Huh, that's odd. It seemed like it would be really successful. All they did was exclude roughly half the population, because they killed them in the pilot, and the exclude most of the other half of the population, because they killed their love interests, and children.
Weird that it got cancelled so quickly.
You're using a bizarre definition of the word "exclude". Are you incapable of enjoying media where none of the major characters are exactly like you when it comes to certain immutable characterstics?
The graphic novel was pretty successful, but it was always going to be a perilous adaptation in today's political climate. It didn't manage to thread the needle.
I'm using a marketing definition in this case. The core tenet of writing to market is understanding who your audience is. Doesn't matter if it's a novel, TV show, or roleplaying game. This is true in all cases.
These audiences have preferences. Everyone likes to experience content as someone like themselves. This is why ensemble cast movies such as Independence Day did so well, because everyone had someone to identify with. Someone who
IS like them, not someone who
LOOKS like them. Pasty white Chris wanted to be Will Smith. So did almost every boy my age.
You can give any fantasy fan a copy of the Eye of the World, and the vast majority of us can empathize with Rand immediately. It doesn't matter what his skin color is. It doesn't matter that he's a man. He's a farmer, doing some chores, living with his dad, and worried about the man in black.
Y killed off all the men. As much as we try to avoid it we are a sexually dimorphic species. Most men, and most women, want very different things. The vast, vast majority of romance readers are women. The vast, vast majority of military science fiction readers are men. These patterns are not only inescapable, but they're easy to see if you've run as much money through facebook ads as I have. I can see it all.
If you identify as a:
- Man
- Woman who wants to marry a man
- Mother of a boy
Then you are going to have a visceral reaction to seeing all the people like you, or like someone you love, die. A certain number of people will find such a story fascinating, but it is a graphic novel sized market, not a network television sized market.
People consume stories to see characters grow. We benefit from the completion of character arcs. This show removed most of the possible arcs, and the remaining arcs are only relevant to a small portion of the audience.
Smart shows seek ways to include, not exclude. Am I saying that I can't appreciate a story from any perspective? No. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and Babysitter's Club in addition to Lord of the Rings. But most people aren't that way. Most people want a PoV like them, and if they don't have it, they can easily go find it elsewhere.
You can't both tell us that diversity is important, but then tell us it's not.