Prime Video has canceled hit fantasy drama My Lady Jane after one season but I think the streaming service is making a royally big mistake by ending one of the best Prime Video shows this early. The news comes two months after all eight episodes from season 1 of the show landed on one of the best streaming services in June and received an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes score.
My Lady Jane took a creative risk by blending genres that don’t usually co-exist. It wasn’t just another steamy period drama like Bridgerton, it was also an historical romance, fantasy, adventure, and farcical comedy. It obviously paid off, given that it was among the best reviewed series this year and caused a social media buzz (trust me, I’ve seen all the fan edits on Instagram), but this clearly wasn’t enough to save this damsel in distress.
According to Deadline, My Lady Jane never earned a place on Nielsen’s Top 10 weekly streaming rankings for originals. So, despite the social media hype and having a unique twist on Tudor history, it seems not enough people watched it to prompt a second season. The series was a lot crazier than the trailers perceived, so it’s possible that if Prime Video had of revealed more of its fantastical premise in its promotion of the show, then more people would have been attracted to watching it.
What’s My Lady Jane about?
My Lady Jane is based on the book of the same name written by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, which takes on an alternative approach to the history of 16th century Lady Jane Grey, aka the Nine Days Queen, who earned that name as she ruled England for only nine days. But nothing is as it seems in My Lady Jane as the series is centred on Ethians, humans who can take animal form, that are dictated by the Verity ruling class of regular humans.
My Lady Jane season one ended with the possibility of being renewed as it teased that there was more to come when the narrator shared: “our story is not over yet.” Although, the main couple Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) and Lord Guildford Dudley’s (Edward Bluemel) love story did come to a happy end, the cancelation is still a disappointment to those who loved the outrageous, whimsical approach to a period drama.
So, now that we’ll never get to see the next chapter of Lady Jane Grey’s story after she managed to escape losing her head, check out these three period dramas to watch while you grieve the loss of another beloved series.
