10 Best Prime Video Series That Were Canceled Too Soon

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An Amazon Prime subscription gets you more than free shipping. You also have access to Prime Video, which has plenty of shows that justify a subscription. Whether you want comedy, drama, action, or all three with "The Boys," Prime Video has an assortment of series you can watch for free without having to pay extra for a rental. Of course, like any streaming service, Prime Video isn't above cancelling beloved shows way too soon. 

The fact of the matter is that there are too many streaming shows and too few hours in the day. Every company's competing for the same set amount of eyeballs, and even though people can watch a bunch of shows for free with an Amazon Prime account, that doesn't mean everything shows up on people's radars. That doesn't stop some shows from having passionate yet small fanbases that are immensely disappointed when something with so much potential gets the axe. These are the best Prime Video series canceled before they even had a shot to really get going. If they had stuck around a little longer, maybe their viewership could've grown ... but we'll never know. 

In the streaming era, it's rare to get standalone pilots that decide whether a TV series gets a full season or not. More often, the case is that a company orders something to series, which in this day and age usually means six to eight episodes. Prime Video had a "Zombieland" pilot that aired but ultimately didn't get picked up as a series. It was probably the right move since it didn't really capture the magic of the film it's based on, but one pilot we're forever bummed never had more episodes is "Oasis," which premiered in 2017.

"Oasis" had all the makings of a future sci-fi classic. Based on "The Book of Strange New Things" by Michel Faber, the pilot episode, which clocks in at 59 minutes, follows Peter Leigh (Richard Madden), a chaplain who gets tasked with traveling to an off-world colony humanity has established in the wake of massive environmental degradation. However, once he arrives, Peter realizes many of the humans already there have experienced severe hallucinations, and at the end of the episode, Peter himself sees a vision of his late wife, Bea (Flora Spencer-Longhurst).

Of course, anyone who wants to figure out what's going on with this colony can read the book, but it's a shame "Oasis" didn't get picked up for a full series. The pilot showed a ton of potential, honing in on the uncertainty that comes when humans realize how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of the universe. That's nothing to say of Madden's exceptional performance, but "Oasis" wouldn't even get a full season. It remains akin to a TV movie that'll never get a proper resolution on the screen. 

A TV series based on acclaimed graphic novels from Brian K. Vaughan should've been treated much more warmly. "Paper Girls" is an excellent mystery and science-fiction series that follows four girls on a paper route when they become entrenched in a time-traveling escapade where the fate of the world rests in the balance. The singular season that exists (because Prime canceled it after only one) does a great job of adapting the books, and critics seemed to agree it was a blast. That includes /Film's own Valerie Ettenhofer, who wrote, "This isn't a story about the familiar rites of passage that push a person towards emotional maturity; rather, it's about what it feels like to have that maturity rush up to meet you whether you're ready or not."

With only one season, "Paper Girls" left a lot of the source material on the table. Anyone looking in from the outside may have figured it was Prime's attempt to have its own "Stranger Things," but "Paper Girls" is so much more than an '80s nostalgia ride. In fact, the show bucks against cynical nostalgia grabs by truly honing in on who the central girls are as characters. 

Prime canceled "Paper Girls" after just one season, with low viewership largely to blame. It likely didn't help matters that "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" came out just one month after "Paper Girls," so any marketing Prime could've given it likely went to ensuring people checked out a far more expensive series.

For a company as big as Amazon, you might think there'd be enough room for two big-budget fantasy series based on books. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case, as Prime canceled "The Wheel of Time" after three seasons despite seeing a marked improvement over the years. 

That's not to say the first season was bad; it even had Prime Video's most-watched premiere of 2021. But it definitely felt like fans online were unhappy with how much the show was changing from the source material. It's somewhat inevitable, given the sheer length of the "Wheel of Time" books in order to make them flow well as an episodic TV series. As time went on, more people seemed to get on board, with season 3 having some of the best ratings in the show's history on Rotten Tomatoes. In all honesty, "The Wheel of Time" did what many of the best TV series do well. It took a few seasons to find its footing and find a compelling hook to where even people unfamiliar with the novels could find something to enjoy, but it wasn't meant to last. 

