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‘Divergent’ Series Will End With TV Movie — What Went Wrong?

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 01:44 PST, Jul 22, 2016

When Divergent opened big a couple of years ago, it was in the midst of a boom for YA films aimed at teenage girls. However, you can have too much of a good thing. Or a bad thing, as critics and audiences alike have put the Divergent series firmly in the latter category.

Following the critical success of the much beloved Harry Potter movies, certain studios decided it would be wise to split the last book their films were based on into two movies. While this worked for Harry Potter, which benefited from having a massive fan base and a lot of material to cover, other works have suffered. For instance, the decision to split the last Hunger Games movie backfired. The Guardian reports that Mockingjay Part 1 & 2 each fell short of expectations, with Mockingjay Part 2’s opening weekend hitting a franchise low.

Attempts to exploit the eagerness of audiences by dividing these YA movies in half seems to have done Lionsgate, the studio behind both Hunger Games and Divergent, hardly any favors. Making things worse, the decision to split Divergent catches the series ending at a time where the vast majority of moviegoers have no interest in seeing Ascendant in theaters.

The first half of the series’ final book came out as Allegiant, and as the Huffington Post sarcastically noted, hardly anyone bothered to see it in March.

“After The Divergent Series: Allegiant opened in March to a dismal $11.9 million and almost a universally negative critical response, Lionsgate is planning to hedge its bets and wrap up the saga on the small screen, ideally with the cast members Shailene Woodley and Theo James intact.”

In other words, rather than sweeping its final Divergent movie under the rug, Lionsgate somehow believes it can cut its losses by way of a TV movie. It’s a peculiar move as most failed franchises go the straight-to-DVD route. The studio is likely hoping the save face by airing the last movie on television — and hoping enough people tune in to prevent a complete disaster.

Even more baffling, there’s talk of using Ascendant to segway into a Divergent TV show. It’s likely a lost cause for a couple of reasons.

First, it’s usually the successful film franchises that earn a spinoff TV effort. Asking for a spot on the small screen because the series couldn’t hold its own on the big one is hardly an attractive selling point. It is possible that the CW would breathe new life into the franchise, and with Teen Wolf wrapping up, MTV might represent another option. Still, it’s very difficult to see a way forward for Divergent when it’s blatantly declined in pop culture relevancy.

Second, it makes no sense to start a TV show from the final movie onward because it assumes the TV audience is familiar with the Divergent movies beyond the first one. That would mean a reboot of the movies would be necessary, and it’s unlikely Lionsgate would be able to hold onto its main cast for such purposes. It’s already questionable who will return for a TV movie.

If Divergent ends up on TV, the most logical manner would be in the form of a reboot with an entirely new cast. It would give the opportunity for the series to rebuild its popularity from scratch and perhaps explore elements of the books that didn’t make it to the screen.

The overall lesson of this TV movie discussion is that perhaps it’s best not to split up YA finales as movie audiences are clearly no longer interested in taking the bait. This move was humiliatingly costly for Lionsgate, and we can only hope other studios are paying attention.

Do you think The Divergent Series: Ascendant should be made into a TV movie? Should Lionsgate quit while it’s ahead? Share your thoughts below!

[Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images]

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