Why Prime Video Canceled A League Of Their Own

In the world of TV, all things must end. Even the longest running shows eventually come to the end of the road, be that as planned or because they were canceled. It's just part of the deal. In the streaming era, though, it does feel like far too many series have their runs cut extremely short. And Amazon Prime Video is certainly no exception when it comes to ending shows too soon. Even in and amongst those shows, however, "A League of Their Own" stands out as a unique case.

Inspired by both real historical events and the 1992 Penny Marshall movie of the same name, "A League of Their Own" follows two very different queer women — Carson (Abbi Jacobson) and Max (Chanté Adams) — as they pursue their dreams of playing baseball professionally during World War II. Jacobson, of "Broad City" fame, co-created the show alongside Will Graham ("Mozart in the Jungle").

What makes this cancellation so jarring is that Amazon had previously handed the show a second season order. However, in August 2023, "A League of Their Own" was canceled at Prime Video despite the prior renewal. Pre-production had begun on what was to be a shorter second season of the show, but then the months-long 2023 Writers Guild of America strike kicked in. That was soon followed by the Screen Actors Guild going on strike, which upended Hollywood for months on end.

At the time, it was said that the WGA and SAG strikes were to blame for the show being un-renewed. However, Hollywood studios and streamers held out for months on making a fair deal with the guilds. As a result, both "A League of Their Own" and several other series could have very well been saved had both sides managed to come to terms sooner rather than later.

"A League of Their Own" was met with largely positive reviews from critics, as well as a very solid response from audiences. Viewership metrics for streaming shows are notoriously tricky, though, and they were even less ironed out when the show premiered in 2022. For what it's worth, TelevisionStats.com lists "A League of Their Own" as the 86th most popular show on Prime Video overall, but that is three years after its initial premiere. In short, that doesn't tell us much.

"#ALeagueOfTheirOwn is not a small or niche show. The audience is domestic, but our understanding is that it's very big. It has outperformed many other shows that have been renewed," Graham said on Twitter in March 2023.

When Prime Video renewed the series for a shorter four-episode second season, a plane was flown over Amazon Prime Video's headquarters in Culver City with a banner that read "Renew 'A League of Their Own' #MoreThanFour." So, the fanbase for the show was passionate, that much is certain.

In April 2023, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the show cost around $90 million to produce for eight episodes, which is costly. But at the same time, there are certainly far more expensive shows out there. Amazon, in particular, spent an absurd $465 million on making a single season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." But the expectation from streamers is that expensive series need to draw a huge crowd. Whatever the powers that be wanted to blame it on, they clearly felt that "A League of Their Own" wasn't worth bringing back after the dust from the strikes had settled.

A big part of the problem for this show, in particular, goes back to that same April 2023 piece from THR. It was explained that Amazon relied heavily on testing data from focus groups for its series. Amazon executives allegedly said in a marketing meeting for "A League of Their Own" that "data showed audiences found queer stories off-putting." It was then suggested they downplay those themes in the marketing. Graham expressed concern about bias in the system, which ranked shows featuring straight, white male leads above all others.

Taking to Instagram in August 2023 after the show was canceled, Jacobson shared her appreciation saying, "What luck I have had to get to tell these stories and play this character I love so much. What a rare thing in life. And so I am sad today." Expanding on her sadness, Jacobson did not mince words:

"To blame this cancellation on the strike, (which is an essential fight for fair wages, protections and working conditions, etc...) is bulls**t and cowardly. But this post isn't about all that. About all the ways this show has been put through the ringer. Not today. 

This post here is about the special show I was lucky to make with so many incredibly talented artists and actors and writers and crew. A show I'm so proud of. Filled to the brim with stories worth telling. Full of so much heart and soul and value. Thank you for watching.

"The show's fate appears to have been dictated by the opinions of people who more than likely would have never watched the show in the first place," BJ Colangelo wrote for /Film following the news of the cancellation. Unfortunately, be it the strikes, Amazon's flawed focus group system that was in place at the time, or the simple cost/benefit analysis that any show goes through these days, this particular series, acclaimed though it may have been, was a victim of both circumstance and terrible timing.

"A League of Their Own" is streaming now on Prime Video.