It’s one and done for Syfy’s ‘Vagrant Queen’ based on Magdalene Visaggio and Jason Smith’s Vault Comics series. After the show debuted in March, the show failed to find an audience, first in the Friday night 10pm EST time slot, and then in the Thursday night 11pm EST slot. (Ratings improved slightly after the move.) ‘Vagrant Queen’ ranked dead last in ratings for Syfy and accounted for the network’s lowest ratings since 2019. The series was a co-production with Blue Ice Pictures, who shouldered most of the financial burden. (This agreement is similar to the one Syfy has with IDW Productions for ‘Wynonna Earp’.) Jem Garrard served as showrunner.
‘Vagrant Queen’ starred Adriyan Rae as Elida Al-Feyr, an orphaned former child queen, who now lives as a scavenger in the seediest corners of the galaxy. When her old friend Isaac (Tim Rozon) shows up, claiming that Elida’s mother is still alive, they, along with new comrade Amae (Alex McGregor) embark on a rescue mission, while attempting to stay one step ahead of lifelong enemy Commander Lazaro (Paul du Toit).
Despite the poor ratings, ‘Vagrant Queen’ earned strong positive reviews (100% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 80% Audience Score). ‘Vagrant Queen’ boasted a writings staff made up entirely of women, and was praised for its diversity, including the fact that the show’s lead, Rae, is a black woman, and Amae is a lesbian, with a potential romance between the two teased. Polygon called it a mix of ‘Firefly’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, with the low-budget spunk of ‘Doctor Who’. But maybe people felt that this made the show too derivative?
However, it’s also entirely possible that viewers avoided ‘Vagrant Queen’ because they didn’t want to invest in another Syfy series only for it to get canned just as they became attached to it. In recent years, Syfy’s slate of original programming has dwindled as the network has axed most of its scripted lineup. Currently, Syfy only has two ongoing, scripted, live-action series– ‘Wynonna Earp’ and ‘Van Helsing’ (and ‘Van Helsing’ is ending after its upcoming fifth season). A new series, ‘Resident Alien’ is expected sometime later this year.
Did you watch ‘Vagrant Queen’? Are you upset that there won’t be any further adventures?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
