Amazon has definitely had some success with its original TV series, with Transparent finding awards success and Man in the High Castle and The Grand Tour doing very well with audiences around the globe. Unfortunately, not every show can be as popular as everything else, and as it tries to figure out a sustainable model for producing new projects, Amazon has cancelled the trio of genre-mashing comedies I Love Dick, Jean-Claude Van Johnson and One Mississippi.
I Love Dick's cancellation is perhaps the more surprising of these three, since it was created by Jill Soloway, who was also the mastermind behind Transparent. With a winning cast led by Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Bacon and Griffin Dunne, I Love Dick was an offbeat romantic comedy about a married New York City artist who becomes obsessed with a Texas man, to the point where she crafted a series of highly sexualized and unencumbered letters to him that go unsent. The show was an emotional plunge and featured solid performances and interesting visuals and direction, but it apparently didn't sit too well with Amazon subscribers after its May 2017 release, leading to its exit after only a single season. At least Soloway still has an overall deal with Amazon for future projects.
While Amazon took eight months to come to a decision about I Love Dick, it was a shorter gestation period for thoughts on Jean-Claude Van Johnson's fate, as it was cancelled just one month after its Season 1 premiere. Starring action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme as a heightened version of himself who also happens to be a deadly undercover agent, Jean-Claude Van Johnson had its winning moments (as well as some less-than-winning moments), but it did seem ripe for future seasons, based on its subject matter. Oddly enough, Van Damme himself had told CinemaBlend earlier this year that he hoped Amazon wouldn't automatically renew the show before fan responses came in, so I guess he got what he wanted.
One MIssissippi, meanwhile, was the critically acclaimed and emotionally heavy dramedy from filmmaker Diablo Cody and comedian Tig Notaro, the latter of which based the life of the non-mysteriously named Tig Bavaro on her own medical trials and tribulations in recent years. Season 2 was released back in September to favorable reviews, but Amazon was apparently ready to move on. For what it's worth, people were talking about One Mississippi publicly in recent months, but it was mostly due to Louis C.K.'s involvement as an executive producer, which Notaro adamantly downplayed in the aftermath of him confessing to various counts of sexual misconduct over the years. That said, there are no clear signs that this show was cancelled over C.K.'s controversy.
While not an official stance from Amazon, Deadline reports that the studio decided to axe these three shows in an effort to shift its original programming development to more prestige-driven series meant to draw in mass viewerships. Because despite almost all of its comedic content winning over critics, as well as popular dramas like Bosch and Goliath, Amazon has yet to build up a widespread commercial appeal with its TV shows. The recent awards success for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel may be swinging the pendulum around, though, and the upcoming Lord of the Rings series will almost certainly capture many subscribers' eyeballs when it arrives.
Hey, at least Amazon renewed The Tick for Season 2, right? All three of the aforementioned shows can currently be streamed on Amazon, and you can head to our 2018 Amazon schedule to see what other new projects are on the way. And then be sure to bookmark our midseason premiere schedule to see all the other new and returning shows.
