Apple TV+ is home to an abundance of critically acclaimed shows, such as "Severance," "Shrinking," "Ted Lasso," and Seth Rogan's "The Studio." Unfortunately, not all of Apple TV's original series have been so successful, including a drama thriller starring Charlie Hunnam from "Sons of Anarchy." Released on in 2022, "Shantaram" follows an Australian fugitive who is hoping to get lost in the chaos of 1980s Bombay (now Mumbai) and try to build himself a new life.
On paper, it has all the makings of a riveting thriller, but the series didn't reach the same level of mainstream popularity as some of the Apple TV's other shows. In December 2022, ahead of "Shantaram's" season finale, Apple TV announced it wouldn't return for a second season, but there was never any official reason why. Below, we break down more on the bold series, its reception, and the potential reasons the show was canceled.
What is Shantaram about?
Based on Gregory David Robert's novel of the same name, "Shantaram" is set in the 1980s and follows Lin Ford (Hunnam), a former paramedic, heroin addict, and bank robber who escapes from an Australian prison. In hopes of disappearing and seeking redemption for his past activities, Ford travels to Bombay to start a new life.
Ford soon falls for the beautiful and enigmatic Karla (played by "Witchboard's" Antonia Desplat). However, his new life begins to follow a familiar pattern as he becomes entangled in the city's criminal underworld, forcing him to choose between it and the local community he's integrated himself into as a medic. To make things more complicated, his illicit activities see him becoming mixed up in the Soviet-Afghan War, as he uses his criminal experience to help fight the invading Russians in Afghanistan.
As such, across the show's 12 episodes, we watch as Ford constantly struggles to be a better man amidst a growing temptation to return to his old, criminal ways. To tell you any more would spoil the ride.
Why was Shantaram cancelled?
While the reason behind the show's cancellation was never confirmed, there are a few factors that may have influenced the cancellation. For starters, "Shantaram" was an ambitious project with an estimated $100 million budget, and it didn't have a smooth production journey. Filming began in October 2019 and was to take place across Australia and India, but after two just episodes, filming was suspended in February 2020 — first due to the Indian monsoon season and then by a writing backlog caused by showrunner Eric Warren Singer's departure. The show began filming in India again briefly in late 2020, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, filming was moved to Thailand. The shoot finally wrapped in late 2021.
"Shantaram" also received mixed critical reception. Collider described Hunnam as having "never been better" and RogerEbert.com praised the show's "vibrant international cast of characters." However, the latter also described the show's 12, hour-long episodes as "more than a little bloated." Others echoed this, with Decider calling it a "slow-moving thriller" and Slant Magazine saying "the series should have been a movie."
"Shantaram" has a 57% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a certified "Rotten" rating, and considerably lower than popular Apple TV+ shows like "Severance" (95%), "Ted Lasso" (90%), and "Slow Horses" (97%). That being said, the show's audience-voted Popcornmeter rating is higher at 86% — the same as Ted Lasso's. It's possible then that this critical response, combined with high-production costs, resulted in the show's cancellation.