The official reasoning came down to "the current economic environment," with even the cancellation notice mentioning that the show was well-liked by those at Amazon. A show of this scale undoubtedly cost a ton of money, and again, we can't help but feel like "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" may have had a role with Prime Video already spending ungodly amounts of money to make that. "The Wheel of Time" may have felt too superfluous by comparison.

Cancellations often mean a show doesn't get a chance to wrap up its story. "The Man in the High Castle" is an outlier in that regard, as it got to conclude its story, albeit perhaps more truncated than the crew would've preferred. 

The show, which is based on the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, takes place in a world where the Axis Powers won World War II. While there is a book to draw from, the series largely became its own thing in the latter seasons once the source material ran out. It does seem like perhaps more seasons could've been on the table at one point, as season 4 was announced in July 2018; however, news of the series ending didn't come until February 2019. Isa Dick Hackett, Dick's daughter and also an executive producer, revealed that news of Season 4 being the last round didn't reach her until the writers' room had been assembled. This does make the news sound sudden, but at least they were able to work with the knowledge that these final episodes would be the last.

Five seasons could've granted the series greater closure, but there's no denying the show as a whole came out at the right time. It ran between 2015 and 2019, as fascism continued growing in prevalence around the globe. One more legacy season could help cement the show as a story for our times. 

If there's anyone who should know about good crime series, it's Bryan Cranston, who famously played Walter White on "Breaking Bad." He's branched out in big ways following that show's conclusion, including being a co-creator for "Sneaky Pete," alongside David Shore, who developed "The Good Doctor."

The show was about a convict named Marius Josipović (Giovanni Ribisi) who assumes the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to infiltrate his life on the outside, avoiding some nefarious acquaintances from his own past in the process. Despite great reviews throughout its run, Prime Video canned the show in 2019 after three seasons, actually around the same time as "The Man in the High Castle."

There are really two eras of Prime Video original programming — the Roy Price and Jen Salke regimes. In the early days of Prime Video with Price, the streamer really focused on niche programming. These were shows that appealed to specific groups, but maybe didn't cost as much to make. Once Salke came around, there was a greater push for broader entertainment, and that's when we get shows like "The Boys," "Fleabag," and "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Salke stepped away from Prime Video earlier in 2025, so it remains to be seen what's next. But given the popularity of some of the latter series, it's seeming less and less likely for something like "Sneaky Pete" to materialize again. 

The Tick started life as a popular comic book that became a great animated series in the 1990s, which was occasionally too gross for its own good. It got another chance at life with a live-action Prime Video series that ran for two seasons. Series creator Ben Edlund unveiled the news on X (formerly Twitter) that Amazon decided not to order more episodes.

The reasoning likely comes down to viewership, but whatever viewers the show had were clearly passionate. Edlund himself tried to find "The Tick" a new home, and fans joined in on a vocal online campaign to convince other streamers/networks that the show was worth saving. Alas, it was to no avail, and the show remained dead. It's a shame, too, as the show was hilarious, as has been the case with every other iteration of the Tick. In a way, "The Tick" paved the way for something like "The Boys" to become more mainstream, offering a superhero satire that, albeit, had a bit more political edge that may have gotten it more attention.

The Tick, as a character, seems doomed not to get a long-lasting adaptation. The 1994 animated series ran for 36 episodes, while the initial live-action show, starring Patrick Warburton as the titular hero, got the axe with only nine episodes to its name. "The Tick" is a popular enough franchise, and one would assume the popularity of Deadpool and "The Boys" would open the doors for a more satirical hero to be more widely accepted by a broader audience. But that just hasn't happened yet.

"Jean-Claude Van Johnson" may have been one of those shows that was just too ahead of its time because it's hard to believe not enough people were aware of this biting comedy where martial arts-oriented actor Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself. The only exception is that his actor persona is just a cover for his secret agent work, and his real name is Jean-Claude Van Johnson. For anyone who grew up watching "Bloodsport" or "Double Impact," this was a chance to see the actor in a whole new light, and even though the series only ran for six episodes before getting canned, it was a hoot. 

