Starz has put a lot of work into building a lineup of original programming over the past few years. Some of these shows have become fan favorites while others have landed more niche audiences at the subscription cable network. One of the shows in the latter camp, Blunt Talk, is currently airing its second season on Starz. Recently, creator Jonathan Ames spoke out about the future of the comedy starring Patrick Stewart. His comments are unusually straightforward. Here's what he had to say in a recent AMA about the chances of Blunt Talk getting renewed:
Anyway, I think the show may not be renewed. I probably shouldn't say such a thing. I do think people enjoy it but not a lot of people watch it. Either way, I made so many beautiful friendships during the making of it, created some odd and beautiful tableaus, and tried to get out, each season, a message about our environment. So if we don't get picked up, I feel good about what has been accomplished.
It's unusual for a showrunner to come right out and say there's a good chance that a network will be cancelling a series. Obviously, the ultimate goal is a pick-up, and you don't want to jinx your chances before the network has made a decision one way or another. Still, people who work on TV shows often have a good idea of what the network is thinking in regards to a pick-up and sometimes they will come out and call a cancellation before the network confirms it. In addition, Blunt Talk's extremely low numbers don't inspire a ton of confidence in a potential third season.
Although subscription cable shows don't rely on ratings the same way that network or even regular cable shows do, Blunt Talk's numbers have been low even for Starz's standard. Blunt Talk's most recent episode did 155,000 total viewers and a .07 rating in live viewership. It should be noted that episodes do draw bigger numbers in the week or so following a new episode, but as a starting point these numbers are pretty low, even when compared to the other Starz comedies.
Comedy offerings on Starz have traditionally done less well than some of the dramatic offerings, but even by the subscription cable network's standards, Blunt Talk's overall viewership has been low. The network has a couple of other comedy offerings that have managed to cut through the noise. Survivor's Remorse has done quite well for Starz and Ash vs Evil Dead does around twice the live viewership that Blunt Talk does each episode. Again, live viewership is far less important to Starz than other networks, but people still need to be watching shows in order for Starz to want to keep the program around.
Luckily, Starz has a lot of programs returning during the new year. To find out more about what's coming, check out our midseason TV premiere schedule. In addition, you can check out the full Reddit AMA here.
