According to Deadline, Starz has just cancelled the historical drama series, Dangerous Liaisons, after only one season, backpedaling on their initial plans for a season two renewal. Fortunately for fans of the show, the final two episodes will still air as scheduled.
The renewal of Dangerous Liaisons was announced by Starz on November 1, five days before the series’ November 6 debut. Although Starz seemed to have a high degree of faith in the project, Dangerous Liaisons was unsuccessful in establishing a reliable viewer base as far back as its premiere episode, which only averaged about 88,000 total views as written by Deadline.
Dangerous Liaisons features the acting talents of Australian actors Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures, You Won’t Be Alone), who plays the salacious Lady Marquise de Merteuil, and Nicholas Denton (Glitch, Holding the Man), who plays the debonair Lord Vicomte de Valmont. The period piece is a prequel of the beloved 18th century novel of the same name and depicts the origin story of the two classic characters of Marquise and Vicomte when they first met in Paris on the eve of the French Revolution.
Dangerous Liaisons is now the second historical drama piece to be cancelled at Starz following the axing of Becoming Elizabeth back in early November (more information on the cancellation of Becoming Elizabeth can be found here). Lionsgate has been cracking down on its balance sheets as of late as it prepares to spin-off its studio from Starz in 2023.
The show comes from creator and writer Harriet Warner (Tell Me Your Secrets, Call the Midwife), who also executive produced the series alongside Colin Callender (King Lear, The Belly of an Architect), Tony Krantz (Mulholland Drive, Outer Range), Bethan Jones (Sherlock, Aberfan: The Green Hollow), Barney Reisz (The Rack Pack, The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall), and Christopher Hampton (A Dangerous Method, Total Eclipse).
According to Deadline, executive producers for Dangerous Liaisons are currently shopping the period drama around to other broadcast programs and streaming services.