Seriously, Van Damme needs to get more work in comedies because he has absolutely no qualms about poking fun at himself here. There's a running gag where he gets unreasonably hurt when people don't recognize him in public. /Film actually had the chance to speak with Van Damme about making the transition to comedies, and he said it was perfectly natural. "I've done lots of action movies," he said. "Maybe 'Double Impact' had some comedy, people saw something there, I thought maybe we can play with that."

Again, the reason for the cancellation here seems to be Amazon wanting broader shows. "Jean-Claude Van Johnson" is admittedly as niche as it gets. But any show that sounds like it was pitched by Mac from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is going to be a winner in our books. 

For a while there, Prime Video really seemed to want a hit with something about author F. Scott Fitzgerald. There was "Z: The Beginning of Everything," which was about the life of Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda (played by Christina Ricci), which got canceled after one season. That show's also worth checking out, especially since it only has seven episodes, but if you absolutely only have time to watch one of Prime's Fitzgerald shows, then make it "The Last Tycoon." 

The show's based on the prolific author's final novel, which came out posthumously. It follows a studio manager named Monroe Stahr (Matt Bomer), who's based on real-life figure Irving Thalberg, as he constantly butts heads with Pat Brady (Kelsey Grammer), who's the head of the studio Brady American. The series leans into melodrama hard, but the main attraction definitely comes from the production value. Seeing old Hollywood brought to life makes it clear that a lot of effort went into bringing Fitzgerald's vision to life.

Based on what we know, it seems like Prime canceled the show precisely because of its exorbitant budget. But anyone wanting a primer on Fitzgerald's work would do well to watch this show as opposed to the 1976 Robert de Niro movie, which was panned by critics upon release.

Tig Notaro's "Live" comedy album remains one of the greatest sets in the 21st century. Notaro went onstage shortly after receiving a cancer diagnosis and did a bunch of material about how she was feeling, addressing real fear through a sardonic lens. "One Mississippi" brought Notaro's signature comedic style to Amazon Prime Video, where she plays radio host Tig Bavaro, who deals with her mother's upcoming death even as she herself is recovering from a double mastectomy. They're serious topics, and it's natural for one to wonder how much comedy could possibly be mined out of them, but "One Mississippi" remains one of Prime's most underrated series for deftly navigating such heavy material.

Despite Notaro having an idea for a third season, Prime canceled it after only two seasons in 2018. But unlike most TV cancellations where the stars and creators are upset their vision will never be seen to fruition, Notaro took it in stride. She even told The Daily Beast's "Last Laugh" podcast in 2020 that she was glad because it meant she could forget about one of the show's producers, namely Louis C.K., who had been outed for sexual misconduct toward various women in 2017, shortly before the show got canceled. Notaro said, "A part of me was excited to just get the word that OK, it's been canceled, and be like, all right, let's shut that chapter, I'm ready to move on in life." Notaro's done well for himself post-"One Mississippi," continuing to put out comedy albums and even landing the part of Chief Engineer Jett Reno on "Star Trek: Discovery."

It's a little ironic that for a show titled "Forever," it only lasted one season of eight episodes. It's a shame because it really was an unpredictable show that had a lot of potential for future storylines. You have a married couple, June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar Hoffman (Fred Armisen), who are tired of the same old routine and want to do something different. Then, Oscar dies, and June soon follows, so they reunite in the afterlife, where they can interact with the living world, mixing things up in a very different manner than June initially wanted.

Despite an extremely talented comedic cast that also included Catherine Keener and Hong Chau, Prime canceled "Forever" after one season. The news came in July 2019, almost a full year after the show initially aired in September 2018. At that point, fans probably knew to prepare for the worst. But it remains one of the best Prime Video series to get canceled, and this show, along with many others on this list, remains on the platform for you to watch. Viewing them now may not lead to a late revival, but at least you can be part of a select community of folks who know what the world missed out on.