(L-R) Jemima West as Alice Whelan and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Ralph Whelan. (C) New Pictures and Channel 4 for MASTERPIECE in association with All3Media International.
UK Channel 4 has cancelled the Indian Summers TV show after two seasons. A British drama set in Simla (Shimla) in northern India, the first season of Indian Summers aired on PBS in the US, from September to November 2015. PBS has not yet announced the premiere date for the second and final season of Indian Summers. It is expected to air stateside in 2016, though. Masterpiece PBS co-produces the series, and PBS released a season two preview, back in December.
Indian Summers stars Julie Walters, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth, and Lillete Dubey. The cast also includes Alexander Cobb, Craig Parkinson, Fiona Glascott, Amber Rose Revah, Aysha Kala, Olivia Grant, and Edward Hogg.
Radio Times confirmed the Indian Summers cancellation with Channel 4. Here is more:
Much like the British Empire itself, Indian Summers has retreated into history. Channel 4 has confirmed that the period drama, set during the British Raj, will not be returning for a third series.
“We’re incredibly proud of Indian Summers and have loved having it in the schedule, the channel said in a statement. “But with a number of new drama launches already confirmed for 2017, we have decided not to commission a third series.”
Here is more on the Indian Summers TV series, from a 2014 PBS press release announcing the series.
Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas and tea plantations of Northern India, the drama tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. But at the heart of the story lie the implications and rami cations of the tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that de ne the lives of those brought together in this summer which will change everything.
It’s the summer of 1932. India dreams of Independence, but the British are clinging to power. In the foothills of the Himalayas stands Simla, a little England where every summer the British power-brokers of this nation are posted to govern during the summer months.
Ralph Whelan (Lloyd-Hughes), coolly ambitious, a coming man and tipped for promotion, is Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India. His sister, Alice (West), returns to Simla alone with her child and nds herself drawn to Aafrin (Patel), a Junior Clerk in the Viceroy’s of ce and son to Roshana (Dubey) and Darius (Seth), a gentle man and veteran of The Great War. Aafrin is brother to Sooni (Kala), severe and beautiful, and his spoilt younger sister Shamshad.
At the heart of Simla’s society is Cynthia (Walters), widowed doyenne of the Royal Club who is as at home in the tack room as she is the ballroom. A force to be reckoned with, her in uence spreads throughout the community.
The cast of characters also includes Douglas (Parkinson), who runs a missionary school, his wife Sarah (Glascott) who yearns for the comforts of home, Ian McLeod (Cobb), the young and naïve Scottish tea plantation heir, and the mysterious Anglo-Indian woman Leena (Revah).
As Indian Summers begins, the stories of promises, secrets, politics, power, sex and love play out as the British Raj begins to falter and a nation opens its eyes to the possibilities of freedom.
What do you think? Are you a fan of the Indian Summers TV show on Channel 4 and PBS? Do you think Indian Summers was cancelled at the right time, or should it have been renewed for a third season?
It is unfortunate that such an important program is cancelled. One merely has to consider the disastrous conditions in India to understand how important it is for us to have a worthwhile historical perspective on the British Empire’s crimes there and compounding that, the Indian people—so divided by caste and religion- unable to come together to create even the most basic modicum of a society. I hope the creators of the Series will change course, and continue with this critically important history and valuable program. Thank You
Absolutely CANCELLED AT THE WRONG TIME!! It is targeted on Indian Partition in AUGUST 1947 so you can’t cancel it 15 years earlier than that. In fact at the end of season, in his “Cast Interview” Art Malik made reference to things like “but you won’t see that until Season 5 or possibly 6” so they were obviously forecast in the original plan for the Series. Pity to finish it, ‘unfinished’; particularly following the exceptional Book/Film (Hugh Bonneville as Mountbatten, ‘the last Viceroy of India’) entitled Viceroy’s House. This last, would have ‘unwittingly’ been a ‘fitting Sequel’ and shows how… Read more »
Just found the series and binge-watched season 1 and am partially through season 2 – FANTASTIC drama! Every character is amazing and the background is stunning. Writers are masters of the unexpected twist and turn. So many historical lessons to be learned here – and can’t think of a more mesmerizing cast and story line to present them. Beyond disappointed to hear this show has been cancelled – very poor decision to drop this incredible drama in favor of so many lesser choices.
Indian Summers unexpectedly became one of my all-time favorite dramas on PBS. So disappointed that it is to end after only 2 seasons.
What a great disappointment that Indian Summers was not commissioned for a third season. It is historically valuable to know and understand the conflict within India by the oppressive British of the time. Hence, a valuable series has come to an end. I hope and wish that somehow it does return to our screens. I will the well developed characters and the fine actors who portray them!