E! no longer has any scripted shows in its lineup, at least for the time being: The cable channel has canceled The Royals after four seasons.
“E! will not be moving forward with another season of The Royals, which launched in 2015 as the network’s first original scripted series,” a network spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. “Over four seasons, The Royals took viewers behind the palace gates on a scandalous journey filled with twists and turns. We are grateful to the cast and our producing partners at Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions.”
With the cancellation, E! for the moment has no scripted series set to air. The channel’s other scripted show, The Arrangement, was cut in May. E! does have one scripted project in development, a pilot from Michael Patrick King called Juicy Stories.
The end of The Royals in its first home may not necessarily mean the end for the series. Lionsgate is exploring a deal with a different cable outlet, Pop (which is co-owned by the indie studio and CBS), to keep the show going for a fifth season.
If The Royals does continue, it will do so under new leadership. Creator and showrunner Mark Schwahn was fired from the series in December in the wake of multiple sexual harassment allegations against him. Season four had finished production prior to the firing.
The Royals also suffered ratings declines in its fourth season: Its same-day numbers slipped by about 30 percent in the 18-49 demographic (0.16 vs. 0.23 for the prior season) and by 25 percent in total viewers (401,000 vs. 533,000).
