Another Day, Another TV Cancelation That Hurts Like a Ton of Bricks

Respectfully, we’re f—ing tired. A TV show’s audience isn’t going to grow in billions overnight, and especially in the year of our Lord 2024, when viewers know that networks and streamers are notorious for canceling. Prime Video’s My Lady Jane cancelation also comes as a complete shock when the show gained a steady viewership from its first weekend, favorable reviews from critics, and is still trending on social media with a steady buzz from fandoms.

The cancelation also doesn’t factor in the fact that the show was released right before the Summer Olympics, which means now that the games are over, people are only just beginning to watch other content. For years, executives have failed to understand the enormous power that fandoms hold, and half of that comes from building trust between them. One simply needs to look through the thousands of quote tweets on Twitter’s announcement to see how many people comment something along the lines of “See, this is why I don’t start new shows until I know they’re renewed.” People are jaded, and rightfully so, as the trust between big networks and fans continues to fracture.

My Lady Jane’s cancelation also comes as a colossal shock when we have concrete proof of the fact that romance sells. Netflix’s Bridgerton is still bringing in stable numbers; Prime Video’s Red, White, and Royal Blue, which is based on a standalone book, is now thankfully getting a sequel, and The Gilded Age, though a little different, is all the hype over at Max. The point is that My Lady Jane could’ve done much better if the marketing allowed it the time and platform to gain its wings.

Further, countless people on social media (romance readers in particular) would’ve been interested to know that the show was about shapeshifters, but journalists were embargoed from breaking that news when advance reviews came out. It’s by word of mouth that the show gained the traction it did and could’ve done far better, especially if reluctant TV viewers knew that the network had greenlighted a second season.

At the same time, My Lady Jane didn’t need eighty-seven seasons, ten prequels, and a movie. It’s a contained series, and even one more season could’ve wrapped up the story beautifully. TV viewers (and journalists) aren’t asking for much, but investing in new material is getting harder and harder when we know that a cancelation is more likely than a renewal.

It’s hard to hope that the My Lady Jane cancelation could lead to an eventual renewal elsewhere because we’ve also been down that road. Sometimes, we get lucky, but other times, it’s a war we can’t win. The show’s creators, writers, directors, cast and crew deserved so much better than this outcome. It’s A League of Their Own and Paper Girls all over again. Why is it always the shows led by women that take the axe quicker than the ones predominantly geared toward men? Some might try to argue that this isn’t a sexism issue; we’re taking things too far, but the patterns don’t lie.

I won’t even bother getting started on the fact that this show could’ve maybe performed better if it was available upon a weekly release to acquire more buzz because who’s listening to the audience anyway? It’s tiring and frustrating to know that the shows that genuinely do so well among viewers aren’t the ones executives are willing to take risks on.

Related Content: It’s Been a Year Since My Lady Jane Aired – And We’re Still Not Over It

Feel free to vent about My Lady Jane’s cancelation in the comments below. We’re here. We’re mourning with all of you. Additionally, there’s now a petition for a potential renewal, which you could sign here.
First Featured Image: ©Prime Video