Krysten Ritter’sOrphan Blackspin-off series has been canceled by AMC after just one season.Orphan Black: Echoeswas expected to draw strong audience numbers based on thesuccess of the original 2013 series starring Tatiana Maslany. However, the 10-episode season drew mixed reviews, and it seems that it didn’t perform well enough to be given a second bite of the cherry, according toDeadline.
Orphan Blackran for five seasons between 2013 and 2017.As well as scoring strong viewership, and awards success for Maslany, who finally won an Emmy at the third time of asking in 2016, the series also holds an impressive 93% Tomatometer score and 92% Popcornmeter approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes.Orphan Black: Echoes, however, did not manage to maintain a similar level of praise, only just clinging to a “fresh” score of 60% from critics and a lowly 47% score from audiences.
The series picks up the story fromOrphan Blackwith a time jump of 37 years.While Maslany does not appear in the show,her on-screen daughter from the original series, Kira Manning, does play a pivotal role. With Keeley Hawes stepping into the role (replacing Skyler Wexler as the adult version of the character), she and her wife attempt to help the ever-popular Krysten Ritter’s Lucy regain her memories.
Orphan Black: Echoes
Set in the near future, Orphan Black: Echoes takes a deep dive into the exploration of the scientific manipulation of human existence. It follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unraveling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal. Ritter plays Lucy, a woman with an unimaginable origin story, trying to find her place in the world. The series also stars Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, It’s A Sin, Line of Duty), Amanda Fix (North of Normal, High School), Avan Jogia (Now Apocalypse, Zombieland: Double Tap), Rya Kihlstedt (A Teacher, One Mississippi) and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry, The Dropout).
While many reviews praisedOrphan Black: Echoesfor doing enough to ensure it wasn’t just a clone of the original series, a common complaint was thatthe spin-off couldn’t match the level of intrigue and mystery delivered by its predecessor.It seems that perhaps trying to follow the highly regarded original series was perhaps a task that could only ever have one outcome.
Krysten Ritter Wanted to Emulate Tatiana Maslany’s Orphan Black Performance
WhenOrphan Black: Echoeswas released, Ritter spoke about her reasons for joining the spin-off series, and how she had been completely inspired by Maslany’s “epic” performance in the original series. She toldComicBook:
“I watched the show when it was out ten years ago, because of Tatiana Maslany and her performance and how epic she was. She was always nominated, and so I was aware of it then.”
“I think it was an exciting opportunity for me, as an actress, to play a character who doesn’t feel the way she’s supposed to feel, doesn’t have the memories that she’s supposed to have. It really is a big study of identity, and nature versus nurture, and love, and ‘How deep does that go?’ and ‘How does that play out?’ All of that stuff was what was so appealing to me, when the role came my way.”
Orphan Black: Echoes' Krysten Ritter Credits Jessica Jones Role For Her Performance in the New Spinoff
Krysten Ritter taps into her Jessica Jones experience to fuel her performance in the new series, Orphan Black: Echoes.
Even thoughRitter did not attempt to copy Maslany’s performance, making her character stand out from Sarah Manning, unfortunately, being lumbered with a storyline that just didn’t manage to come close to what had come before. Now,Orphan Black: Echoeshas joined the growing list of shows that have joined the scrapheap of one-season wonders.
Orphan Black: Echoescan be streamed on AMC+.
