AMC Cancels Another Series in the Middle of Production

AMC has cancelled another series that was in the middle of production: sci-fi comedy series Demascus. The series (about a black man attempting self-discovery through digital therapy) was in the middle of production, when it was cancelled alongside a handful of other TV shows (Moonhaven, 61st Street, Invitation to a Bonfire) that AMC Networks is scrapping as part of a major write-down to save the company $400 million in content production costs. 

As Deadline describes it, Demascus “follows an eponymous character, a 33-year-old Black man on a mission of self-discovery and the burgeoning field of digital psychiatry that might be the key to defining his truest self. The series is a comedic, genre-fluid, coming-of-age story with a reality-bending premise that explores the gulf between Black male perspectives, while also attempting to answer Demascus’ personal question: ‘Who am I?’”

Demascus was created by playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, who also executive produced alongside Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s Mark Johnson, as well as American Crime’s Kirk Moore. The cast included Bad Boys star Martin Lawrence in a recurring role, with actors Okieriete Onaodowan (Hamilton), Janet Hubert (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Caleb Eberhardt (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Shakira Ja’nai Paye (Black-ish) all cast in the show. The series was announced back in February 2022, and a writer’s room was opened in August. 

Other showrunners have expressed hope that their cancelled series will end up somewhere else besides AMC; there’s enough that’s been done with Demascus already to make that a viable possibility. 

What’s Happening at AMC? 

AMC Networks (which includes Shudder, IFC, WE tv and SundanceTV) has been downsizing in a major way since fall of last year. Aside from the content budget being slashed, CEO Christina Spade stepped down just three months after accepting the job. Layoffs were announced by AMC, in a memo from chairman James Tolan: 

As I am sure you are aware our industry has been under pressure from growing subscriber losses. This is primarily due to “cord cutting.” At the same time we have seen the rise of direct to consumer streaming apps including our own AMC+. It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray…we as a company need to conserve our resources at this time. We have directed the executive leadership of AMC Networks to undergo significant cutbacks in operations. These will include a large-scale layoff as well as cuts to every operating area of AMC Networks.