Despite Critical Acclaim, Zoë Kravitz’s High Fidelity Will Not Be Renewed
Hulu’s High Fidelity may have been another installment in the “we didn’t really need this” reboot train, but it was still a good show with great reviews and great performances from Zoë Kravitz, who proved she could deliver outside of her usual emotional range. Yet, it was not picked up for a second season.
According to Deadline the cast and crew were notified on Wednesday that they would not be returning for another season. The article states that the decision to cancel the show “was not easy and came after lengthy deliberations.“ Yet, despite being well received by critics and having some internal support at Hulu, it won’t be getting another season, and finding another place for the show is “considered a long shot.”
In this remake of the 2000 John Cusack film High Fidelity (itself adapted from the novel by Nick Hornby), Zoë Kravitz played Rob, a record store owner in Crown Heights, Brooklyn who revisits past relationships through her connections to music, while trying to get over her last major breakup. One of the things that made Kravitz’s casting so interesting was that her mother, Lisa Bonet, was in the original film.
Again, while not a reboot people were begging for, I found the miniseries to be quite charming and interesting. Kravitz’s Rob is someone who loves love, but also lacks a lot of the emotional maturity to commit to making things work. While I have no idea how she is able to afford to run a record shop and live alone in an apartment in Crown Heights, especially the Crown Heights of 2019, I’ve got to admit it was fun watching Brooklyn come alive in this show. Plus, the music was great, and you can just believe if anyone is living this sort of lifestyle, it is Zoe freakin’ Kravitz, the princess of effortlessly cool bohemian Blackness. (Her mother is still the Supreme.)
I was hoping that, with a second season, the show would be able to add some diversity to the supporting cast. Despite having a biracial lead, the cast is still very white, and the only major dark-skinned, fat female character, Cherise, played by Tony nominated singer/actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph, didn’t even get an episode to herself the way others did.
Despite all the other good things, that was a jarring mistake that could be corrected if the show got another season to expand its cast. (But take note that we do notice if the darker skinned and fat characters don’t get equal treatment.)
Deadline says that it is unlikely that the show will get picked up somewhere else, and I think the show does end in an open-ended way that is interesting—but still, it got me excited for something more. I’m sorry to see it go, but I guess that means more money on Hulu for … *checks notes* Dollface and more Handmaid’s Tale.
Le sigh.
(via Deadline, image: Hulu)
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