Amazon’s Prime Video has made the decision to cancel three original series from its roster, including two first-year dramas and a comedy series. The first-year dramas, Harlan Coben’s Shelter and The Horror of Delores Roach, as well as the comedy series With Love, have all been removed from the streaming platform. The cancellations are a blow to the diverse representation on Prime Video, as all three featured people of color in lead roles.
Shelter, based on a 2011 young adult novel by Harlan Coben, centers on a teenager who moves to a new town following his father’s death and becomes embroiled in the disappearance of a classmate. The series stars Jaden Michael, Constance Zimmer, Adrian Greensmith, Abby Corrigan, Sage Linder, and Brian Altemus. Coben and Allen MacDonald served as showrunners and executive producers, along with Edward Ornelas, Erik Barmack, and director Patricia Cardoso.
The Horror of Delores Roach, based on the podcast of the same name which was also based on a play called Empanada Loca, follows a woman named Delores Roach who is released after serving an unjust prison sentence and takes extreme measures to survive in her newly gentrified New York neighborhood. Justina Machado stars in the series, which comes from Blumhouse Television, Gloria Calderón Kellett’s GloNation Studios, Amazon Studios, Gimlet Pictures, and Spotify Studios. Aaron Mark and Dara Resnik were co-showrunners and executive produced the series along with Gloria Calderón Kellett, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie, and Spotify’s Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O’Donnell, and Justin McGoldrick. Roxann Dawson directed the pilot.
Created and executive produced by Gloria Calderón Kellett, With Love is a romantic comedy centered on siblings and their family as they go through the ups and downs of life and love, with each episode taking place around a different holiday. The series stars Emeraude Toubia and Mark Indelicato and premiered its first season in December 2021, with the second and final season debuting in June.
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The cancellations mark a significant loss for Prime Video in terms of diverse representation, as all three series featured people of color in lead roles. This is particularly disappointing given the recent industry labor strikes and the trend of networks and streamers scaling back their rosters.
However, it is important to note that the entertainment industry is ever-changing, and cancellations often pave the way for new and innovative content. As audiences continue to demand diverse and inclusive storytelling, it is likely that Prime Video will continue to invest in and champion underrepresented voices in their future programming. Overall, the landscape of streaming services is dynamic, and while it is disappointing to see these series go, it also provides an opportunity for new and exciting content to take their place.
