Kurt Sutter And FX Axe ‘The Bastard Executioner’

Kurt Sutter’sThe Bastard Executionerhas, itself, hit the chopping block. The medieval drama has officially been canceled, after wrapping up its first (and now only) season earlier this month.The Bastard Executionerwasn’t earning much in the way of ratings or critical buzz, so the news doesn’t come as a total shocker. What is surprising is the way Sutter announced its cancelation — via a full-page ad inThe Hollywood Reporter. See theBastard Executionerad, and read additional comments by Sutter, after the jump.

Sutter bought a full-page ad inThe Hollywood Reporter, because apparently full-page ads inThe Hollywood Reporterare justhow people in Hollywood communicate nowadays. You can check it out below via hisInstagram.

Bastard Executioner canceled

CancelingThe Bastard Executionerwas a joint decision made by Sutter and FX Networks CEOJohn Landgraf, but theTHRad was Sutter’s idea. In an accompanying interview with the publication, Sutter revealed why. “I decided to post the ad just because I love this cast and crew so much,” he said. “So this was about letting folks know what a great experience I had, and how proud I was of them.” (Sutter did notify the cast and crew about the cancelation ahead of time via email.)

Sutter’s previous showSons of Anarchywas a huge hit for FX, gaining more followers every season to become the top-rated drama in the network’s history.The Bastard Executionerhas been, to put it mildly, less successful. It steadily lost viewers over the course of its first season, ending with less than half the numbers it premiered with. Sutter has some thoughts on what went wrong:

I think the mythology was a little too dense for some people. There’s a glut of period pieces on right now, and I’m sure timing has something to do it. There’s just so many f—ing variables involved in that formula. My sense is that a year from now, people will be like, “Why didn’t you make more?” (Laughs.) I mean, I get so many people telling me they’re on episode four ofSons.

While some artists profess not to care about ratings, Sutter admits he’s not one of them.

I’m not the guy sitting in my ivory tower spitting shit out not caring if anyone is watching. I like an audience. I don’t want to write something that nobody’s f—ing watching. And yes, some of that is ego. But some of it is just, [if no one’s watching] then I’m not necessarily doing my job.

But Kurt Sutter fans needn’t mourn too long. He’s already looking ahead to his next steps, including aSons of Anarchyspinoff about the Mayans, which he says he’ll only produce and not write. There’s also his long-gestating film scriptDelivering Gen, which Sutter is trying to revive. And maybe most exciting of all, he already has a rough draft for another new TV show. Details are still under wraps, but Sutter teases that it’ll be “contemporary,” with “no horses involved.”