodes. Primarily filmed in the early days of the pandemic, the original launch was intended for January 2022, but it was pushed back. The 11-episode run was always planned, but producers were open to further stories if the show had been picked up.

Here’s the series’ logline, per Google Play: 

Reigning King of Country Music Albie Roman, along with his insanely talented — and tough as nails — wife, Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman, have created a country music dynasty, but even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie. When their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown Nicolette “Nicky” Roman will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom, alongside her brother Luke and sister Gigi.

Ditto, Sasse, Inigo Pascual, Martha Higareda, Meagan Holder and Emma Miliani also star with Eva Amurri, Adam Croasdell and Faith Prince among those recurring. The series bet big on the country music appeal, featuring guest appearances from the likes of Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Caitlyn Smith and Tanya Tucker.

Created by Melissa London Hilfers, Monarch was ordered straight to series and is wholly owned by the Fox network, who are rebuilding a content library following the 20th Century Fox sale to Disney in 2019. Executive producers for the Fox Entertainment-produced series include Hilfers, Feldman, Gail Berman, Hend Baghdady and Jason Owen.