ITV has confirmed the sad news that Maternal has been cancelled after one season. The show's screenwriter, Jacqui Honess-Martin, shared the news in a tweet to fans which read: "#Maternal We had a lot more to say. The show needed a high number of viewers for @ITV to sell advertising to break even.
"Maternal didn’t get that number. It hurts that it ends here but I am incredibly proud of the show, grateful and a bit amazed that we got to do it at all."
Replying to her post, one person wrote: "This makes me so sad!! #Maternal had the best dialogue and portrayed female doctors brilliantly ‘Have you ever attended an assertiveness course?’ ‘What makes you think I’m not assertive? Is there a course for arrogant pricks who can’t take instructions from a woman?’"
Another fan added: "As a working Mum this quote grabbed my heart, the most authentic portrayal of the challenges Mothers returning to work face that I have ever seen. Such a shame." A third person added: "This was a brilliant, moving and I think important show. Amazing depiction of women medics’ lived experience, so good it gave me shivers Suppressed - as we also know through our lived experience."
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Fans also pointed out that the show struggled with its timeslot, which clashed with BBC's Silent Witness, a popular staple for the network.
The show starred Parminder Nagra, who opened up about landing the role through her friend and fellow co-star, Lara Pulver. She said: "Lara Pulver and I are best mates and neighbours in LA. During the pandemic we've been doing a lot of our audition tapes together. So when she auditioned to play Catherine in Maternal, I read the opposite parts.
"The following day, I got an email asking me to audition as Maryam. So we took our whole kit and caboodle to Liverpool for filming like a little family. To get a chance to work alongside Lara, who I love and respect, is just fantastic."
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