'Versailles,' one of the most explicit TV shows finally canceled after viewers tire of the 'constant sex'
It has been announced that the third season of 'Versailles' - BBC's Franco-Canadian historical fiction television series set during the construction of the Palace of Versailles in the 1600s - will be its last. The show chronicles the reign of Louis XIV, who came to popularly be known as the Sun King and became known for its numerous, steamy sex scenes that often consisted of full-frontal nudity.
While the show was received with mixed critical ratings - it holds a Metacritic rating of 55 out of 100, based on six reviews and an 80 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.56 out of 10, based on 10 reviews - fans immediately took a liking to its admittedly explicit nature.
It emerged that a second season had been sanctioned for even before the premiere of the first. But according to a report by the Sun, it appears as though the very sexual content that attracted the viewers will be the cause of its eventual downfall.
Allegedly, the show was axed because of the abundance of this content, with users eventually growing tired of the 'constant sex scenes' and bailing on the show. The show has seen a considerable drop in ratings over the past few months and is reportedly pulling in just one million users, which is wholly inadequate for a series that has a budget of $24 million.
Talking about the cancelation, a source told the Sun: "At first, viewers were open to all the pornographic scenes but slowly the BBC saw Versailles ratings drop to just one million viewers - and it seems to have had the same effect in France too," adding: "They believe it will have run its course after the third series, which will see Louis XIV achieve absolute power, so they have decided there won’t be a series four."
The news was also confirmed by Fabrice de la Patelliere, who is the boss of Canal Plus Programming, the channel where it originally aired. He said that the show's third season would be its last and that making 'Versailles' was a 'wildly ambitious journey.'