The fourth season of the most followed Amazon series The Man In The High Castle is set to premiere. While on one hand, it is good news to the legion of fans the show has pulled since its first season, it is also bad news because that would be the show’s last season.
Although the show was pretty much successful and amassed a good following among fans, Amazon Prime Video made the unexpected call that it is ending the show after the next season. Cast and crew have already been notified of the decision to bring the show to an end and that has left fans wondering what must have necessitated this.
Here is all we know about why the got canceled as well as everything there is to know about the show thus far.
The Man in the High Castle
The Amazon show is an adaptation of the 1962 novel of Philip K. Dick of the same name. It tells the story of the Second World War, set in an alternate universe in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt is assassinated by Giuseppe Zangara and the Nazi and Germany (Axis Power) defeated the Allied Powers. After this, the United States is divided between the Empire of Japan and Germany.
The show premiered in 2015 and before long, it rose to become one of the most followed original shows on Amazon. More so, it gained critical success across platforms like Rotten Tomatoes where it got 95% rating and Metacritic with 77%.
On January 15, 2015, the pilot of the show was released and then in November, the first season officially started. The second season was released in December 2016, but nothing came in 2017. In October 2018, the third season was released. Next, it was announced by Amazon Prime Studios that it has started work on the fourth season which is expected to be released in November 2019.
The Real Reason The Man In The High Castle Was Cancelled
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Amazon Prime Studios revealed that it is bringing the show, as stated, to an end after the fourth season. The series which stars actors like Alexa Davalos, Rufus Sewell, DJ Qualls, and Joel de la Fuente, as well as Jason O’Mara who joined in the third season, was renewed for the fourth and final season in July 2018.
Among the biggest series in alternative history, there is no definite reason that is given by Amazon Prime Studios as regards why the show is coming to an end, the belief is that the Studios is set to begin work on other projects. More so, it is believed that the show is coming to an end as new Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke is said to be on a house cleaning mission.
With the success it has recorded on the show which is now in production, the Studio wants to expand to other adaptations of Philip K. Dick. According to Salke, the series is what gave Amazon Prime Video a spot in the genre, for which they are grateful.
So far, it is known that we may get to see some more adaptations from Dick in the future from Amazon. More so, Isa and Electric Shepherd Productions – also involved in the production of the series – are going to be involved in the next productions as revealed by Salke.
Everything Else You Need To Know
1. Release Date: Coming as the last season of the show, the fourth season of the show is set for release on 15 November 2019. With that, Amazon is sticking to its fall/winter release as seen in its previous seasons of the show.
2. Frank Spotnitz Effect? The show was initially launched by Frank Spotnitz, but mid-way into the series, he left after he had disagreements with Amazon regarding location and budget. That said, it is still not clear if this has affected the cancellation of the show in any way.
3. The future: According to the producers of the series, all efforts are being made to make sure that the show rounds up with a Worthing ending. Nonetheless, it has also been revealed that although it is ending, there could still be more on the saga in the future in a way or another. No one knows if it may come under Amazon Prime, but that is what hinted by David Zucker and Scott Free who are both part of the team.