Why 'Monarch' cast and crew won't return to Hall for a second season

Dec. 8—The cast and crew of Fox Entertainment's "Monarch," which filmed at an estate in South Hall County last year, won't be returning to the area for a subsequent season.

The 11-episode country music drama was canceled owing to poor ratings, Deadline reported Wednesday, bringing the fictitious Roman family's dynasty — upheld by stars Trace Adkins, Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel — to an end.

While the series' pilot episode ranked as Fox's most-watched fall scripted premiere in three years, airing on the heels of an NFL doubleheader Sept. 11, the rest of the season struggled to keep up, Deadline said.

The series was "strategically designed for a shorter run," Fox Entertainment said, as its production coincided with the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an eight-month delay in its debut.

"Monarch" was Fox's first wholly owned, scripted series to be fully produced in-house, the entertainment enterprise said, and while its showrunners were "very pleased" with its creative nod to Fox's "rich history in music-themed programming," it "didn't resonate with viewers as strongly as we had hoped."

"We gratefully thank and appreciate the entire cast and crew for their dedication to 'Monarch,'" Fox Entertainment wrote in an email to The Times. "We will take key learnings from 'Monarch' as we move on to the next series."