Showtime has cancelled “Roadies” after one season, Variety has learned.
Hailing from super group Cameron Crowe, J.J. Abrams and Winnie Holzman, the dramedy that stars Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino revolves around the lives of the road crew for an arena-rock touring band.
Insiders close to the show tell Variety that though the series will not be returning for a second season, the experience of creating the show was “amazingly positive” for all parties invovled.
Crowe penned a blog today, thanking the “Roadies” team and viewers. He wrote: “Thanks to Showtime and J.J. Abrams for the opportunity to make the one and only season of ‘Roadies.’ My mind is still spinning from the giddy highs of working with this epic cast and crew. Though we could tell a thousand more stories, this run ends with a complete ten-hour tale of music and love.”
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Despite the mega-talent both on screen and behind the camera, “Roadies” struggled to find an audience and was met with mixed reviews. Variety‘s Maureen Ryan wrote that the show “feels like a Spotify playlist in search of a reason to exist,” in her initial review. The finale brought in just over 500,000 viewers, according to Nielsen’s “Live +3” ratings. The 10-episode run wrapped on Aug. 28.
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“Roadies” marked Crowe’s first-ever TV series. The famed writer/producer, who worked for “Rolling Stone” early in his career,” wrote “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Say Anything,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous.”
At the premiere event for “Roadies” earlier this year, Abrams told Variety that the long-gestating show (which for the pilot, originally had “Mad Men’s” Christina Hendricks cast in Gugino’s role) was in the works for years between him and Crowe. “We made a promise to each other that if I were to ever enjoy the benefits of working in TV, we’d do it together,” he said.
Crowe told Variety that working on “Roadies” was one of the best experiences of his career. “It was the most fun I’ve had directing in a super long time,” he said in an interview this summer. “I couldn’t stop talking about it. I’d come home at night bubbling because I loved the cast. And the world. And the music. We are all music lovers.”