Photo Credit: FOX
Fox is canceling the country music drama, ‘Monarch,’ starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins, after just one season.
The final episode of the first season aired on December 6 and is the end cap on the series. It was created by Melissa London Hilfers and followed a family’s struggle to keep a country music legend’s legacy going–while protecting their own self-interests.
Deadline reports ‘Monarch‘ opened with a decent showing with 3.8 million total viewers. It was also Fox’s most-watched fall scripted debut in three years–but the momentum ended there. Fox ordered the scripted series back in May 2021. The show was filmed during the pandemic and was slated to launch in January, but was pushed back.
‘Monarch’ follows the fallout of the death of fictional country legend Dottie Cantrell Roman, played by Susan Sarandon. Her husband, Albie Roman (Adkins), helped craft her country music dynasty, but the family harbors a dark secret about their success within the industry. With their reign as country music royalty in jeopardy, Nicky Roman, the heir to the crown, will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy.
‘Monarch’ was originally developed for the network by SideCar Content Accelerator, run by Gail Berman. That shut down in June 2020, with development folded into Fox’s scripted programming department. “Music-driven programming is a big part of the DNA of Fox’s success with shows like The Masked Singer, Empire, American Idol, and Glee,” Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn told Deadline.
“We have been looking for new ways to tell stories with music; what’s the next chapter for us in terms of a juicy drama that incorporates music into the storytelling.” Despite the success of Empire, it seems as though not every music genre is ready for a ‘juicy drama.’ None of the shows slated for Fox’s winter premiere have anything musical about them–so maybe music isn’t the future for the network moving forward.