Fans campaign to save yet another female-centric Prime Video show canceled too soon

On August 16, Amazon Prime declared they would not renew My Lady Jane for a second season. This comes just several weeks after the show premiered, on June 27, to delighted fans of the book and newcomers discovering it for the first time.

The show follows a rewritten history of Lady Jane Grey, who was notoriously Queen of England and Ireland for just nine days before Queen Mary beheaded her and took the throne. The series takes on a fantastical framework as a large portion of society can transform into animals, and they’re discriminated against. It’s also quite steamy, with an enemies-to-lovers arc between Lady Jane (Emily Bader) and Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), who must suffer through an arranged marriage.

Despite Prime Video’s own leaderboard declaring My Lady Jane just second to The Boys at the time of release, apparently, that wasn’t enough for the streamer to justify funding a second season. There has also been speculation that the series was set up to fail due to the lack of marketing for the show before its release.

Others have speculated that the show wasn’t given enough time to develop an audience due to its summer release, during most common vacation periods and so close to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Dedicated fans have taken to social media with #SaveMyLadyJane, hoping to egg another streamer into taking on the series. There’s a website with information about the fanbase’s strategy to get Amazon’s attention, a petition, and email templates to contact executives at Prime Video.

In the past few days, we have even seen certain cast members posting about the show on social media and using #SaveMyLadyJane.

Another reason to be shocked and dismayed is that the executive team behind My Lady Jane is extremely female-centric, and the show takes on a majorly female gaze. This makes it hard not to speculate about whether the abrupt cancellation has anything to do with the underestimation of female-driven work and the longevity of its fanbase.

Interestingly, this is not the first time a female-centered series has been abruptly canceled by Prime Video despite significant and dedicated fans. Others include Good Girls Revolt, The Wilds, Paper Girls, and The Power.