ITV Axes Gurinder Chadha’s Period Drama ‘Beecham House’

ITV will not be commissioning a second series of Bend It Like Beckham filmmaker Gurinder Chadha’s lavish period drama Beecham House.

The six-part series, produced by Chadha’s Bend IT TV, only managed to pull in an audience of 3.3M in a prestige Sunday night slot. It could not compete with other dramas in the same ITV slot, such as Victoria.

Beecham House will air on PBS in March next year. ITV said Chadha is still hoping to keep the drama going beyond series one through a deal with another international broadcaster.

The drama takes place on the cusp of 19th century in Delhi, following the fortunes of the residents of the titular mansion. It was written by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Shahrukh Husain and Victor Levin (Mad Men).

The ensemble cast includes Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey), Gregory Fitoussi (Mr. Selfridge, Spiral), Adil Ray (Citizen Khan), Pallavi Sharda (Lion), Dakota Blue Richards (Endeavour), Leo Suter (Victoria), Bessie Carter (Howard’s End), Viveik Kalra (Blinded By The Light) and Marc Warren (Safe).

An ITV spokeswoman said: “We have no plans for Beecham House to return, but the series is still to air in the U.S. from March 2020 and creator Gurinder Chadha is actively having conversations with international broadcasters with a view to the drama returning beyond series one.”

Chadha added: “We’re extremely proud of our landmark TV series Beecham House and our incredibly diverse team, both in front and behind the camera. The series has been loved by our audience and we were delighted that the overnight audience doubled on catch up and continues to grow. We are really excited for the upcoming US launch on PBS and can’t wait to see the series continue to air around the world.”