His Dark Materials got three books to tell its story, and now the adaptation is getting its very own third, and concluding installment. The novels, written by Philip Pullman, were adapted by the BBC and HBO into two seasons of television which has just been renewed for the last time, confirming that the show is likely to continue along the path set by the novels, more or less mirroring the original plot.
This seems to have been a planned conclusion, rather than a cancellation, as the renewal comes just after the finale of season 2, setting the stage quite well for an adaptation of the third book: The Amber Spyglass. Those who aren't familiar with the novels may be more likely to recognize the first book, The Golden Compass, which has been adapted several times in various formats over the years.
The adaptation has done fairly well for itself, earning decent reviews from critics and being received well by audiences. Viewership has also been fairly strong, particularly in the UK, where episodes average about 5 million viewers each, compared to .3 million in the U.S. This is likely due to the books having been much more popular in the UK, where the first was originally released under the title Northern Lights.
The renewal will come as welcome news to fans of the show, who are at least guaranteed that the story will have some sort of definitive end. In an era with more original shows than any one person can reasonably watch, where just about anything can be cancelled on a whim, it's nice to have a promise of closure, however unexpected.
It does also indicate, of course, that His Dark Materials will likely not be diving into any of the expanded material in the universe. Since finishing the original trilogy, Pullman has also written several spin-offs set in the same universe, and has already released two books in a new trilogy as well. Whatever material they add to the setting, it seems as though the HBO show won't be touching on them for the time being.
If the show is deemed to have been successful though, it does mean there's plenty of material available for continuation. Every studio and streaming service is looking for its own version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and no doubt HBO is crunching the numbers even now trying to determine if His Dark Materials has franchise potential. Whatever the future holds for the classic IP though, at least the fans of this current iteration will be getting their complete story, free from the worry of unexpected cancellation.
His Dark Materials is currently available on HBO Max.
Source: Variety