The quick-witted series Renegade Nell, which premiered earlier in 2024 on Disney+, has not been renewed for a second season, according to Deadline. Created by British writer Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Gentleman Jack), the historical fiction series was greenlit from Disney+’s UK office three years ago with high expectations but underperformed after officially debuting.
Deadline reports that the show’s low viewership greatly correlated with the series’ cancellation after one season, sharing that “it [Renegade Nell] hasn’t reached the threshold for Disney+ renewal based on several metrics.” After asking a Disney spokesman to comment on the series, they told Deadline, “[the] Disney+ Original series, Renegade Nell, will not be returning for a second season on the service. We’re incredibly proud of the world created by Sally Wainwright and lead director Ben Taylor. We’d like to thank them, our production partners at Lookout Point, the entire cast – led by Louisa Harland – and crew for their incredible work on this series, all of whom we hope to work with again in the future.
The series starred Irish actress Louisa Harland (Derry Girls, The Deceived) as protagonist Nell Jackson, a heroine who embodies the qualities of a “strong, funny, flawed woman,” as Harland described in an interview according to mxdwn. Renegade Nell “followed the eponymous Nell, who finds herself framed for murder and unexpectedly becomes the most notorious outlaw in England. But when magical spirit called Billy Blind appears, Nell realizes her destiny is bigger than she ever imagined” as per Deadline.
Harland was joined by cast members Alice Kremelber (Baby Mama, The Sinner), Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead, The Essex Serpent), Jake Dunn (Rubix, Big Boys), Bo Bragason (Three Girls, Censor), Ényì Okoronkwo (The Lazarus Project, Funny Woman), Nick Mohammed (What’s Up Doc?, Byker Grove), Adrian Lester (Trigger Point, Hustle), Florence Keen (Potato Peel Society, Babs), Joely Richardson (One Day, 101 Dalmatians), Craig Parkinson (Line of Duty, The Winter King) and Pip Torrens (Roadkill, Preacher) via mxdwn.
While Wainwright’s Renegade Nell will not be renewed for season two, she is in the early phases of production for her newest BBC drama, Riot Women, a series following a punk band led by a group of women journeying through menopause together, via Deadline.
Renegade Nell is available to stream on Disney+.