Copper Cancelled by BBC America After Two Seasons

Variety is reporting that BBC America period drama Copper has been cancelled ahead of its September 22nd season finale. The series, the first scripted original in network history, was down in the ratings this season from its number a year ago and failed to capture the type of buzz and media coverage necessary for any growth to take place. Additionally, the season is said to conclude in a manner that proves to be a good stopping point in the story, something that likely influenced the decision to not move forward with the series.

Copper suffered from airing on an increasingly crowded Sunday night and concluding its season during a time when the focus is primarily on the upcoming fall offerings. Certainly not helping the show’s case was following in the footsteps of Orphan Black, the Tatiana Maslany-fronted genre series that received rave critical reviews and word-of-mouth unlike any other BBC America series.

Created by Tom Fontana (Oz), Copper starred Tom Weston-Jones (World Without End) as Kevin Corcoran, an Irish immigrant working as a cop in New York’s rough Five Points neighborhood while trying to learn the truth about what happened to his wife and daughter. The series also starred the likes of Kyle Schmid (A History of Violence) as Robert Morehouse, son of a wealthy industrialist; Ato Essandoh (Django Unchained) as physician Matthew Freeman; Anastasia Griffith (Alfie) as high society woman Elizabeth Haverford; and Franka Potente (American Horror Story) as Madam Eva Heissen. Alfre Woodard (True Blood) and Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy) joined the show for its second season as Matthew’s mother-in-law and a Civil War Brigadier General, respectively.

The series finale of Copper airs Sunday, September 29th at 10:00 on BBC America.

Are you disappointed with the cancellation of Copper? Do you think the show could have gone on following Lincoln’s death? Should cable networks announce cancellations before seasons have completed or should they wait until every episode has aired?