FEUD: Charles and Diana Scrapped by FX

FEUD: Charles and Diana no longer in development at FX

In a surprising development, The Hollywood Reporter announced today that FX has scrapped its plans for the Ryan Murphy-produced FEUD: Charles and Diana, the anticipated follow up to the critically acclaimed FEUD: Bette and Joan.

“As far as I know, it’s not active right now,” FX CEO John Landgraf explained to THR.

FEUD: Charles and Diana was originally picked up by FX in February 2017, and even cast, with Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) rumored to lead, but ultimately a lack of solid material ground the production to a halt.

“We did [have it cast] but we decided we didn’t feel we had the material right and decided not to move forward with it,” Landgraf told THR.

Murphy, who was set to return as showrunner on FEUD: Charles and Diana with an expected 10-episode run that would debut this year, spoke about the follow up season in April 2017.

“Having a show called Feud is interesting because … feuds are about pain,” Murphy said in April 2017. “So, Charles and Diana’s story literally begins with the filing of the divorce papers. And it’s about that pain, the dissolving of a fairy tale, particularly for Diana. It starts with the filing of divorce papers and takes you up until her death.”

Despite the setback, Landalf is confident a second season to FEUD will happen, though Murphy is currently working on season eight of American Horror Story and has two additional series in the works at Netflix.

Ryan Murphy is the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning writer, producer and director who pioneered the modern anthological limited series with award-winning hit American Horror Story, which has been ordered for a tenth season. American Crime Story, his most recent anthology franchise, debuted in February of 2016 and its first installment, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, won the Emmy and Golden Globe award for best limited series and it was the highest-rated show in FX history. Previously, Murphy co-created of the award-winning hit musical comedy series Glee (FOX) and created the award-winning hit drama Nip/Tuck (FX).

Jon Robin Baitz is currently a consulting producer on Katrina: American Crime Story for FX. Previously he created Brothers & Sisters (ABC), was an executive producer on the miniseries The Slap (NBC), the Humanitas Prize winning Three Hotels(PBS), as well as episodes of The West Wing (NBC) and Alias (ABC).

FEUD: Bette and Joan, the eight episode first installment of the FEUD franchise, first premiered March 5, 2017 on FX. It tells the story of the legendary rivalry between Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) during their collaboration on the Academy Award-nominated thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and well after the cameras stopped rolling. The series explores how the two women endured ageism, sexism, and misogyny while struggling to hang on to success and fame in the twilight of their careers.

In addition to Academy Award winners Lange and Sarandon, the cast includes Alfred Molina as the film’s director Robert Aldrich, Stanley Tucci as studio titan Jack Warner, Judy Davis as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Jackie Hoffman as Crawford’s housekeeper Mamacita, and Alison Wright as Aldrich’s assistant Pauline. Notable guest stars include Dominic Burgess as Crawford and Davis’ co-star Victor Buono, Catherine Zeta-Jones as film star Olivia de Havilland, Sarah Paulson as Geraldine Page, Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell and Kiernan Shipka as B.D., Bette Davis’ daughter.

The show was a critical hit, and was nominated for 10 Emmys, though it failed to pick up any wins.

FEUD: Bette and Joanis created by Ryan Murphy and Jaffe Cohen & Michael Zam. Ryan Murphy serves as Executive Producer along with Executive Producers Dede Gardner and Plan B Entertainment, Tim Minear and Alexis Martin Woodall. The series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)