‘Monarch,’ Starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins, Canceled By FOX After One Season

Monarch, starring Trace Adkins, Anna Friel, Joshua Sasse, and Beth Ditto with Susan Sarandon, will not be returning for a second season.

According to Deadline, the FOX drama series has been canceled by the network after the final episode of the season, which aired on Tuesday evening (Dec. 6).

https://youtu.be/JbTfp5fSd9c

Monarch opened in September as the No.1 scripted debut of 2022. With the premiere and encore airing immediately after, the musical drama ranked highest among all drama debuts of 2022 by 33%.  

The two airings brought in a whopping 5.3 million viewers combined. In addition, the new drama was dubbed as FOX’s most-watched Fall scripted debut in three years, following Prodigal Son, with 3.8 million viewers. 

Monarch averaged 4.1 million multiplatform viewers throughout the season, according to Deadline.

Whew — if only Gigi knew how deeply this @carrieunderwood song applies to her life. #Monarch pic.twitter.com/A5LoYeKBVO

— Monarch on FOX (@MonarchOnFOX) November 16, 2022

A recent release states that Monarch reached 18.7 million viewers across platforms in the U.S. and Canada. 

Monarch was originally slated to premiere on January 30, 2022, however, FOX postponed the debut until the fall. The show finally opened on Sunday, September 11. 

Ahead of the premiere, Adkins recalled reviewing the script for the first time. 

“I looked at it and I went, oh my God. Yeah, I can do this,” he shared. 

In less than two weeks, Adkins found himself on set. 

“When I found out who some of the people were that I was gonna be working with, I knew that this had to be something that FOX was committed to and this wasn’t going to be just some little throwaway thing.” He added, “I get to sing and pretty much act as myself. Yeah, okay, I can do that. I’m glad I did.”

Working alongside Sarandon was something that initially terrified the country star. 

“Very quickly I realized that when you work with somebody like that, when you work with somebody that is as confident and as accomplished and as professional as she is, you suddenly realize, ‘Oh my God, she’s gonna carry the scene. All I have to do is swim in her wake and hang on and just hope that if I can survive this scene, it’ll probably be okay.’ And then I just exhaled… she was very gracious and giving and kind to me and made me feel comfortable.”

Throughout the season, Arista Records/Monument Records and FOX Entertainment released several EPs featuring music from the show. Recent releases include a cover of Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger,” and a cover of Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert’s “Somethin’ Bad.” 

Yessss! Light up that stage, Nicky! 👏👏👏 #Monarch pic.twitter.com/1nwe20rW1W

— Monarch on FOX (@MonarchOnFOX) November 16, 2022

Several country music artists made guest appearances on the show’s first season, including Shania Twain, Little Big Town, Tanya Tucker, and Martina McBride.  

Vocal powerhouse Caitlyn Smith recorded the Monarch theme song, “The Card You Gamble.” The song was co-written by Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, and Smith says she was drawn to it immediately. 

“It’s so haunting,” she previously shared. “It’s got that sort of great country sound, but also that kind of mysterious vibe that fits the show so well.” 

Trace Adkins and his Monarch co-stars have yet to react to the show’s cancelation.