Ah, the world of TV shows: where dreams are made, and sometimes, just as quickly, they’re shattered. The excitement, the build-up, the anticipation—only to see it all come crumbling down in the blink of an eye. In the case of HBO’s The Franchise, that eye blinked a little too soon. Less than three days into 2025, HBO made the bold (and perhaps disappointing) move to pull the plug on the much-anticipated satirical comedy after just one season.
It’s a bit like setting up a comedy show, getting the crowd riled up, and then—boom—the power goes out before the punchline. While fans were ready for more behind-the-scenes chaos of the superhero movie world, HBO felt it was time to call it quits. But what happened? Why did The Franchise find itself in the crosshairs so soon? Let’s break it down.
The Franchise: Plot, cast, & everything you need to know about the series
The Franchise wasn’t your typical superhero show. No spandex, no capes, no world-saving action. Instead, it took the ‘super’ out of ‘superhero’ and focused on the madness behind the scenes of a superhero flick.
Created by Jon Brown, famed for his sharp writing on Succession and Veep, with Skyfall director Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci on the production team, the show seemed like a sure-fire hit. It wasn’t just a look at the film industry—it was a scathing take on the people who make it tick. As the logline puts it, it’s a recipe for disaster… and we were all here for it (via Variety):
The series follows the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The comedy series shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every fuck-up has an origin story.
But it’s not just the show’s premise that has people talking; it’s the ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Himesh Patel, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, and Jessica Hynes. Each actor feels like they’re channeling every unsung hero and frustrated diva of Hollywood, making The Franchise a masterclass in dysfunctional teamwork.
Magnussen, who’s been vocal about his role in the show, described it as a full-on indictment of Hollywood’s ridiculousness and actors’ egos. He earlier informed IndieWire:
The gift was, I got to laugh at all this shit we do. It’s a TV show about making a superhero movie, and it’s all just a bunch of morons running the show and you get to laugh.
The actor couldn’t help but gush about the real treasure of the experience—the incredible camaraderie within the ensemble cast. “It’s all about people, because a lot of this industry takes itself too seriously,” he shared, adding:
This show reminds me that you can have fun and laugh at yourself, and that’s what we did.
Patel took on the role of the overworked first assistant director, tirelessly trying to keep the circus of a superhero franchise movie from spiraling into chaos. His character was the glue holding it all together, even as the madness threatened to unravel at every turn. Meanwhile, the supporting cast, including Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, and Richard E. Grant, added their own flair to the project, making it a fun ensemble piece.
Did The Franchise miss the mark?
The Franchise was well-received by critics, even landing a respectable 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But wait…great reviews don’t always translate to great numbers, right? Despite the initial buzz and a sharp script, The Franchise never quite found its audience, failing to break into Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings.
Well, in the entertainment game, if you don’t manage to reel in the masses, you’re swimming upstream. And that’s exactly what seems to have happened here.
HBO decided not to renew The Franchise for a second season, much to the disappointment of those who tuned in for its sharp wit and stellar performances. As an HBO spokesperson noted in a statement (via Deadline):
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the tremendously talented team behind The Franchise, especially Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors… While we won’t be moving forward with another season, we look forward to collaborating with all of them in the future.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but in the television world, ratings are the ultimate currency. Despite boasting a talented cast and a solid creative team, The Franchise couldn’t muster the viewership it needed to earn another season.
Let’s take a closer look at why The Franchise took a nosedive in the abyss compared to its contemporaries. What went wrong?
Why did The Franchise fail to turn into a ‘franchise’?
The downfall of HBO’s The Franchise wasn’t just a fluke—it was only reflective of the viewer sentiment observed over the past couple of years. While superheroes were once a dazzling commodity selling like hotcakes, later on, the repeated exposure to lackluster content made a lot of fans wince with cringe and boredom.
This has affected both the superhero genre and their parodies, with fans growing increasingly discontent and harder to impress. Even the most successful franchises are struggling right now. The MCU is struggling to regain its composure, the DCU is in its early stages, and parodies like The Boys are losing their significance over the years.
The competition is tough, the consequences are ruthless, and The Franchise with its relatively bland film set comedy, couldn’t stand against it. It lacked the punch needed to stand out in an oversaturated, ever-demanding market.
A similar fate befell Powerless, CW’s take on a world where ordinary humans try to survive in a universe dominated by superheroes. Despite its unique take on the DC Universe, the show failed to impress viewers with its star cast of Vivien Elizabeth Armour, Atlin Mitchell, Graeme Duffy, Alan Tudyk, Kate Micucci, Antonio Cayonne, and Danny Pudi. The uneven writing proved too much for the audience to handle, leading to its cancellation right after its first season in 2017.
And now, The Franchise has officially been shown the door with its untimely end in 2025, becoming the first to bite the bullet this year. If there’s a tougher and more unpredictable world than the one portrayed in superhero blockbusters, it’s the cutthroat streaming industry.
This one-season wonder has already been shut down for good—just another flash in the pan destined to fade out before it could even find its footing.
The first and ‘only season’ of The Franchise is currently streaming on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
