Kurt Sutter explains why he axed The Bastard Executioner starring Ed Sheeran after six weeks

It was his first recurring role in a TV show.

But singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran lasted just six weeks in FX medieval drama The Bastard Executioner.
Showrunner Kurt Sutter - who cast his 24-year-old pal as the scheming Sir Cormac - revealed in an instagram he posted on Wednesday that he had pulled the plug after six episodes due to dramatically falling ratings.

The Sons Of Anarchy creator told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I'm not the guy sitting in my ivory tower spitting s**t out and not caring if anyone is watching. 
'I don't want to write something that nobody's f***ing watching. It's fantastic to get a good review [or] an award, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters, really, is numbers.'
Kurt also posted an Instagram on Wednesday showing a medieval sword with a long letter thanking the cast, crew and backers for the chance to make the blood-thirsty show that matched HBO's Game Of Thrones for gore. 

The ambitious 14th century period drama, which filmed in Wales, lost more than half of its audience in its first six weeks on air, according to THR.
It fell from 4 million combined weekly viewers for its September 15 premiere to just 1.9 million for episode six. The series wrapped its first, and now final, season on Tuesday.
The 55-year-old took out an ad in the magazine and other places to reveal the cancellation.

He wrote: 'The audience has spoken and unfortunately the word is "meh." So with due respect, we bring our mythology to an epic and fiery close.'
Ed had previously revealed his excitement at being cast in the show, saying: 'It's a medieval TV show and it's really, really dark. It's gruesome and it's going to be fine because my friend wrote it.
'He had a musician in his last show and I said, "Oh did he audition for that?" And he said "No, but I just thought he would be good in it." So I said, "Can you put me in your show next?" '  

ed sheeran , Kurt Sutter , The Bastard Executioner