The Last Kingdom was cancelled, Sanditon was renewed, and I need some wine.
Sad news for The Last Kingdom fans, myself included -- the fifth season, currently filming, will be its last. The Last Kingdom is one of the best shows the golden age of TV has produced. I had hoped it would have at least two more seasons but I suppose, with everything going on in the world, we are lucky to have one season to conclude it. As of this writing, there are no details yet on what led to The Last Kingdom's cancellation. I am far from okay with this news, but I am confident The Last Kingdom will give us a brilliant fifth season.
You can check out Recap Lab's coverage of the fourth season of The Last Kingdom here.
Now, onto some news I can only describe as good/awful. When I recapped the first episode of Sanditon in May of last year, its cancellation had already been announced. I was bummed about it, and I wrote, 'The more I thought about Sanditon... especially its premature cancellation, the more convinced I was that the producers and writers could have squeezed at least two more seasons from the tale they laid out.' Well, guess what? Sanditon has been renewed for two more seasons!
For a few moments, life felt lighter and my mind was swimming with images of Charlotte and Sidney reuniting and getting a happy ending because bloody hell, the past 14 months have been rough and I want sexy happiness on my screen dang it. But no, Theo James, who memorably played Sidney Parker, will not be returning.
Why oh why did I stop keeping wine around the house?
When I was envisioning at least two more seasons last year, the relationship between Charlotte and Sidney were a huge part of it, of course, but it was more than that. There are plenty of stories to be told around the building of the town and its brilliant cast, led by Rose Williams. I am incredibly happy Sanditon was renewed and I am going to do my best to move on from this profound disappointment of not having Sidney around. It would be lovely to see Charlotte play a larger role in the development of Sanditon (the town) outside of a romance, at least for a time.
*****
I am updating this post because I saw a few more names being suggested by fans (many of whom campaigned very hard to have Sanditon renewed) for a possible recasting. When I first heard the news that Theo James would not be returning to Sanditon, I thought the character Sidney would be written off. The more I think about some of the names I'm seeing, however, the more I am warming to the idea of recasting Sidney. There are a couple of actors in particular I'd be thrilled to see as Sidney. Pretty please?