Will There Be A 'Victoria' Season 4? ITV Has No Plans To Continue Right Now

When Downton Abbey went off the air in 2015 in the U.K., it left a hole in the TV schedule that the broadcaster needed to fill. In looking for its next hit, the channel aimed for something that would fill the gap of an expensive historical period piece set in a time that appealed to the British public. It needed to be an Upstairs/Downstairs type show with upper-class residents and helpful servants. With Netflix's The Crown already underway and drawing lots of public attention, ITV landed on a show from Daisy Goodwin that would split the difference: Victoria. Set during the height of empire, starring the recently departed Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman, the series seemed like a no-brainer hit.

But Victoria never really managed to stick the landing the way the broadcaster hoped. Though the love triangle of Coleman, Tom Hughes as Prince Consort Albert, and Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne drove most of the first season, the downstairs stories never gelled outside of Nell Hudson as Nancy Skerrett. Once Sewell departed in Season 2, Coleman and Hughes' chemistry kept the series afloat, along with a few notable guest stars like the late Dame Diana Rigg. But the reality that to stay even relatively historically accurate, Albert would die within a season or two was a looming problem.

Season 3, which aired in early 2019, ended in 1851, leaving the series with ten years to cover at best before Albert died. But with flagging ratings (Season 3's finale brought in 4 million viewers, down from the show's 6.1 million Season 1 peak.) and other projects for Coleman and Hughes, ITV put Season 4 on hold. Now it seems the series will remain there, at least for the time being.