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With the Oscars tonight, this is a big night for many people in Hollywood, but it’s a depressing one for fans of Amazon’s Mad Dogs. Shawn Ryan, a writer and producer for the British black comedy and psychological thriller series, just announced via Twitter that no more episodes of the Amazon drama are going to be made.
The series followed five middle-aged friends—Ben Chaplin, Michael Imperioli, Romany Malco, Steve Zahn, and Billy Zane—who reunite for a holiday in Belize. However, things take a turn for the terrifying and drug-lord dominated when one of the men is attacked and murdered. As Decider’s own Meghan O’Keefe pointed out, the series is a critique on masculinity itself and how masculinity is portrayed as well as how we should respond to it, and it’s a smart critique at that. However, fans of the Prime Video original series are going to have to be happy with one season.
In Ryan’s 19-part explanation on Twitter, he explained that the creators and Amazon have decided to not make any more new episodes. He first thanked critics for the Mad Dogs love, and dropped a rare glimpse into Amazon’s viewer stats. According to Ryan, after four weeks, the show had already achieved better streaming stats than many Amazon shows. However, the drama was intended to be 10 episodes long, and the creators attached to the series are stopping while they’re on top. Apparently, the series was greenlit under the assumption that future seasons would be possible, but when Season Two discussions really got underway, Amazon and the series’ creators decided to part ways. Ryan and the show’s creator, Cris Cole, came to Amazon with an idea they wanted to pursue for the second season, but Amazon passed. Rather than give a lackluster continuation of a series they loved, the creators and Amazon decided it was best to end the series:
Ultimately, I think it’s better to leave it there, pure and unsullied, than to do a watered down version of the show.
Though this announcement, seems depressing, I think it’s actually a good thing for viewers and creators. It’s better to let your favorite shows end on their own terms rather than watch them slowly die by being dragged over the dying embers of fan appreciation. For reference, think of how satisfying 30 Rock’s finale was compared to The Office or Scrubs. You can read all of Ryan’s tweets below:
