Prime Video has cancelled The Peripheral as the writers’ strike claims more victims

Deadline reports cancellation of The Peripheral as Prime Video takes stock of the damage the writers’ strike is doing to it’s portfolio. Despite positive reviews, it seems second season shows are vulnerable to lengthy delays and the article suggests there are many more such examples to come.

What is The Peripheral and why cancel a popular show?

An adaptation of the William Gibson novel of the same name, and starring the excellent Chloë Grace Moretz, the show was one of the more intriguing (and dare we say intelligent) pieces of science fiction to grace the small screen in recent years. Rotten Tomatoes rated the show 79% critics and 86% audience score with a lot of ratings, so there’s definitely a market.

It’s intriguingly set in a version of world a few years in the future as Flynne Fisher (Moretz) tries to keep her family together in a bleak America, only to have a post-apocalyptic future draw her into layers of intrigue via virtual reality. Very well made, but also expensive to produce. The Deadline article suggests this fatal mix of only have had one season with high budget was too much risk for Prime Video to continue. New shows shed fans over time faster than more established titles.

Who next?

Each streamer will have its own approach, and if we turn to Netflix, we doubt if Wednesday would get cancelled though another favourite of ours, The Sandman, may be a cause for concern. We also wonder if even shows waiting third season renewal are at risk — Shadow and Bone the obvious example. Until the strike concludes, we can only expect more disappointments.