It's impossible to overstate just how important director Ridley Scott, who was an executive producer on Scott's best movies have had a profound impact on the film industry as a whole. Blade Runner, in particular, is a cultural milestone. Scott's take on Philip K. Dick's seminal novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is a masterpiece and one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Few movies in Ridley Scott's filmography can stand toe-to-toe with Blade Runner, and science fiction cinema in general owe a lot to the massive influence the 1982 film had on the genre overall. Still, there is one often-forgotten project that Scott worked on that initially premiered in 2020, Raised by Wolves. In fact, Raised by Wolves is, in a lot of ways, just as great as Blade Runner despite not being a well-known series.
Raised By Wolves Was An Ambitious HBO Max Show From Ridley Scott
The Series Was Dense And Thematically Rich Science Fiction Television
Premiering on HBO Max on September 3, 2020, Raised by Wolves was an ambitious science fiction epic that had Ridley Scott in the director's chair for the first two episodes, with him also serving as an executive producer throughout the show's two-season run. The series follows two androids named Father and Mother who are tasked with raising human children on another planet after Earth is destroyed in a war. From the very beginning, it is clear that Raised by Wolves aimed high in both its story and its production, making it actually pretty great.
Raised by Wolves was one of HBO Max's first original shows.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of Raised by Wolves was how it was thematically in line with what Ridley Scott was trying to do with Prometheus before he had to pivot the story for Alien: Covenant. As a result, Raised by Wolves could be dense to get into right away, as the themes of religion and artificial intelligence take center stage. For those who stuck with it, Raised by Wolves proved to be incredibly ambitious during its run.
Why HBO Max Canceled Raised By Wolves After Two Seasons
It Was Reportedly A Casualty Of The Discovery & WarnerMedia Merger
While Raised by Wolves was a relative success critically and solidly found its footing throughout its second season, it was still cancelled early, ing a long list of TV shows in the streaming era that ended before they could really get going. Given the ambitious nature of the show, and the science fiction focus with liberal use of CGI, Raised by Wolves was definitely an expensive series for HBO Max to continue to produce. With a large budget, the series really needed to have strong viewership to justify more seasons.
Given the ambitious nature of the show, and the science fiction focus with liberal use of CGI, Raised by Wolves was definitely an expensive series for HBO Max to continue to produce.
Unfortunately, the viewership HBO Max wanted just wasn't there, and the 2022 merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia was reportedly a big reason behind Raised by Wolves getting canceled, according to Father actor Abubakar Salim. Because of its abrupt cancellation, Raised by Wolves was never given the opportunity to have a satisfying ending, with the second season leaving off on a pretty significant cliffhanger. Though it isn't ideal, Raised by Wolves is still an incredible piece of science fiction television.
Raised By Wolves' Premature Cancellation Mirrored Blade Runner's Initial Reception
Blade Runner Stumbled At The Box Office And With Critics
Ridley Scott is no stranger to his projects being met with lukewarm reception either critically or commercially, as Blade Runner itself was a box office failure that initially failed to click with critics when it was first released in 1982. Of course, Blade Runner is now considered a science fiction masterpiece, but that wasn't always the case. The film was afforded the ability to gain a cult following over the years, something that Raised by Wolves didn't get the chance to do.
Ridley Scott Was So Offended By A 4-Page Review Of Blade Runner That He Framed It: “I Haven’t Read Critiques Ever Since”
Ridley Scott explains why he framed an offensive review of Blade Runner, along with how the review went on to shape his filmmaking career.
Raised by Wolves stumbling out of the gate mirrors Blade Runner in a lot of ways, but given the nature of television vs. film, the show never had the chance to age gracefully into something that could build a sizable audience after it failed to take off. The streaming era in general has had this problem, as essentially every major streaming service has prematurely cancelled TV shows that didn't immediately gain a huge following. It's unlikely that Raised by Wolves will achieve the same cultural success as Blade Runner, which is a shame considering how great it actually is.
Raised by Wolves
- Release Date
- 2020 - 2021
- Network
- HBO Max
- Showrunner
- Aaron Guzikowski
- Directors
- Ridley Scott
- Writers
- Aaron Guzikowski
Cast
Abubakar Salim
- Seasons
- 2
- Story By
- aaron guzikowski
- Streaming Service(s)
- MAX
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