By Melanie Mayberry, programming editor
When the writers and actors went on strike this summer, there was chatter that the networks and streamers would start cancelling shows to conserve money during the hiatus. Well, now we are seeing that prediction come to fruition. Amazon’s Prime Video has just cancelled two shows which it previously green lighted for second-season renewals.
The shows? A League of Their Own, the comedy/drama series about female baseball players during World War II, and Peripheral, the sci-fi drama starring Chloe Grace Moretz. Amazon has not officially blamed the strikes for the cancellations but the fact that they were slated to return for a second season sends a strong signal.
Abbi Jacobson, the co-creator of A League of Their Own, which was based on the Tom Hanks movie which also starred Geena Davis and Madonna, is blasting Amazon for using the strike as cause for cancelling her show. “To blame this cancellation on the strike, (which is an essential fight for fair wages, protections and working conditions, etc…) is b——- and cowardly,” Jacobson says on her Instagram account.
Deadline.com reports that more series could be on the chopping block if the strikes extend beyond Labor Day with rookie shows, such as A League of Their Own and Peripheral, the most vulnerable. Variety also reports that Peripheral was cancelled in large part because of the work stoppage. “The decision to not move forward with the second season was heavily influenced by the ongoing writers and actors strikes,” the publication writes, quoting an industry source. “In essence, even if the show was to go back into production soon, Season 2 would not be available until close to if not into 2025.”
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