It turns out Netflix isn’t the only streaming giant to embark on a cancellation spree post-Hollywood strikes as Prime Video follows its rival’s lead to call time on three highly-rated shows.
Per Variety, Amazon Studios won’t be moving forward with new seasons of The Horror of Dolores Roach, Harlan Coben’s Shelter, or With Love. The trio became the latest Prime Video series to end prematurely following the cancellation of two other critically acclaimed shows, The Peripheral and A League Of Their Own, in August.
Rom-com series With Love is – strange as it is to say – the longest-running of the three culled programs. The Gloria Calderon Kellett-created series ran for two seasons on Prime Video, with fans and critics enjoying what it had to offer. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t think it was worth investing in a third season, hence its cancellation.
The Horror of Dolores Roach and Harlan Coben’s Shelter, two recent additions to Amazon Studios’ TV original line-up, aren’t moving forward, either. The pair only debuted on one of the world’s best streaming services in July and August respectively but, in spite of the positive reception they received, neither show will return for another outing. In short: don’t expect to see the pair or With Love join our best Prime Video shows list.
Trimming down the Amazon Studios first-party line-up
Three Pines was dumped by Amazon Studios earlier this year. (Image credit: Laurent Guerin/Amazon Studios)
Amazon has been on a roll when it comes to TV show cancellations in 2023. In March, the e-commerce giant gave mystery-thriller Three Pines the chop after a single season, while R-rated alternate history drama Hunters was axed after two seasons. That duo, alongside the aforementioned quintet, means Prime Video subscribers have seen seven highly-rated TV series canned in less than a year. Add in the cancellation of other big hits including The Wilds, Paper Girls, and As We See It, and Amazon has dumped over 10 Prime Video originals since mid-2022.
Prime Video isn’t alone in canceling some of its most popular and/or acclaimed shows. Last Wednesday (November 15), Netflix axed five underperforming shows including the beloved fantasy series Shadow and Bone – the latter’s cancellation led to a fan campaign to save Shadow and Bone that might not be just pure fantasy.
Netflix hasn’t totally dominated the TV cancellation news cycle. Indeed, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Paramount Plus have also been guilty of canceling or even scrapping near-complete TV series since 2023 began.
Still, while the world’s leading streamers will argue these cancellations are cost-cutting exercises – especially if any of their scrapped shows failed to meet viewership targets – they’re all hard to stomach. In an age where digital media rules over its physical media cousin, shows that are removed from streaming services will likely be lost forever in the ether. You can see why filmmakers like Christopher Nolan (per Variety) and Guillermo del Toro (on X, formerly known as Twitter) have hit out at some entertainment firms for convincing people that streaming services, not DVDs and Blu-rays, are worth investing in.
The sad thing is, that despite those calling for an end to this practice, more TV shows and films will be canceled and/or removed from streaming platforms in the future. Amazon and Netflix might claim they’re just trimming the fat from their overstuffed back catalogs, but creatives have spent countless hours toiling over these works of art, only to see them disposed of in blasé fashion. We hope the tide will turn eventually, but we aren’t holding our breath.
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