The Hulu version of High Fidelity will not get a second act, and now that fans know what a second season of the show (based on a movie based on a book) would have been about, they’re even more upset about its cancellation.
This week brought news that the Zoë Kravitz-led romantic comedy (of sorts) would end after a single season, which was devastating news to the fans who loved the show about a woman named Rob exploring failed relationships and looking for love in New York. The show was a modern retelling of the Nick Hornby novel of the same name, leaning on the source material but recreating it for a new era of relationships and exploring the female and LGBTQ aspect of said relationships that varied the original’s themes enough to make it feel fresh.
After news of the show’s cancellation, feelings grew worse when fans learned what the show would have become in its second season. As Stereogum reported, the second season was poised to take the show — which was already a significant departure from the book and movie of the same name — in a very different direction. Namely one that focused a lot more on Cherise, who fans loved as the hidden gem of a rock star waiting to be discovered.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kingsley Ben-Adir, who played Rob’s ex (Mac), lamented the cancellation of the show and the loss of Kravitz’ chance to tell a compelling story that was just getting started. He spoke eloquently about how “heartbreaking” it is to lose representation of a “normal” Black couple on TV. But he also revealed that Rob’s relationship turmoil was set to take a backseat to another story in Season 2:
Annoyingly, Season 2 was really gonna be a Cherise-focused season. She [Da’Vine Joy Randolph] was gonna become the lead of the show, and the story was leaning toward being about where she’d come from, her heartbreaks and her family background. And they stopped it just as that was about to happen.
That was another dagger to the hearts of fans who fell in love with Cherise, with Joy Randolph effortlessly playing a role Jack Black made tough to top in the movie. Fans flooded Twitter with lamentations on Friday as the interview spread.
the fact that we could’ve had not just a single episode but
an entire season
centered on Cherise makes Hulu’s cancellation of High Fidelity even more disappointing!!https://t.co/QfqqwB84uG
— Ashley Lee (@cashleelee) August 27, 2020
HURTS EVEN MORE. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SEASON 2 OF HIGH FIDELITY
https://t.co/1gtPTyu2d1 pic.twitter.com/mqaTKKpy5I
— Britt Julious (@britticisms) August 27, 2020
Season 2 of “High Fidelity” could’ve been about Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s character starting a band and telling us about her heartbreaks, season 2 of “High Fidelity” could’ve ruled
https://t.co/xx671us0Xi
— Caroline Darya Framke (@carolineframke) August 27, 2020
Goddammit, this would have been so good. https://t.co/Hk9zqCDBtn
— Marina Fang (@marinafang) August 27, 2020
As many pointed out, some of the show’s best writing in Season One came from when it shifted perspectives to another character, which makes the news that we would have further explored Cherise and her perspective all the more upsetting.
(Via Stereogum)