Lodge 49
Lodge 49 is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jim Gavin. It aired on the cable television network AMC in the United States from August 6, 2018, to October 14, 2019, spanning two seasons and 20 episodes. The title alludes to the novella "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon, which Gavin references as an inspiration. Although the series was met with positive reviews, AMC canceled the series after its second season due to low ratings. Plot. AMC describes the series as a "modern fable set in Long Beach, California about a disarmingly optimistic local  ex-surfer, Dud (Wyatt Russell), who's drifting after the death of his father and collapse of the family business." In the first season, Dud joins a fraternal order known as the Order of the Lynx, hoping the Lodge can put him "on the path to recover the idyllic life he's lost." Production and broadcast. AMC set a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes on October 5, 2016. The first season premiered on August 6, 2018. AMC released the entire first season on its AMC Premiere service on August 6, 2018, in the United States. On October 4 , 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on August 12, 2019. The season concluded on October 14, 2019, and the series was canceled two weeks later. The producers tried to shop the series to other outlets, but were unsuccessful, as announced by series creator Jim Gavin in December. Reception. Critical response. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 7.12 out of 10, based on 35 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Lodge 49" takes a surreal journey into the television dreamscape that  can prove quite rewarding for viewers who stick with it." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.69 out of 10, based on 15 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Lodge 49" continues its strange journey with a superb second season that leans further into the show's idiosyncrasies." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 80 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable  reviews". The second season received critical acclaim, especially the season finale. Darren Franich of "Entertainment Weekly" gave it an "A" grade, calling it "perfect". Franich praised Brent Jennings' performance, referring to a moment in "Conjunctio" as his favorite moment on television in 2019. Danette Chavez of "The A.V. Club" also graded the finale an "A" as well as the season as a whole. Chavez wrote that the finale is "such an incredibly beautiful and uplifting hour of television" and praised Wyatt Russell's performance as "one of the best, most under-the-radar performances of the year." Concluding, she wrote , "'The Door' is a great bridge to a season three, and also an immensely respectful and generous ending to the stories of these Long Beach residents." In 2021, Jannelle Okwodu of "Vogue" gave the series a glowing review after discovering episodes on the streaming platform Hulu and described it as "a fantastic puzzle of a series".