On Wednesday, HBO announced that the upcoming second season of its original series Rome will be the last. The show, which is currently filming in Italy, will come back on Jan. 7, 2007.

The show had okay ratings, but is very expensive to produce, with the first season costing something like $100 million dollars.  I’m sure that price tag figured into HBO’s decision, even though it’s a co-production with the BBC, which helps foot the bill. The second season will pick up after the death of Julius Caesar, which occurred in last season’s finale.

While Rome does have its flaws, I have always enjoyed it, and am sad it will only be getting one more season. That being said, however, I am pleased that they are announcing the cancellation before shooting wraps in October, so that the show’s creators will have the chance to wrap things up properly. This is more consideration than the network gave to David Milch and Deadwood, after all.  Also, though I understand this move in terms of the network’s bottom line, it leads me to continue to question HBO’s seemingly wavering commitment to producing artistic, groundbreaking television.