It’s more like unlucky Hank.
AMC has canceled Lucky Hank, the drama series starring Bob Odenkirk, after one season.
The series, which marked Odenkirk’s follow-up after Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, wrapped its eight-episode run in May and has been on the bubble during the writers and actors strikes.
The cancellation brings an end to Odenkirk’s run on the network, which dates back to 2009, when he was cast in Breaking Bad. The series concluded its run with a mere 260,000 same-day viewers.
“We’re proud of Lucky Hank and thankful for the work of everyone who brought this unique, playful and deeply human show to viewers, from the talented creative team to our partners at Sony and, of course, Bob, Mireille [Enos] and the entire cast and crew,” AMC said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we are not able to proceed with a second season, but we are glad these eight episodes exist on AMC+ and will continue to find new fans — or be seen again by viewers who come back to spend more time with Hank, Lily and the entertaining cast of characters at Railton College.”
Ordered to series in 2022, the drama was based on Richard Russo’s novel Straight Man. AMC fast-tracked the drama from writers Aaron Zelman (Damages) and Paul Lieberstein (The Office) and Sony’s TriStar TV and Gran Via. The show revolved around William Henry Deveraux Jr. (Odenkirk), the unlikely chair of the English department at Railton College, a badly underfunded school in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Odenkirk exec produced alongside Zelman and Lieberstein, director Peter Farrelly, author Russo, Naomi Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero.
Coming in 2024, AMC next has Clive Owen acquisition Monsieur Spade, the returns of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Giancarlo Esposito vehicle Parish, Orphan Black: Echoes with Krysten Ritter, as well as season two of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire.
AMC is not alone in thinning its scripted roster. Many cable networks and streamers are doing the same after the Peak TV bubble burst earlier this year, as media companies are reviewing their content spend.
