The Acolyte (2024)

[Greg]

I am in. I caught the first two episodes and they weren't bad. Sad that one of the key characters that I thought the show would revolve around was quickly shown the door. It's a murder mystery where you are quickly shown the murderer. There are also seem to be easy answers for some of the conundrums. (This person couldn't be involved because we can easily show she never left the ship)(Why are the prisoners on one ship and the Jedi on another ship)

There is some good stuff. I like the fighting style involved. Fun to see old and new worlds. Fun to try and guess whether something was shot in "The Space" or did they build sits. I think there is a large back lot somewhere they are using for all these TV shows.

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out who the Alchemist is. I've seen him in something else playing roughly the same sensibilities and he doesn't appear on the IMDB.

Good entertainment. Will keep watching. Not as good as Andor but that bar is pretty high.

[Greg]

One more quible: can we get a new name for Osha? I hear that name and think Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

[Greg]

EP 03 How we got here. They really need too change Osha's name. Those young girls cannot act. Anybody else feel uncomfortable with a galactic organization going around taking people's kids? And why hasn't clothing progressed along with Technology? And why hasn't technology progressed between Acolyte and Star Wars?

This episode was pretty dumb.

[Drunk Monk]

A lot of whiny fanboys had the same criticism of the child abduction thing. And the Jedi uniform has changed and color & texture. There’s some ‘tech’ changes coming beyond the ships, something different than beskar.
Just get to ep 5. That’s the payout.

[Greg]

Was Ep05 the Lightsaber festival? That was pretty fun.

I made it to Ep07. The series isn't really grabbing me. The Jedi all seem totally sketchy. And we have kind of dropped the main bad guy for a few episodes. I guess he'll be back for the episode 08 finale.

[Greg]

Ep08 is in the books. This whole series was pretty meh except for the abundance of Light Saber battles. Maybe that is what they wanted to do with the show. But I felt the story and its execution were weak. And to top it all off, cliff hanger.

We can talk about something else when more people have seen it. Or DM. I think it's just DM and I

[Drunk Monk]

Done. 
I enjoyed it overall but I do love my lightsaber fights and this delivered in that department. The overall premise was intriguing - flawed Jedi - also mortal Jedi, not skilled enough to become Force ghosts so death is real. It’s a dark side turn and I hope they continue to explore that. Also the witch lore from Clone Wars has more potential as seen in Ashoka. I also liked that there were more Jedi of color (and I don’t just mean green ones). And speaking of color, I liked what they did with the color schemes but it was only at the end that they started working for me - lots of faded colors like vintage 60s sci-fi or old Polaroid film. At first it was bugging me subconsciously but in the end, it gave these ‘prequel’ era story a nostalgic tone. 

I found the cliffhanger disappointing because there was a lot of talk about that cameo in the fandom and a lot of denial on the part of the creative team and then it turns out the fans were right all along.

I’m down for S2 if it’s green lit. I may rewatch this someday because it went a different direction than so much of the rest of the franchise and I’m curious if there were early tells.

[Drunk Monk]

‘The Acolyte’ Canceled: No Season 2 For Disney+’s ‘Star Wars’ Series


By Nellie Andreeva
August 19, 2024 4:10pm

Amandla Stenberg in 'The Acolyte'Lucasfilm Ltd
EXCLUSIVE: The story of The Acolyte will not continue, with Lucasfilm opting not to proceed with a second season of the Star Wars offshoot starring Amandla Stenberg, sources tell Deadline. 
Word of the decision comes more than a month after the eight-episode first season of the series from creator, director, executive producer and showrunner Leslye Headland wrapped its run on Disney+.
The news is not entirely surprising. The Acolyte did OK with critics, with 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, but divided Star Wars fans, which was reflected in its overall viewership.
Driven by interest into the venerable franchise, The Acolyte got off to a strong start when it launched June 4 with two episodes, generating 4.8M views in its first day on the streamer to rank as the biggest series premiere on Disney+ this year. The tally rose to 11.1 million views globally after five days of streaming. Corroborating Disney’s data, the series made its debut on Nielsen’s Top 10 originals chart in its premiere week at No. 7 (488 million minutes viewed), climbing to No. 6 the following week.
But The Acolyte could not sustain the momentum, dropping out of the Top 10 in Week 3 and staying off before returning at No. 10 after the release of the finale (335M minutes, believed to be the lowest for a Star Wars series finale).
Like fellow global streamers Netflix and Prime Video, Disney+ has a high viewership threshold for renewing high-end, big-budget series that cost well above $100M per season to make.
In interviews, Headland has revealed that she has pitched her ideas for a second season and has shared her hopes for a renewal. 
Lucasfilm’s first — and most successful to date — Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, is carrying on, crossing over to features with the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu. Ahsoka, the company’s series that proceeded The Acolyte, has been renewed for a second season.
The Acolyte was a mystery-thriller that took viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
In addition to Stenberg, the cast included Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman and Carrie-Anne Moss