Turn Up Charlie season 1 landed on Netflix on March 15th, 2019 and now a year later, the show has been canceled according to sources but not yet officially confirmed by Netflix. Here’s what could’ve been and what we know about the cancelation.
Most characters played by Idris Elba have been serious roles so this is him deviating for what you’d usually expect and going into comedy. He’s openly admitted he was “out of his comfort zone” filming this series which looks at his musical influences (and features a rocking soundtrack).
Here’s the official synopsis of the show:
A down-and-out DJ plots to rebuild his music career while working as a nanny for his famous best friend’s wild 11-year-old daughter.
The involvement Idris had with the series expanded into the writing of the show. Speaking with Cinema-Magazin he said, “the story of Turn up Charlie is based on parenting.” He said most of the stories in the show are based on his stories as a dad.
The reason we bring up Idris’s involvement is that he’s a busy man. Right now he’s filming Cats with future roles including Deeper, Three Thousand Years of Longing and The Suicide Squad. That’s not including any future series of Luther (scheduled to leave Netflix soon by the way) or In the Long Run.
In November 2019, Idris Elba was also announced to be involved in an upcoming Netflix Original called The Harder They Fall due out in 2020 (although production is currently delayed due to COVID-19). We’ve also heard Idris Elba will also be featuring in an upcoming Boom Studios movie.
Turn Up Charlie Season 2 Renewal Status
Official Renewal Status: Canceled (last updated: 11/21/2019)
Netflix has still yet to give Turn Up Charlie a second season as of November 2019. We were initially expecting a decision on the future of the series over the summer but that never materialized.
In August 2019, Piper Perabo who plays the role of Sara in the show Tweeted emojis to signify that she was still hopeful Netflix would renew the series.
However, in April 2020, The Mirror reported that the series has been axed and won’t be returning for a second season. The source told The Mirror that “Netflix and Idris just didn’t see eye to eye on it.” adding “Idris had hoped to get a second season rolling and was even working on new ideas but he couldn’t get it to work.”
Just in terms of story, the series ended on a cliffhanger and ended rather abruptly too after episode 8. The biggest question remaining (spoilers) is whether Charlie will choose Astrid or Sara.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The show never really entered the zeitgeist and failed to attract a huge audience. The show was also universally panned by critics.
Do you want to see Turn Up Charlie return for season 2 on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.