The world of streaming entertainment is getting pretty tough to break into. As providers like Netflix are cancelling series such as Archive 81 after only one season, viewers could be finding it harder than ever to get attached to what could be their next favorite show. Sadly, the library of Amazon Prime shows has just suffered its own loss, as the J.K. Simmons/Sissy Spacek sci-fi drama Night Sky has just been cancelled with merely eight episodes to its name.
News recently came down from Deadline that the show, created by executive producers Holden Miller and Daniel C. Connolly, was officially axed. Following Franklin (J.K. Simmons) and Irene York (Sissy Spacek), Night Sky told the story of its central couple and the adventures/complications they ran into after discovering a random portal within their own backyard.
With the ability to travel to a desolate planet lightyears away came some interesting curveballs, but sadly Night Sky is now no longer exploring those possibilities. Amazon Prime isn't a stranger to single season cancellations, as past prestige efforts like The Last Tycoon or Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner’s The Romanoffs have failed to score sophomore seasons.
Those are just a couple of the examples that make up the platform’s own unique history of saying goodbye to shows after a single ride on the streaming carousel. Unfortunately, even with a history of good reviews, and the dynamite coupling of J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek, Night Sky has given way to the harsh light of cancellation.
Streaming series seem to be harder to keep running than ever, with many series from platforms like Netflix and others taking places on the list of 2022’s single season cancellations. Competition is quite fierce, especially when Prime Video has other series like Chris Pratt’s The Terminal List that are also vying for a spot on the same streamer's slate of must-see events.
One might even see Night Sky’s cancellation as a means to trim the roster at Amazon Studios. If this studio's rationale is similar to why Netflix cancelled some single season shows, it could just be that this single season acts as a sort of pilot in the streaming ecosystem. Night Sky's older cast and sci-fi theme make it even more of an outlier on the market, and the upside is that the show was given one of those lucky chances to tell an extended story that could have led to bigger things.
Still, you can count on a handful of devoted viewers to keep the show’s memory alive, turning friends, family, and anyone who will listen onto the drama that captured their hearts. Both Night Sky and The Terminal List are currently available for Amazon Prime subscribers to enjoy. Should you be interested in checking out what the 2022 TV schedule has in store for the year ahead, you can run down that information at your leisure. Just be careful about which shows you get attached to, as nobody knows where the axe of cancellation will swing next.
