(Photo by: Warrick Page/Showtime)
Julian Kaye’s story won’t continue. Showtime has cancelled the American Gigolo series so we won’t see a second season. The program is based on the 1980 feature film of the same name, and the first season of eight episodes concluded in October.
A romance and crime drama series, the American Gigolo TV show stars Jon Bernthal, Gretchen Mol, Rosie O’Donnell, Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, and Leland Orser. Guests include Wayne Brady, Alex Fernandez, Sandrine Holt, Yolonda Ross, and Melora Walters. Set in present-day Los Angeles, the story follows Julian Kaye (Bernthal) 15 years after he was wrongfully arrested and convicted for murder. He’s now been released from prison and must navigate complicated relationships with his former lover Michelle (Mol), his troubled mother, and the people who betrayed him. While Julian struggles to reconcile the escort he was in the past and the man he is today, Detective Sunday (O’Donnell) seeks to uncover the truth about the murder that sent Julian to prison all those years ago. She unearths a much larger conspiracy along the way.
The first four episodes of the first season of American Gigolo averaged a 0.02 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 156,000 viewers in the live+same day ratings, including DVR playback through 3:00 AM.
The cancellation news comes as it was announced that Showtime’s linear and streaming platforms would be rebranded. The linear channel will be named “Paramount+ with Showtime”, while the channel’s streaming content will be pulled into the Paramount+ service.
As part of that move, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced that the company “will divert investment away from areas that are underperforming and that account for less than 10% of our views. We have already begun conversations with our production partners about what content makes sense moving forward and which shows have franchise potential.”
The channel released the following statement, confirming the cancellation: “We can confirm that American Gigolo will not move forward with a second season on Showtime. We are grateful to our partners at Paramount Television Studios, the producing team, cast and crew for their tremendous efforts to bring this series to life.”
Let the Right One In was also cancelled today. The new series Three Women has been shelved and will be shopped to other outlets.
What do you think? Have you watched the American Gigolo TV series on Showtime? Are you glad to hear that this series has been renewed for a second season?
Check out our lists for additional cancelled TV shows. Our status pages are here.