Why Is It So Hard to Make a Good Arthurian Drama?

After a disappointing debut, streaming service MGM+ announced it wouldn't bring its Bernard Cornwell adaptation The Winter King back for a second season. This news probably didn't register for that many people at the time, given how few likely even knew MGM+ existed, let alone that an entire season of a series called The Winter King had aired on it. MGM+'s general failure to get noticed is a problem in and of itself, particularly since it has one of the most popular BBC series in recent years (Steven Knight's Rogue Heroes) on its platform. But that's also a rant for a different post and a problem that MGM+ is hardly the only one struggling to solve.

What is interesting (and more than a little problematic) is that, by all rights, The Winter King *should* have been a reasonably respectable hit. The show was based on Cornwell's popular Warlord Chronicles series, a retelling of the Arthur myth that attempts to present the legend in a more historically accurate context, reimagining the famous hero as a bastard son struggling to unite the fractious tribes of 5th-century Britain against the invading Saxon army. The drama featured a recognizable star (Iain De Caestecker) in its lead role, and its setting felt more like Westeros than Camelot, teeming with Game of Thrones-style political intrigue, violence, and an unfortunate amount of sexual menace.

(Your mileage may vary on whether you think that makes a good drama, but it's undoubtedly what's currently popular.)