Escaping from Australian prison may be easy for Charlie Hunnam’s character Lin Ford, but outrunning cancellation is a whole other beast. Apple TV+ has canceled the drama series Shantaram, effectively ending the series after the season one finale that aired today, per Deadline.
Based on Gregory David Roberts’ 2003 novel of the same name, the 12-episode series became the first adaptation to take off after multiple failed attempts since the book’s publication, including a film version in 2004 that would have starred Johnny Depp.
The cancellation comes on the heels of a recent interview Hunnam gave to Entertainment Weekly, where the actor spoke on his uncertainty about Shantaram returning for a second season.
“I don’t know what conversations are going on about a second season,” said Hunnam to the outlet. “I don’t even know if there even are any conversations going on at this point about a second season.”
He added, “It’s a weird thing—streaming platforms work in a completely different way than traditional television networks, which is [by a] really very clear arithmetic: If a show is getting big numbers and can justify generating large ad revenue, then it’s pretty much a given that it’ll come back. I don’t quite know what the arithmetic within streaming platforms are to justify whether a show comes back.”
Shantaram follows a man-bunned sporting Lin Ford (Charlie Hunnam), who escapes an Australian prison and goes on the run in 1980s Bombay (now known as Mumbai). While using his past paramedic skills to provide medical services to the community, trouble and love seem to find him despite his attempt to hide his real identity. Here’s more of the synopsis from Apple TV+’s press release: “Alone in an unfamiliar city, Lin struggles to avoid the trouble he’s running from in this new place. After falling for an enigmatic and intriguing woman named Karla (Antonia Desplat), Lin must choose between freedom or love and the complications that come with it.”
Along with Hunnam and Desplat, the series also stars Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless), Sujaya Dasgupta (Shadow And Bone), Elham Ehsas (Homeland), Luke Pasqualino (Skins), David Field (Preacher), Shubham Saraf (Bodyguard), Alyy Khan, and Elektra Kilbey.
The globe-trotting series was written by showrunner Steve Lightfoot (Netflix’s The Punisher), with Eric Warren Singer joining Lightfoot as co-creator. Shantaram’s episodes were directed by Iain B. MacDonald (Shameless), Bronwen Hughes (Better Call Saul), and Bharat Nalluri (Little America).