Showtime has reversed its Season 2 pickup decision for On Becoming a God in Central Florida, starring Kirsten Dunst. Originally renewed more than a year ago, in September 2019, filming on the series’ second season was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which halted all production in mid-March.

“Last year, Showtime renewed On Becoming A God In Central Florida but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we were unable to move forward with production on the new season,” the network said in a statement to Deadline. “The pandemic has continued to challenge schedules across the board, and although we have made every effort to reunite the cast and crew for a second season, that has become untenable. It is with great regret that we are acknowledging On Becoming a God will not return.”

“We extend our deepest thanks to star and executive producer Kirsten Dunst, creators Robert Funke and Matt Lusky, showrunner Esta Spalding and their fellow executive producers George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Charlie McDowell, the terrific cast and crew, and our partners at Sony Pictures Television.”

The series, from Sony’s TriStar Television, has become the latest casualty of the coronavirus-related production shutdown. Citing COVID-related circumstances, Netflix decided not to proceed with the previously ordered fourth and final season of GLOW and second seasons of The Society and I Am Not Okay With This. TruTV did the same with the previously greenlighted third season of comedy I’m Sorry. Factoring into those decisions have been the uncertainty around production dates, balancing the availability of actors and significant added costs due to COVID.

Created and executive produced by Funke and Lutsky and starring Dunst, On Becoming A God is a darkly comedic story about the cult of free enterprise and one woman’s relentless pursuit of the American Dream. The series, originally ordered by YouTube, co-starred Théodore Pellerin, Mel Rodriguez, Beth Ditto and Ted Levine. The cast has been paid for Season 2.

On Becoming A God In Central Florida follows Krystal Stubbs (Dunst), a minimum-wage water park employee who lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish, flag-waving, multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that drove her to ruin in the first place, run by the powerful Obie Garbeau II (Levine). Determined to make a better life for herself, Krystal dives deep into FAM and develops a tangled relationship with FAM’s most loyal and fanatical follower Cody (Pellerin), until her business begins to affect those closest to her, including Ernie (Rodriguez), her affable water park boss, and his FAM-skeptic wife Bets (Ditto).

Produced by Sony’s TriStar Television, the series was also executive produced by Smokehouse Pictures’ Clooney and Heslov, Spalding, who also served as showrunner, along with Dunst and McDowell.

Nellie Andreeva, Deadline

Well that sucks!

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you all have a great 2020.

To kick off the new decade we’ve got another nice photoshoot update. First up is a great promotional photoshoot for ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ by photographer Liz Von Hoene. I’ve also added a lovely photo of Kirsten (by photographer Andrea Kramar) taken when she was promoting the TV series in New York last August.

I’ve added 8 promotional stills for ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ to the gallery.

The nominations for the 2020 Golden Globe Awards & Critics’ Choice Awards were both announced today. I’m delighted to say that Kirsten has been nominated for both awards for her performance in ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’. Her Golden Globe nomination is in the ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy’ category & her Critics’ Choice nomination is in the ‘Best Actress in a Comedy Series’ category.

The 77th Golden Globe Awards will be held on Sunday January 5th next year & the 25th Critics’ Choice Awards will be held a week later on January 12th.

The final episode (of series one) of ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ airs on Showtime at 10.00 pm Eastern Time this evening. Don’t miss it!

The penultimate episode of ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ airs on Showtime at 10.00 pm Eastern Time this evening. Don’t miss it!

Episode 8 of ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ airs on Showtime at 10.00 pm Eastern Time this evening.

Episode 7 of ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ airs on Showtime at 10.00 pm Eastern Time this evening. Don’t miss it!

Showtime has renewed the Kirsten Dunst-led comedy series ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ for a second season.

Dunst stars as Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage water park employee in 1990s Florida who lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish, flag-waving, multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that drove her to ruin in the first place, run by the powerful Obie Garbeau II (Ted Levine). Determined to make a better life for herself, Krystal dives deep into FAM and develops a tangled relationship with FAM’s most loyal and fanatical follower Cody (Théodore Pellerin), until her business begins to affect those closest to her, including Ernie (Mel Rodriguez), her affable water park boss, and his FAM-skeptic wife Bets (Beth Ditto).

The series was created by Robert Funke and Matt Luske, who also serve as executive producers. Esta Spalding serves as showrunner. Dunst and Charlie McDowell also executive produce along with George Clooney and Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Pictures. The series is produced by Sony’s TriStar Television.

“With such imaginative storytelling and an absolutely inspired lead performance, ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ has been a revelation,” said Jana Winograde, co-president of entertainment for Showtime. “Kirsten, Esta, Robert, Matt and Charlie have crafted a wondrous blend of satirical light within the economic and emotional melancholy that confronts so many Americans. We couldn’t be happier that ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’, nor more eager to see what wild events await our ensemble in the downline of season two.”

The renewal comes after a long and circuitous path to get the show’s first season on the air. It was announced in June that Showtime acquired the series after it had previously been ordered to series at YouTube Premium while having first been in development at AMC.

Joe Otterson, variety

Fantastic news!

On August 20th the Los Angeles Premiere of ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ was held at the London Hotel. Kirsten attended the premiere as did fellow cast members Mel Rodriguez, Beth Ditto & Julie Benz, & Showtime co-presidents Gary Levine & Jana Winograde.

I’ve added 40 pics of Kirsten at the premiere to the gallery & two pics of her at the premiere after party, which was held at the same venue.