Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: bbc, Gentleman Jack, HBO, hbo max, LGBTQ, sally wainwright

Gentleman Jack Creator Cites HBO Budget Cuts for Cancellation

Gentleman Jack creator and showrunner Sally Wainwright, one of the top TV writers in the UK, has been interviewed by Radiotimes.com about the shock cancellation of the show by co-production partner HBO. She spoke further about how the show fell victim to budget cuts and a seeming loss of interest in period costume dramas and hints that this was partly the result of Discovery's recent acquisition of Warner Brothers, HBO's parent company.

Gentleman Jack stars Suranne Jones as Anne Lister, a real-life landowner and polymath who lived in 1830s Yorkshire and kept a heavily-coded diary that documented her various lesbian relationships in the days before the word "lesbian" even existed. "Gentleman Jack" was a derogatory old England slang for women who pursued and seduced other women. The title of the show reclaims the name empowerment for gay women. The show focuses on Lister's marriage to a wealthy heiress and landowner Ann Walker, played by Sophie Rundle. It should be noted that while male homosexual activity was illegal in England until the mid-20th Century, female homosexuality was never illegal because Queen Victoria didn't believe it existed. While kept secret and not legally recognized at the time, theirs was perhaps the first same-sex marriage in British history. The series has been a hit in the UK and turned Lister into a gay icon.

Wainwright said the producers, cast, and crew were on a high from the broadcast of the second series in the UK, receiving glowing reviews and coverage from every major outlet as well as healthy ratings.

"I mean, you never know if you're going to get recommissioned but we were kind of quietly optimistic that it would happen," she said. "When you have a show that doesn't do well, you kind of think: 'Well, fair enough,' but I think what's bewildering is that it appeared to be doing perfectly well but clearly not the same in America."

Wainwright added that the second season's broadcast slot on HBO may have contributed to its downfall. "It was going out at 10 o'clock on Monday nights there. They didn't push the second series as much. I think, over there, it's subscription only, the channel it's on."

"I can't complain about HBO because our execs at HBO were wonderful. I think they wanted to go again but obviously, they've been taken over now by Warner Discovery – the Discovery Channel I think. They've been told that they have to cut the budgets and I think they're not as interested in period drama. They're certainly not interested in 19th-century English lesbians by the sound of things. But our execs who commissioned the show in the first place I think are as kinda gutted as we are."

HBO has been cutting down on original European drama production and co-productions since Discovery's takeover, with cancelations of projects and layoffs in those departments. This may suggest the network is cutting back on British drama co-productions as well as part of that culling, to which Gentleman Jack has fallen victim.

As for Gentleman Jack, Wainwright added that the BBC "certainly is up for going again" but will need a new streaming partner to replace HBO as it "wouldn't want to continue without it having the same production values". The BBC and production company Lookout Point, which owns the show, are currently considering shopping it around to find a new co-production and financing partner.

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