‘His Dark Materials’ Final Season Was Delayed on Purpose
HBO has been a go-to destination for some of the most-talked-about TV series on the air for decades. With the fantasy genre thriving post-Game of Thrones, the network took on a chance on another ambitious project.
In November 2019, His Dark Materials debuted on the UK’s BBC One and HBO in the United States. But many fans wondered why the show’s final season was delayed. As it turns out, that delay was intentional.
‘His Dark Materials’ Season 3 marks the end of the HBO series
Based on the trilogy of novels by Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials follows an orphan named Lyra (Dafne Keen of Logan) as a search for a missing friend leads her to a larger plan afoot. The show adapts the complete story from Pullman’s book series, earning critical praise for its performances and visual effects.
His Dark Materials was the BBC’s most expensive TV show ever. The story was previously adapted into the 2007 film The Golden Compass, the North American title of the first novel (otherwise known as Northern Lights).
According to Box Office Mojo, the movie earned mixed reviews and a solid but disappointing box office total of $372 million. But it also received criticisms from fans for its many critical changes to the source material. On the other hand, His Dark Materials has earned praise for its adaptation of Pullman’s work.
Why ‘His Dark Materials’ Season 3 needed an extended hiatus
Following the conclusion of Season 2 in December 2022, fans were eager to see what His Dark Materials would have in store for its third season. But this final batch of episodes took a full two years to be released.
In a recent interview with the British Film Institute, executive producer Jane Tranter revealed the longer break was “planned, but [she] hadn’t planned it would feel quite as long as it was planned.”
“We needed the time to let Lyra (Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) grow up a bit, both onscreen and offscreen, in order to be able to tell the final part of season 3 with the maturity and complexity and everything that’s marvelous in it that it does,” Tranter told the BFI. “But it has felt like a very long time, I have to say. I think COVID does funny things with time. And all I can say is thank you for your patience.”
Has ‘His Dark Materials’ returned at the perfect time?
While time has undoubtedly been more relative in the pandemic era, the extended hiatus for His Dark Materials seems to have worked out overall. According to Rotten Tomatoes, season 3 has earned a 90% Fresh rating, putting it ahead of the previous two seasons.
“In perhaps its most stirring season, the final installment of His Dark Materials rewards its viewers with a heart-wrenching conclusion befitting this faithful adaptation,” the website’s consensus says.
As disappointing as it might be for fans to see the show comes its an end, the cast and crew of His Dark Materials deserve credit for allowing the story to reach a natural and definitive conclusion.
Of course, Pullman did write several more books tied to the trilogy. So there is potential for the BBC and HBO to launch a new story set in the same world. After all, it certainly seems to be working out for Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon so far.
