The Gathering from Line of Duty producer World Productions has been axed by Channel 4 after one season.
Helen Walsh’s series about a violent attack on a teenage girl during a rave has frequently been touted by Channel 4 execs as a major streaming success for the network. Exec Simon Health told The Sun it “performed very well for Channel 4 but there are new people in charge and new priorities.”
Starring Boiling Point’s Vinette Robinson and young up-and-comers Eva Morgan and Sadie Soverall, the show centered on a violent attack on a teenage girl in a tidal islet. Set on Merseyside and interrogating the ways in which today’s parents impose their agendas, the drama focused on a group of teens from disparate backgrounds, each of whom could have committed the crime, along with their parents – who gave equal cause for suspicion.
The Gathering was Line of Duty maker World’s first show for Channel 4 since 2017’s Born to Kill. A number of Channel 4 press briefings positioned The Gathering as a big streaming success. It was also sold by distributor ITV Studios to France Télévisions and swept up at the Monte Carlo Television Festival Awards.
Channel 4 TV drama was recently taken over by Film4 boss Ollie Madden, with Caroline Hollick exiting. Madden’s early commissions have included a Margaret Thatcher series starring Harriet Walter and Steve Coogan, and an adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses with Gillian Anderson.
The Sun was first news of The Gathering’s cancelation.