PBS announcement officially confirms fate of ‘Sanditon’ Season 2
There’s some very disappointing news for Sanditon fans.
Based on Jane Austen’s unfinished final novel, the new period drama launched in the UK last autumn and the series concluded in the US last month on PBS.
The eight-part adaptation starred Theo James (Downton Abbey), Kris Marshall (Death in Paradise), and Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax).
The series was financed as a co-production between ITV and PBS Masterpiece.
However, with ITV announcing in January that they wouldn’t be renewing Sanditon, hopes for another season rested on Masterpiece and the show’s ratings in America.
With no money from ITV to help cover Sanditon‘s large budget, Masterpiece would need a new production partner to fund making more episodes.
Sadly, it looks like a second season won’t be happening.
Writing on their official Twitter account, Masterpiece’s official statement reads: “Dear #SanditonPBS fans: We want to thank you sincerely for your support during our broadcast.
“We love the series and wish it could go on; however, at this time there are no plans for another season.”
They added: “You’ll be the first to know if that changes!”
While it’s not impossible that Sanditon could still return on another network or a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon Prime, we wouldn’t expect to see new episodes anytime soon.
Discussing his controversial decision to end the final episode the way he did, Sanditon writer Andrew Davies recently explained: “I don’t know if you could tell from watching it, but we were rather counting on getting a second series!”
He added: “I do sympathise with everyone who felt upset about Charlotte and Sidney not getting their happy ending. Although, happy endings don’t always happen.”
Sanditon is available on DVD on Amazon.