EXCLUSIVE: The Royals – the scripted drama series about the personal lives of a fictional British Royal Family – has lost its UK broadcaster.
TVWise can exclusively reveal that E! UK & Ireland has opted not to renew their licensing deal for the series with international distributor Lionsgate Television; leaving The Royals without a UK home just as the third season has started airing in the United States.
The Royals was a rare scripted acquisition for E! UK, whose line-up consists almost entirely of unscripted/reality shows, but it nevertheless performed reasonably well for the channel. A spokesperson for E! UK told TVWise that while they would not be airing season three, they wished the show “continued success”. Given the poor reception The Royals received from UK buyers when Lionsgate first screened it at the 2014 LA Screenings, the series is not expected to find another UK home in the short-term.
Set and shot in London, The Royals follows the exploits of a fictional Royal Family. The drama series pits public perception of the royal family against the reality of life inside the castle walls, from the lavish parties and high stakes political summits, to the private family gatherings and secret romances. However being born into this elite circle comes at a cost and the Royals’ lives are played out on a world stage where press is 24/7 and social media drives an insatiable appetite to follow their every move.
The drama, which is the first ever original scripted series for the U.S. E! network, was created by One Tree Hill‘s Mark Schwahn and is set up as a co-production between Lionsgate Television and Universal Cable Productions, The Royals stars Elizabeth Hurley, Vincent Regan, William Moseley, Alexandra Park, Tom Austen, Jake Maskall, Ukweli Roach and Oliver Milburn. Joan Collins guest stars as the Grand Duchess of Oxford. The executive producers are Mark Schwahn, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Shauna Phelan.
