Unforgiven Series 2 – Creator Laments ‘Sad’ Decision To Axe ITV Drama

Sally Wainwright still hasn’t forgiven ITV for cancelling her hit 2009 drama Unforgiven after one season.

Speaking to RadioTimes, Wainwright expressed sadness and frustration at not getting the chance to continue Unforgiven into Series 2, despite the ‘massive success’ of the show’s first run:

“I never plan to write one series of anything. You only write one series if it’s not successful, and you don’t get recommissioned – this is telly, not film. You love your characters and you want to spend more time with them. I wanted to do a second series of Unforgiven, I wanted to follow what Ruth did next, and ITV said no even though it was massively successful. I still think that was a sad decision.

She continued:

There’s a thing at the moment that doing a second series is risky, but I think that’s rubbish. A second series of a successful show is often even better than the first series. There’s a confidence and assuredness with a second series from everyone involved. It’s when shows get into fifth, sixth, seventh series that the rot tends to set in.”