Fans Campaign for ‘The Acolyte’s Renewal Ahead of the Season 1 Finale

Disney+’s Star Wars: The Acolyte is quickly approaching its end, leaving fans anxious to know if it will return for a second season.

The new Star Wars series takes place during the High Republic and follows twin sisters Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg), who develop a complicated relationship with the Sith and Jedi. As the season finale approaches, there are still many questions that remain unanswered. While showrunner Leslye Headland has promised a satisfying conclusion, the show has demonstrated how much potential the High Republic setting holds to truly examine the Jedi Order and its morals. On top of that, The Acolyte’s introduction of a new coven of witches with never-before-seen powers and a powerful Sith lord (Manny Jacinto) also likely warrants more exploration.

Ahead of the season finale, fans have already begun campaigning for another season. They have successfully gotten #RenewTheAcolyte trending, even managing to drown out the constant whining from trolls with their campaign. Will Disney heed their calls, though?

Is The Acolyte renewed for season 2?

Unfortunately, The Acolyte has not yet been renewed for a second season. However, a renewal is still possible. While Headland promised to give season 1 a satisfactory conclusion due to the uncertainty of season 2, she confirmed that she was interested in continuing the story. Although she didn’t have an answer about the show’s renewal, she mentioned that conversations were already happening about it.

Since The Acolyte has room to expand and the crew and fandom are interested in season 2, the renewal will likely come down to viewership. Usually, viewership and reception are taken into account. Given that trolls have been relentlessly review-bombing the show, though, viewership will paint a more accurate picture of the show’s success. Viewership is hard to gauge since streamers like Disney+ don’t usually release hard numbers. However, a third-party analytics firm Reelgood recently told Screen Rant that The Acolyte was the second highest-performing original Star Wars show in terms of streaming and engagement. It also outperformed an estimated 90% of the top 100 streaming shows.

While it’s reported that The Acolyte’s premiere fell 3 million views short of Ahsoka’s debut, the former still marks Disney+’s biggest TV show debut of the year. Hence, despite trolls desperately trying to skew the show’s performance, it’s quite clear from viewership reports and critic reviews that The Acolyte is a hit. While many factors are elevating the show’s chances of renewal, it remains to be seen if the viewership is enough to make up for the show’s budget. Disney is known for its inflated budgets on shows and movies, and The Acolyte is no exception, with a whopping $180 million budget for just eight episodes. As a result, the streamer may need more time to gauge its viewership before it provides fans with a season 2 update.