Whatever the flaws of Dietland’s first season—and there were flaws—AMC’s ambitious, intriguing series was a welcome presence. It told a story, adapted from Sarai Walker’s book of the same name, about a woman and her body that didn’t focus on self-control or finding love despite who you are. Instead, Dietland dwelled on the possibility that the weight-loss industry is a “massive male-dominated conspiracy by the fashion industry to keep women in a perpetual state of insecurity and to promote rape culture,” as Gwen Inhat put it in her pre-air review. It had a terrific central performance from Joy Nash. It was bold and weird and smart and funny. The voiceovers were bad, but that’s a minor complaint. And now it’s dead. Happy Friday.
Vulture reports that the Marti Noxon-created series, which was warmly received by critics, has been cancelled. The piece notes that the premiere garnered slightly under a million viewers, but “by the time its finale aired on July 30, that audience was down to just 537,000 viewers (only 300,000 of whom showed up to watch the night it premiered).” Breaking that number out demographically makes it look even more dire: only 158,000 viewers in the adults-under-50 demo caught the finale.
A representative of AMC confirmed the cancellation to Vulture, calling the series “bold, original and brave” and citing its “critical acclaim and passionate fans”:
“We are beyond proud of our partnership with Marti Noxon, Joy Nash, Julianna Margulies, Skydance and everyone else involved in bringing Sarai Walker’s story to the screen.”
The piece makes no mention of whether or not Skydance Television, which produces the series, is shopping it to streaming services. Hey, Netflix, if your taste clusters indicate that people like really good acting and sharp social commentary, give Skydance a call, why don’t you?