It doesn’t really come as a surprise but now we have confirmation: The Winter King has been officially cancelled after only one season. After the lack of news for months we’ve been suspecting this would happen.
TV Line were the first to report the news:
A former TV queen and current TV king are both ending their short-lived reigns on MGM+. Neither Beacon 23 nor The Winter King will return to the streamer for additional seasons, TVLine has learned.
They’re expressing hope that “either or both series could ostensibly be shopped to other outlets” but even this possibility seems unlikely after most of the main cast seems to have moved on to other projects, including Andrew Gower‘s new role in upcoming crime drama Ellis.
Deadline also has confirmed that The Winter King was axed by British streamer and co-producer ITVX.
The series was based on the Warlord Chronicles by best-selling author Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom) which follows Arthur Pendragon (played by Iain De Caestecker) as he evolves from outcast son to legendary warrior and leader King Arthur.
Reviews for The Winter King were divided with The Guardian labelling it “medieval nonsense” and Forbes calling it a “crushing disappointment” despite a nomination in the Best Drama category at the 2024 Broadcast Digital Awards.
The series also suffered from “review bombing” because of its colourblind casting, especially of main characters such as Merlin (played by Nathaniel Martello-White) and Genuivere (played by Jordan Alexandra).
Despite the occasional flaw, we were hoping to see more of Bernard Cornwell’s book series being adapted on screen and were looking forward to seeing more of Sansum (Andrew Gower), the “Mouse Lord” – as he is nicknamed by the story’s narrator Derfel (played by Stuart Campbell) – and his blossoming love story with Morgan (played by Valene Kane).



















