Aahana Swrup
Season 1 of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ sets up an ambitious, imaginative world that clearly aims to expand beyond the miniseries tag. The show revolves around Dr. Robert Jekyll, who shares his body with an alter-ego named Hyde. However, after living a sheltered life, it’s only his unplanned arrival in London that opens his eyes up to a world of mystique and magic around him. As it turns out, the shadows are filled with other supernatural creatures like Robert, some vampires and werewolves, some ghosts, and some entirely different beings. One particular group, known as the Tenebrae, is hellbent on freeing their ancient Gods from their otherworldly confinement to wage war against humanity. It just so happens that Robert is an integral key needed to achieve this menacing goal. Season 1 ends on a clear cliffhanger, leaving the fates of multiple central characters undecided while expanding upon existing mysteries. Therefore, the show’s ultimate cancellation, which came early in 2016, is bound to come as a surprise to the fans.
Multiple Factors Influenced Jekyll and Hyde’s Cancellation
Following the airing of its pilot episode, ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ opened to relatively promising viewership with a total of 4.3 million viewers. However, over time, this viewership dropped to the point where the show only retained 1.8 million viewers by the end of its first season. The reason behind this unexpected drop was likely multifold. Notably, the show earned some unflattering attention in the first few episodes due to the viewers’ concerns over some violent and disturbing scenes. While it was airing on television, the show had a slot of 6:30 PM on Sundays, a time usually associated with family-friendly programming. However, during its run, the show received around 800 complaints from its viewers about the depiction of violence and disturbing scenes.
At the time, the show’s creator, Charlie Higson, tried to reason that the violent scenes were preceded by a warning. On the other hand, ITV insisted that the on-screen violence was fantastical in nature. Nonetheless, in January 2026, Ofcom, the UK’s regulator for the communications services, ruled that the show’s content was indeed unsuitable for children. In turn, this made its broadcast timing inappropriate. Furthermore, this wasn’t the only broadcast-related complication that the show faced. The series had to reschedule the release of episode 4, ‘The Clayx,’ since it contained scenes featuring heavy gunfight. The episode’s previously planned release’s unfortunate collision with terrorist attacks on Paris, France, necessitated this change. As a result, it’s possible that the unexpected delay dropped interest among the already dwindling viewership. Ultimately, these instances became notable contributors to ITV’s decision to cancel the show shortly after its debut season.
Charlie Higson Wanted the Show to Have Multiple Seasons
Initially, Charlie Higson imagined ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ as a multiple-season affair. This is evident in the way that season 1 concludes on a cliffhanger. At the end of the show’s first season, and unfortunately only season, the protagonist finds himself in a confrontation against his biggest nemesis, Captain Dance. In this altercation, three things happen. Captain Dance opens a Calyx that contains the heart of an old God, Lord Trash. Hyde destroys the heart, presumably stopping the ancient deity from resurrecting in humanity’s plane of existence. Lastly, the explosion from the alleged destruction of the heart creates a massive wave that leads to the disappearance of Hyde’s closest friends, leaving only him and Dance around in the aftermath.
Naturally, fans of the show are bound to expect a follow-up to this explosive climax. The narrative leaves many threads unresolved and, in fact, opens the floor for even more questions from the audience. The fates of integral characters like Bella, Lily, Garson, Ravi, Fedora, and more remain entirely ambiguous. Are they dead? Have they crossed the getaway? Everything remains a mystery. Similarly, matters regarding Lord Trash’s resurrections and his heart are also left inconclusive. The same becomes true for the story’s overarching mysteries, like the nature of Robert’s parents’ demise, the identity of his mother, as well as his adoptive father’s connection to the Jekyll name. After news of the show’s cancellation arrived, Higson revealed through his social media that he had some great stories lined up for a season that tragically never was.
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