Leslye Headland, Harvey Weinstein’s former personal assistant and the creator of Disney’s The Acolyte, has suddenly exited her latest Netflix project, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
While she appears to insist the decision was hers, the timing is undeniably suspicious, coming just days after The Acolyte’s true viewership numbers were revealed—numbers that placed the series far below its hyped-up status.
(L-R): Amandla Stenberg , set PA Taylor Young, director Leslye Headland and director of photography Chris Teague on the set of Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©.
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This has led many to speculate whether Headland truly stepped away of her own accord or if Netflix quietly removed her after seeing the disastrous performance of her Disney+ series.
Netflix’s adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel was supposed to be another high-profile project for Headland, who previously helmed Russian Doll. However, in an unexpected announcement, she confirmed her departure, stating, “I am no longer working on that project. I remain a huge, huge fan of the book and of the people working on it. It’s one of those things where you know it’s going to be a huge success.”
While she presented this (and the media took it) as a voluntary decision, her words left room for interpretation.
“I thought, ‘Damn it. It’s not going to work out with me involved in it, but it is going to be wildly successful,’” she explained.
Leslye Headland attends the UK Premiere of Lucasfilm’s ‘The Acolyte‘ at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, on May 28, 2024. (Photo by StillMoving.Net for Disney)
Given the recent collapse of The Acolyte—which was not only panned by fans but failed to reach anywhere near the top of streaming charts—many are questioning whether Netflix saw the writing on the wall and decided to pivot away from any Leslye Headland involvement.
The Acolyte’s Catastrophic Failure by the Numbers
Despite an aggressive marketing campaign and significant media backing, The Acolyte suffered a stunning decline in viewership over its run. According to Luminate’s 2024 Film and TV report, The Acolyte accumulated 2.7 billion minutes watched. At first glance, that may sound substantial, but context is everything.
For comparison, this number wasn’t even close to the Top 10 streaming originals of the year.
A graph showing the Top 10 Streaming originals in 2024 – Luminate
The lowest-ranked show on that list, Netflix’s Love Is Blind, amassed 7.3 billion minutes viewed, nearly three times the total viewership of The Acolyte. Even more embarrassing, Netflix dominated the rankings with seven of the top ten spots, while Amazon Prime and Paramount+ took the remaining positions.
Disney+ was completely absent from the list, a brutal indicator of its dwindling relevance in the streaming wars.
However, the real disaster for The Acolyte comes from its episode-by-episode decline.
The episode by episode breakdown of The Acolyte – Luminate
The show started with its highest numbers upon release, but viewership consistently dropped with each passing episode, seeing a slight spike in episodes six and seven that never reached the heights of the premiere.
By the time the show reached its finale, its numbers had plummeted to their lowest point of the entire series.
A typical show, especially one attached to a major franchise like Star Wars, expects an increase in viewers for the final episode as anticipation peaks. Instead, The Acolyte saw its lowest engagement for its conclusion, a clear indication that audiences had abandoned it before it even reached the finish line.
The Acolyte’s Failure Spells Trouble for Headland
Even within the Disney+ ecosystem, The Acolyte struggled. It was handily beaten by Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a series that had only been partially counted in Luminate’s 2024 data yet still outperformed Headland’s Star Wars entry. To make matters worse, the show failed to recover from audience backlash over its lack of cohesion with Star Wars lore and its underwhelming storytelling.
The top streaming originals on Disney+ for 2024 – Luminate
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With these numbers now public, Netflix may have reconsidered its relationship with Leslye Headland, realizing that her name does not carry the creative or commercial weight once assumed.
Headland’s comments on leaving Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo suggest that she believes in the project but doesn’t see herself as a fit. However, given that The Acolyte was widely regarded as a failure and that Headland’s involvement in major projects had been largely enabled by Hollywood’s internal networking, it’s reasonable to wonder whether Netflix proactively removed her to avoid another potential misfire.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: (L-R) Leslye Headland and Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm attend the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
This isn’t the first time Netflix has faced backlash for its creative choices, and after seeing how The Acolyte failed to resonate with audiences, the streaming giant may have decided to part ways before production moved forward. If so, it would be a calculated decision to ensure Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo—which already has a built-in audience thanks to the book’s popularity—remains a success without the baggage of a showrunner whose last project was a cultural and commercial disappointment.
Regardless of the official reasoning, Headland’s departure marks another blow to her career following The Acolyte’s underwhelming performance. Whether this signals the beginning of Hollywood distancing itself from her remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: her ability to headline major projects is now in serious question.
Do you think Leslye Headland left Netflix voluntarily, or was she fired? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
I think she left voluntarily, but mostly because she saw the writing on the wall and knew she would be in deep trouble with the investors. So she took the easy way out; just left before anyone could go for her. So now, she can say it was her decision and her investors and bosses cannot say anything “bad” except she made a sh*tty show.
In short; it looks better to have “resignation” instead “fired out” in curriculum vitae.
Depends. If I’m an employer and someone gets fired, I want to know why, and may decide it’s not their fault. If I’m an employer and someone quits, I’ll have a harder time trusting them to stay in the company.
Yeah, I’m not familiar with labour law in US, EU is my turf, but as someone somewhat involved in hiring process from time to time, I can tell you that’s now how this works.
If you’re checking someone’s references, you can call their previous employer, but they will never, under no circumstances disclose their work conduct. This is SOP to avoid lawsuits.
Seven? How many husbands does a woman need to have before men are warned to stay away?
That thing has not married any men, probably some feminist soyboy wanting to squeeze money, if she had a real Husband in her life the Acolyte wouldnt have been like that
“Damn it. It’s not going to work out with me involved in it”
She should have this engraved, framed and on the wall vis-a-vis her desk.
[…] Hugo. The original director, Leslye Headland, who made her bones as the showrunner of Russian Doll, announced her exit last month. She will be replaced by Maggie Betts, who will also co-write the script. The streaming landscape […]