‘Julia’ Canceled at Max
Max is turning off the heat on Julia.
The Warner Bros. Discovery-backed streamer has canceled its Julia Child-inspired series Julia following a two-season run. The news comes after the second season wrapped its run Dec. 21 and amid an era of belt tightening across the television landscape, with Julia joining Our Flag Means Death in being axed at the streamer this week alone. Both seasons of Julia will continue to be available to stream on Max.
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From creator Daniel Goldfarb and showrunner Chris Keyser, Sarah Lancashire starred as Child opposite David Hyde Pierce. Max did not own the show and instead paid a licensing fee to producers Lionsgate Television, which is in the midst of spinning off from premium cable network Starz.
“We are so honored to have partnered with Chris Keyser, Daniel Goldfarb and their masterful creative team and dynamic cast, led by Sarah Lancashire, as they cooked up Julia. Thanks to their beautiful work over two seasons of this heartful, sensual, and inspiring show, we can forever celebrate the incredible legacy of Julia Child,” a Max spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Julia was met with favorable reviews — the show is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93 percent score among critics and a 91 percent rating among viewers. In his review ahead of season one, THR chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg wrote that “Lancashire’s towering turn elevates an all-too-conventional biopic.”
Max renewed the series for a second run a day before its season finale.
The cast also included Bebe Neuwirth, Fran Kranz, Fiona Glascott, Brittany Bradford and Robert Joy. Goldfarb and Keyser exec produced alongside 3 Arts’ Erwin Stoff, Kimberly Carver, Charles McDougall and Erica Lipez. Todd Schulkin of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts was a consulting producer.
“Daniel, Erwin and I loved the show, loved making it, and the people we made with. We’re grateful for that and to [Max executives] Sarah Aubrey and Suzanna Makkos for giving us the chance,” Keyser said in a statement to THR.
With the cancellation of Julia, Max now has Issa Rae comedy Rap Shit on the bubble. The streamer’s comedy roster also includes And Just Like That, Sex Lives of College Girls, the recently renewed Chuck Lorre entry Bookie and Hacks, among others.
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