Amazon Prime Video has cancelled one of this year’s biggest and best new television releases, it has been reported.
Starring Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, the show follows two friends whose life is thrown into upheaval when it’s revealed one of them is a globe-trotting assassin.
Debbie (Spencer) is stunned to learn that best pal Judith (Waddingham) has been living a double life. However, even worse is to come when she’s targeted by an international crime syndicate.
Blending high-thrills action with fun comedy, Ride or Die emerged to positive critical and audience reaction – including Metro’s own Sabrina Barr, who described it as ‘the most fun I’ve had watching a TV show in ages.’
However, with Amazon not confirming whether it had been renewed for a second series, its future had been in doubt.
Well, it seems as though the road ends here – the streaming service has reportedly cancelled Ride or Die after only one series.
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According to Deadline, the decision to scrap the show was driven by its demographic, describing its focus on middle-aged women as ‘not very desirable for Amazon executives.’
The piece continues to speculate that ‘a lot of middle-aged women already have Amazon Prime for shopping,’ meaning that it did little to attract new subscribers.
Regardless, Ride or Die was a big hit for Amazon, holding the top spot of most watched Prime Video original series for three weeks across the globe.
It performed just as well domestically, overtaking Masters of The Universe to take the number one position in America – becoming Prime’s most-watched new scripted series for its first 14 days of release.
It currently stands at 96% ‘fresh’ on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 85% from the website’s users.
With news of its cancellation spreading, fans have taken to social media to share their outrage.
Describing the first (and to date only) series as ‘incredible,’ Reddit user The_Iceman2288 said: ‘This sucks,’ and went on to praise its ‘impeccable’ straddling of multiple genres.
‘Damn it,’ commented Lostryu, ‘I was really enjoying the show.’
A confused rb2m noted that the show was ‘so good and a hit at Amazon,’ adding: ‘Why on earth would they cancel it?’
Skyconic called it an ‘upsetting’ decision, adding: ‘Hannah and Octavia are so good together!’
‘I’m so disappointed. I really loved this show,’ said Regular-Barnacle8158, sharing their hope that ‘it gets picked up by another streamer.’
According to Deadline, there might be hope yet – according to sources, developers at Paramount Television Studios are shopping for other buyers.
While Ride or Die doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, it does set itself up for the further adventures of Judith and Debbie.
In addition to the show’s considerable action beats, it also saw Waddingham’s otherwise unflappable Judith come to terms with ageing.
This includes her struggle with a world which increasingly tries to leave her behind.
A second series would have gone into more depth on Judith and Debbie’s evolved friendship, and saw the pair embrace being ‘women of a certain age.’
‘By the end of the season, you’ll see us embracing that,’ Spencer told People earlier this year.
‘There’s nothing better than loving the skin you’re in and knowing what you’ve endured to get there.’
This news comes soon after the cancellation of another popular Amazon Prime series.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Spider-Noir, which stars Nicolas Cage as New York superhero The Spider, had not been renewed for a second series.
A spin-off of the animated film Into the Spider-Verse, it soon won fans over with its exciting superhero antics and reliably eccentric Nic Cage performance.
However, unlike Ride or Die, Spider-Noir may only ever have been intended as a one-off – wrapping up in one relatively self-contained series.
Amazon is expected to proceed with another live-action series based on stories from the ‘Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters.’
Ride or Die is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.