Amazon Cancels Two More First Season Shows Despite Previous Renewals

Prime Video has been the home of some of the most talked-about streaming series of the summer so far, including Good Omens and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Unfortunately for Amazon Prime subscribers, however, the summer also has bad news for two shows that had already been renewed. Both A League of Their Own and The Peripheral have been cancelled, despite previously getting orders for second seasons.

Both shows premiered back in 2022, and the cancellations come just shy of one year since their debuts last year. A League of Their Own got news of Season 2 as part of Amazon's renewal spree back in March, although with the news that the series would end after four episodes. THR now reports that all four of what would have been the final episodes were written before the beginning of the WGA writers strike in early May, and production company Sony Pictures Television will reportedly search for a new platform for Season 2. The series was inspired by the 1992 film of the same name.

The Peripheral, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, was a hit with viewers not long after it released last fall and originally renewed for Season 2 in February. It was a pricy series, with the eight episodes reportedly costing upward of $140 million, and THR states that Season 2 was expected to run for just six episodes.

That seven-figure cost is pretty astronomical by TV standards, but still well below what Amazon shelled out for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is said to have totaled more than $460 million. The show was already in preproduction back in May when the WGA strike began, with the SAG-AFRTRA actors strike beginning in July.

The strikes are in fact the root cause for both shows being un-renewed, according to Deadline. The outlet states that production would not be able to begin on the second seasons until 2024, with filming and post-production delaying the episodes until 2025 for a release. That would mean more than two full years between seasons, and possibly closer to three depending on premiere date. Amazon also reportedly has a full slate already for 2025, and it appears that the platform decided there would be no room for A League of Their Own and The Peripheral in light of the delays.

Unfortunately, shows being cancelled due to strike complications may increase as the months pass without WGA and SAG-AFTRA finding a resolution with AMPTP. Apple TV+ was on a roll with cancellations to start August, and network TV shows may not be entirely safe either. The strikes are likely a key factor behind NBC's decision to cancel Magnum P.I., even though there's still half of Season 5 yet to air.

At the time of writing, it seems unlikely that the biggest network TV shows will be able to return before 2024 even if deals are struck ASAP, although that's only speculation at this point. The WGA writers strike began at the end of the spring portion of the 2022-2023 TV season, before work would have begun on most shows for the fall. Amazon cancelling A League of Their Own and The Peripheral could be a sign that streamers are going to start cancelling previously renewed shows on an ongoing basis; we can only wait, see, and hope for the safety of our favorites.