Netflix has cancelled teen fantasy drama The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, which was also known as Half Bad, after just one season – less than two months since its streaming debut.
The series – which was adapted by Giri/Haji and The Lazarus Project writer Joe Barton, from the Half Bad novels by Sally Green – received strong reviews from critics, but it seems that hasn’t been enough to prompt the streamer to renew the series for another run.
The news was first broken by the show’s production company Imaginarium, which posted on Twitter: “Half Bad is a show we are incredibly proud of, which gained stellar reviews, along with a fiercely loyal global fanbase. While we are disappointed not to continue the story, we have loved working with such a talented cast and crew on bringing our beloved show to life.”
Barton also shared the news on his own Twitter page, writing that he was “very proud of it” and was “sorry not to be able to finish the story.”
Sadly, yes, Netflix have cancelled this. Very proud of it and really liked the people I got to make it with. Sorry not to be able to finish the story… https://t.co/HUGi13R6Ow
— Joe Barton (@JoeBarton_) December 9, 2022
The news was met with much disappointment from fans of the show and fellow writers, with novelist and scriptwriter Lou Morgan responding to Barton’s Tweet by writing: “It’s genuinely been brilliant: we’ve watched it as a family – me, husband & the Kid (nearly 15) and we’ve all found something we loved in it. You made a fantastic show, and I’m so sorry for everyone involved that you can’t carry that on. But you really did fly.”
“This is an outrage. One of the best things I’ve seen this year,” added screenwriter Debbie Moon, while The Lazarus Project director Laura Scrivano wrote: “Genuinely pissed and really sad for all of you. It deserved much much more.”
Meanwhile, some fans blamed a lack of promotion for the show’s cancellation, with one Twitter user writing: “Netflix basically buried this under Wednesday. Like they need to spread out releases because they expect everyone to binge everything in 3 days then cancel shows bc they don’t have the viewership they expected.”
And others were especially disappointed that the series wouldn’t get the chance to finish plot threads that were started in the debut run – with on fan Tweeting: “Wait! So after all the hype about this guy’s father, they’re really going to leave us hanging?”
The series starred Jay Lycurgo as Nathan Byrne, a teenager who is the illegitimate son of the world’s most dangerous blood witch, while the cast also included Nadia Parkes and Emilien Vekemans as fellow witches Annalise O’Brien and Gabriel.
Lycurgo had previously teased that there was “more to explore” in a potential follow-up, saying: “My point with a season 2 is that we’re in a really great place in a world where we’ve only looked at a small chunk of it.”
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is available to watch on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Buy the Half Bad novel from Amazon now. For more to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub.
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