Summary
- AMC has canceled the Bob Odenkirk-led series Lucky Hank after just one season, despite positive critical response.
- The show followed Odenkirk’s character, an unlikely chair of the English department at a badly underfunded school, as he copes with a midlife crisis and his wife questions her choices.
- Odenkirk’s current 14-year run on AMC, thanks to his role as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, comes to an end with the cancelation of Lucky Hank.
Lucky Hank has come to an unfortunate early conclusion; AMC has canceled the Bob Odenkirk-led series after just one season, per Variety. The comedy-drama followed Odenkirk’s William Henry Deveraux Jr., the unlikely chair of the English department at Railton College, a badly underfunded school in the Pennsylvania rust belt, as he copes with a midlife crisis. As his life unravels, his wife, Lily (portrayed by The Killing’s Mireille Enos), begins questioning her professional path and choices. Despite an overwhelmingly positive critical response, with plenty of praise for Odenkirk, the series lacked audience backing and concluded its eight-episode run with just 260,000 same-day viewers.
In a statement, AMC revealed that the show would not return for a sophomore season:
“We’re proud of ‘Lucky Hank’ and thankful for the work of everyone who brought this unique, playful and deeply human show to viewers, from the talented creative team to our partners at Sony and, of course, Bob, Mireille and the entire cast and crew. Unfortunately, we are not able to proceed with a second season, but we are glad these eight episodes exist on AMC+ and will continue to find new fans — or be seen again by viewers who come back to spend more time with Hank, Lily and the entertaining cast of characters at Railton College.”
Lucky Hank was adapted from Richard Russo’s Straight Man, a novel inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s own experiences as a college professor. Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein served as co-showrunners and executive producers for Lucky Hank. Odenkirk, Russo, Naomi Odenkirk, Mark Johnson, and Marc Provissiero served as executive producers. TriStar TV and Gran Via produced the show.
Alongside Odenkirk and Enos, the series starred Alvina August (Woke), Sara Amini (Future Man), Diedrich Bader (Office Space), Suzanne Cryer (Silicon Valley), Olivia Scott Welch (Fear Street), Arthur Keng (As We See It), Lilah Fitzgerald (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), and Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!).
Bob Odenkirk Concludes a 14-Year Run on AMC
Sony Pictures Television
Lucky Hank’s cancelation marks the ending of a 14-year run on AMC for Odenkirk, thanks to playing Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad from 2009, later reprising the role for Better Call Saul, which aired from 2015 to 2022. Lucky Hank saw the ever-popular star returning to the nextwork this year, but it seems, for now, that his run of fortune has finally gone the way of Saul Goodman.
Before Lucky Hank’s debut, Odenkirk shared his enthusiasm for the series with EW, telling the media outlet he related to Devereaux:
“I love the tone. It’s more comic. I feel like I relate to the main character, who’s a misanthrope. He’s a cranky guy, but you like him. And I just think tonally it’s great. It feels like a new mashup of comedy and drama that we’ve been on the verge of for a long time. [It’s like] you took a very fun show — like a Parks and Rec — and you said, ‘Let’s slow down and get to know these people and have their internal battles be a little bit more of the subject matter.'”
Among Odenkirk’s upcoming projects is The Room Returns, a Brando Crawford-directed remake of Tommy Wiseau’s cult classic The Room. Odenkirk will star alongside Bella Heathcote, Greg Sestero, Kate Siegel, and Midnight Mass director Mike Flanagan. Odenkirk is also set to reprise the role of Hutch Mansell for a sequel to his 2021 film Nobody. No release dates for either film have been announced.
While a second season of Lucky Hank won’t be on their roster, AMC will feature plenty of new content in 2024, including Monsieur Spade, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Parish, Orphan Black: Echoes with Krysten Ritter, and season two of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire.
Lucky Hank premiered in March, and its final episode aired on May 7. All eight episodes are available to stream on AMC+.
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