Lifetime officially no longer has any scripted series. The network pulled the plug on American Princess, a drama series that included Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan as an executive producer. The decision to cancel the show on Thursday came almost two months after the finale aired.
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American Princess starred newcomer Georgia Flood as Amanda Klein a New York socialite who suddenly decides to join a Renaissance Faire after her wedding does not go as planned. The cast also included Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Seana Kofoed, Rory O’Malley and Mary Hollis Inboden. The series only ran 10 episodes, with the finale airing on July 7.
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The first episode drew 372,000 live viewers, a number it never came close to matching. The finale only pulled in 124,000 live viewers.
American Princess was created by Jamie Denbo, who appeared in Orange is the New Black as an actress. Kohan was an executive producer with Tara Herrmann, another OITNB veteran. The show was produced by A+E Studios and IM Global Television.
Flood shared the news with fans on her Instagram page, writing, “[American Princess] was the time of my life, an actual dream come true. Thank you to all the beautiful souls who made the show possible and to freak talent [Denbo] for her incredible story.”
“It’s official. [American Princess] is a one season wonder,” Denbo added on Instagram. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the greatest cast and crew on the planet. My dream was to tell my story about taking an unexpected turn in life. To share with others a place in the world that runs on love and kindness (and mud). To shine some light on acceptance and compassion (and turkey legs). My dream was to create a show that was my love letter to the Ren Faire community. And to do it with humor (and more mud). Thank you all for helping make my dream come true.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s cast and creators were told about the cancellation on Thursday. The decision means Lifetime will have zero scripted originals on air, but a source told THR executives are open to airing another series.
Lifetime has decided to do what it does best, focusing on its scripted television movies. The network, owned by Disney and Hearst Communications, had a surprising success with Surviving R. Kelly and is developing other docuseries like it, including one on the NXIVM cult. Other docuseries in the works include a follow-up to Surviving R. Kelly and the recently-announced Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.
Lifetime did find recent success with a scripted show. UnREAL, a series that satirized the reality television world, earned critical acclaim during its first three seasons. However, the fourth and final season was handed to Hulu and debuted in 2018.
You was also originally a Lifetime series, but it failed to garner an audience until it was released on Netflix in December 2018. A second season of the series is in the works, but will only be available on Netflix.
Photo credit: YouTube/Lifetime
