Lovecraft Country creator Misha Green offered a glimpse of what a second season of the HBO horror series would have looked like if  the network had not cancelled the show. 

Green took to Twitter to thank viewers for tuning into the series, and also provided a snapshot of the direction a sophomore season of the Golden Globe-nominated series would have moved. HBO late last week pulled the plug on the series, which aired in summer 2021 and starred Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Courtney B. Vance. 

"We will not be moving forward with a second season of Lovecraft Country," HBO said in a statement. "We are grateful for the dedication and artistry of the gifted cast and crew, and to Misha Green, who crafted this groundbreaking series. And to the fans, thank you for joining us on this journey."

In the Tweet, Green says the synopsis for the series’ sophomore season “begins in a new world, and that new world is a country that sits precisely where the United States used to sit … welcome to the sovereign states of America …

Read Also: Programming Review: Lovecraft Country

The series is based on Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel and follows Atticus Freeman (Majors) as he journeys with his childhood friend Letitia (Smollett) and his uncle George (Vance) on a road trip from Chicago across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams).

It’s unclear if Lovecraft Country, distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution, would be pitched to another network.

Get complete coverage of the 2016 TCA Summer Tour.

Beverly Hills, Calif.—Eight panelists affiliated with shows on El Rey, Starz, TV One and WGN America tore into the multifaceted issues of TV diversity during a vibrant, insight-packed panel at the TCA summer press tour.

El Rey founder and chairman Robert Rodriguez delivered a brief introduction to the session. “Cable has made great strides,” he said. “There’s never been a more important time to build cultural understanding of people and working together.”

Panelists spent ample time talking about the positives — more shows with diverse casts on air, multiplying outlets, more people of color involved behind the scenes — but also brought to light the ongoing struggle to reflect America in full.

“The way the system is set up, in order to get a job or be able to vote on awards, it’s all just old practices that don’t suit us at all,” said Victoria Mahoney, a director with credits on feature films as well as TV series like Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse and OWN’s Queen Sugar.

“The old guard’s got to let go of their grip a little bit because that’s not the way the world looks,” said Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who stars on WGN America’s Underground. “Storytellers have a right to express what’s inside of them … and consumers and viewers have a right to see themselves.”

Mahoney noted that she is among the 4% of overall directors who are women of color, according to recent guild surveys. “I’ve never been in the bottom 4% of anything in my life,” she quipped.

D’Angela Proctor, senior vice president of original programming and production for TV One, said the executive suite is another area with a lot of room for improvement.

“We have to be at the table at every single level” for truly inclusive programming to permeate the TV business, she said.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

RELATED:Bringing ‘Underground’ to the Surface: A Q&A With John Legend | MCN Original Video: Content Spotlight on 'Underground'

WGN America shines a light on the Northern escape of slaves from the South in its new original series Underground.

The series, created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, stars Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton) as Noah, a field slave who has tried to escape his slaveowners several times, only to be caught and beaten for his transgressions. Yet his thirst for freedom is never quenched, so – armed with a map outlining the road to the North -- he plans another attempt at escape, but this time he tries to bring in others to join him on his journey.

Meanwhile inside the house serving the plantation owning family is Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), who along with her mother Ernestine (Amirah Vann), lives a more comfortable existence than the slaves in the field, yet slaves they remain.

A chance encounter in which Rosalee is ordered to tend to Noah’s wounds from a violent lashing due to his last escape attempt sets the stage for an eventual joining of the two as they both look for the freedom that exists for themselves and other slaves outside of Georgia.

Noah’s plan is not without fear or consequences, and the series’ initial episodes brilliantly capture the grit and passion of the slaves’ desire to be free and the perils they face in obtaining their goal. The action within the plot will have viewers on the edge as executive producer John Legend cleverly weaves both contemporary and period music to gin up the often thrilling scenes incumbent to the planning of the slaves’ ultimate escape. The opening scene in particular sets the tone for the series as a slave runner is pursued through the woods to the beat of Kanye West’s "Black Skinhead."

Underground also benefits from a strong supporting cast, which includes Noah’s partners Moses (Mykelti Williamson), Sam (Johnny Ray Gill) Henry (Renwick Scott) and Zeke (Theodus Crane), as well as his nemesis Cato (Alano Miller). Outside the plantation, farmer August Pullman (Christopher Meloni), abolitionist lawyer John Hawkes (Marc Blucas) and his wife Elizabeth (Jessica De Gouw) contribute a different, nuanced perspective to the main slave escape plot.

While the series’ title is based on the real-life Underground Railroad that allowed slaves to escape the southern states through an intricate network of trails, much of the series’ early action takes place on the plantation. Undoubtedly future episodes will further weave that historical element into what is a very entertaining series that will have viewers anxiously awaiting the next weekly episode.