‘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…
Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins in the series premiere of Monarch airing Sunday, Sept. 11, immediately following the FOX NFL doubleheader (8:00-9:00 PM ET, and simultaneously to all time zones). It then makes its time period premiere Tuesday, Sept. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). CR: FOX © 2022 FOX Media LLC.
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).
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.
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.”
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.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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