Of course because Enlightened is about a woman who isn’t naked and fucking, no one watched it. The smarter the shows about women are, the shorter their lifespan. Even HBO is now guilty of it. Sex that shit up or pay the price.
Whatever the reason, the brilliantly written, directed and acted Enlightened has been pulled just as its audience was building. What is wrong with HBO? As the show wore on so did its word of mouth. It was never going to be the one people talked about at the water cooler the day after and it was never going to be the thrill that “girls doing things while fucking” shows are. But Enlightened was proof that someone (Mike White) felt it was worth investing in a segment of the population that is mostly ignored. Single women over 40. It was one step in a more interesting, and yes, “enlightened” direction. It might have, ever so slightly, changed the world.
The audience was building and would have been there for season 3. But they lost their nerve, HBO did. I think about all of the shit they play on their many different channels all day long and I just can’t believe they don’t have room for such a rare burst of genius. And so it goes.
