Today was a big day for Amazon Studios at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, as they announced renewals for a bunch of new series that might make fans happy. But they also cancelled five original series, some of which are critically acclaimed, and that news might upset some of their subscribers.
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Confirmed at the TCAs, Amazon Studios revealed that acclaimed shows like Forever, Patriot, The Romanoffs, Lore, and Too Old to Die Young have all been cancelled, with three of those shows getting the axe after just one season.
All of these series cancellations are surprising to some degree, as they’ve all received both critical acclaim and rabid fan reactions. Patriot and Lore both ran for two seasons, but Amazon deemed — much like The Tick — that they weren’t sustainable to continue.
Lore was based on the popular podcast of the same name, with creator Aaron Mahnke serving as the narrator and producer of the series. It was a horror anthology that delved deep into the origins of the stories, finding out why certain folklore and legends took hold among the cultural zeitgeist.
Patriot was a comedic spy series that focused on intelligence officer named John Tavner, often featuring his bureaucratic family and how their duties interfered with his line of work. The show was well received after going through Amazon’s pilot series, though only two seasons were released over its three years on the streaming service. Fans who were hopeful for a third season are likely unhappy with the series ending.
Forever, The Romanoffs, and Too Old to Die Young were all freshman series that earned buzz for their own reasons, coming from creators and talent with established pedigrees.
Forever starred Saturday Night Live favorites Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen as a loving couple stuck in a rut. The series relied on a major twist that occurred after the first two episodes which sent the couple to the afterlife, where they were forced to confront their marital issues.
The Romanoffs was the followup of Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, who was riding high off the popular AMC series and his work on The Sopranos. But the anthology series failed to resonate with an audience, despite many of the talented actors in the series.
Too Old to Die Young was the latest project from cult-favorite director Nicolas Winding Refn and popular comic book writer Ed Brubaker. The crime series starred Miles Teller in episodes that ran as long as many movies, some of them with 90-minute runtimes. While it earned some decent buzz, it was a far cry from Winding Refn’s work on Drive or Brubaker’s work on Westworld.
Maybe other services or networks will decide to pick these projects up in the future, but for now, get used to the fact that this is the end.
