My Lady Janeis one of thebest fantasy shows to arrive on Prime Videoin recent years, but it continued a frustrating streaming trend for the genre.My Lady Janemade its debut in June 2024, blending fantasy, romance, and a unique take on real-world history — much like the book it’s based on.
The series had plenty of potential, withMy Lady Janesnagging an impressive 95% onRotten Tomatoesand receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. However, this didn’t prevent the fantasy series from following in the footsteps of many other failed projects. In fact,My Lady Jane’s quality and promise only made its continuation of one trend much worse.
My Lady Jane Was A Great Fantasy Show, But It Was Shortlived
My Lady Janewas a fantasy show worthy of its near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, boasting everything from great production quality to compelling storytelling. While some additions to the genre are hurt by smaller budgets and poor visuals,My Lady Janedoesn’t suffer from such problems. The costumes and effects make the story believable and immersive from the jump.
Thecast ofMy Lady Janealso helps get viewers invested, with Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel giving especially impressive performances. Even the supporting players bring their A-game to the show, however, giving viewers plenty of people to root for — and in some cases, against.
The series' snarky tone and entertaining story also elevate it, making sense of its positive reception. Unfortunately, despite its strengths,My Lady Jane’s run was shortlived. There were storylines to conclude in a second season, but Prime Video canceled the show after its first outing.
Why My Lady Jane Was Canceled After Just One Season
Prime Video canceledMy Lady Janejust under two months after it debuted, withDeadlinereporting that the series hadn’t accumulated a large enough audience or made its way into Nielsen’s Top 10 weekly ranking. Without high viewership numbers, Prime Video likely determined that the series wasn’t worth the cost of continuing. After all, fantasy series tend to require hefty budgets.
Although fans of the show feel thatPrime Video canceling the series was a mistake— indeed, evenGeorge R.R. Martin had feelings about its fate— it’s likely Prime Video’s decision mostly came down to the numbers. And this is a common occurence for fantasy TV shows: many are canceled too soon because they fail to justify their costs right off the bat.
Prime Video’s My Lady Jane Cancellation Continued A Frustrating Fantasy Trend
My Lady Jane continued a frustrating trend for fantasy shows on streaming, as it’s far from the first series to be canceled before it could find its audience or footing. There’s no shortage of great fantasy projects that only get one season before being axed. Netflix’sKaosandLockwood & Co.are both perfect examples, as is Disney+‘sWillow.
Most of these projects have potential and good reviews, just likeMy Lady Jane.But given how quickly things move in the streaming world, they aren’t given enough time to get viewers’ attention. By the time many people even realize new series — especially those without attachments to well-known IPs — are out, they’re already canceled.
And even making it past season 1 doesn’t secure a fantasy show’s future.Shadow and BoneandThe Wheel of Timeare proof of this, with the latter demonstrating that it can take a few outings to get things right. Sadly, streaming doesn’t seem to account for this, with far too many fantasy series being axed within just a few seasons of their premieres.
This Trend Proves Streaming Needs To Fix Its Fantasy Problem
If there’s one thingMy Lady Jane’s cancellation proves, it’s that streaming needs to fix its fantasy approach.Brandon Sanderson has discussed streaming’s problemswhen it comes to the genre, and he’s right about one thing: they don’t stem from poor budgets or a lack of resources. But fantasy shows could probably benefit from a better structure.
Breaking fantasy projects up into short seasons certainly doesn’t help many of them find their viewership, and it’s possible the streaming model of dropping all episodes at once isn’t beneficial either. Weekly releases allow series to gain traction and stay in the spotlight, much likeGame of Thrones. Longer outings would also enable these stories to work out their kinks before being canceled.
Of course, it would help if streaming shows weren’t so dependent on early performance, as audiences sometimes take a while to discover hidden gems on a platform. With most series being deemed failures based on their viewership during the first 24 hours and first couple of weeks, even incredible titles are cut short early.
A lot of shows likeMy Lady Janealso could use stronger marketing, which might help draw larger crowds. It’s a shame thatMy Lady Janewon’t get the opportunity to see its story through to the end, but streamers can learn from it with future fantasy series. Hopefully, they’re paying attention and trying to make changes.
