‘Game of Thrones’ Star Lena Headey Faces Tough Setback

Actress Lena Headey got some disappointing news last week when MGM+ canceled her sci-fi thriller series Beacon 23. The show starred Headey and Stephan James as two space travelers trapped together at the end of the known universe, exploring the limits of human trust. According to a report by Deadline, the Amazon-owned streamer has decided to drop the show after just two seasons.

Beacon 23 was an adaptation of a short story by the same title written by Hugh Howey. It was set about two centuries in the future, and took place on an isolated “lighthouse” in outer space. Headey played Aster Calyx, who mysteriously found her way to this beacon where Halan (James) is the keeper. He questions Aster’s motives, and the two find themselves at odds before long. Other stars include Barbara Hershey, Stephen Root, Natasha Mumba and Jess Salgueiro, among others. The series debuted in 2023, and Season 2 premiered in April.

Beacon 23 first began development 2018, and Headey has been on board since March of 2021. It was created for TV by Zak Penn, who was the showrunner on Season 1. However, MGM+ renewed the series so that it could film Season 2 continuously, but that presented scheduling conflicts for Penn. He was replaced by Glen Mazzara and Joy Blake as showrunners to finish the series out.

MGM+ is the most recent name for the platform originally known as Epix when it launched as a premium cable network in 2009. It was always a subsidiary of Metro Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which itself became a subsidiary of Amazon last spring. When Amazon acquired MGM, it rebranded its in-house production company to Amazon MGM Studios. The rebranding of MGM+ was part of a massive shuffle at the company where IMDbTV became Freevee, among other changes.

In spite of the “plus” symbol now accompanying the name, MGM+ is not a streamer alone. The platform still operates as a linear cable channel and is available via some satellite TV providers as well, but the branding is an attempt to bring it more in line with the streaming market of the day. It is billed as a “sister service” of Prime Video and Freevee. It is meant to specialize in original content as well as its deep library of MGM properties, as well as some licensed material.

This cancellation still leaves Headey with a pretty busy schedule, as she has four upcoming projects listed on her IMDb page. As for Beacon 23, the two available seasons are streaming now on MGM+, which is available as a stand-alone service or as an add-on for Prime Video subscribers.