Long Live ‘Queens!’ ABC Cancels Rap Drama Starring Brandy, Eve, And Naturi Naughton After 1st Season

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It’s so hard to say goodbye!

ABC's "Queens" - Season One

Source: Wilford Harewood / Getty

There can never be too many shows about a group of badass, talented Black and Latinx women living their best lives, but sadly there will be one less this fall. Deadline reports that ABC’s new musical series Queens is canceled after only one season. The 1-hour drama starred Brandy, Naturi Naughton, Eve and Nadine Velazquez as 40-something former rappers. The series follows them as they work through decades of personal struggles and industry beef to reunite their multi-platinum ’90s girl group, the Nasty B**ches.

What seemed to be a recipe for guaranteed success on the level of Empire surprisingly had trouble finding an audience. Even with lots of juicy drama, exciting performances of hot original songs, and appearances from stars like Remy Ma, Jadakiss, and Cam’ron, the series struggled to compete in its time slot on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. The show also seemed to lose momentum mid-season after Eve took a break from the show for her pregnancy.

While the show teased Eve’s potential return, it continued to deliver fresh stories ripped from the headlines about predatory conservatorships, reproductive rights, and confronting sexual abuse in the music industry. After the season 1 finale in February, Brandy discussed her hopes for Queen’s next chapter.

“I know I would love to see more performances, more rapping, and more stage stuff if there is a Season 2. We didn’t really get a chance to do a lot of the stage performances that I wanted to do this year,” she said. “I hope we get to tell more great stories and have a lot more entertainment in terms of the group. Fingers crossed.”

Queens creator, executive producer, and writer Zahir McGhee responded to the sad news on Twitter.

“While the news is disheartening because of the tremendous work hundreds of people put into the show, I’m grateful for what was an incredible journey with so many talented people. I’m proud of the stories we told, the incredible music we made and what our show looked like in front of and behind the camera. To Eve, Brandy, Naturi, Nadine, Taylor (Selé) and Pepi (Sonuga) – thank you,” McGhee wrote.

“I could never have imagined I’d get to work alongside so many current and future legends. Dreamy stuff. Endless gratitude to my partners at ABC for supporting the show until the end. Lastly, MAJOR love to the Queens fans. You are the absolute best and I’m bummed that we don’t get to spend more Tuesday nights together. Hoever, the show lives on forever. The music lives forever. In short, #QueensForever.”

The cancelation is disappointing for such a promising premise, all-star cast and talented crew of creators. Heartbroken fans are keeping hope alive that another network or streamer will give Queens the second life it deserves. Until another platform steps up to continue the story, at least we’ll always have those incredible songs and performances to remember the show by. Check out one of the show’s epic battles between Naomi (Brandy) and Brianna (Eve).

Long live Queens! What was your favorite moment from the show?

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