Why was Too Old to Die Young canceled by Amazon?

Too Old to Die Young was one of the five Amazon Originals canceled at the TCAs. Why did Amazon cancel the series after just one season?

During Amazon’s TCAs, five Amazon Originals were canceled. Too Old to Die Young was one of those, canceled after just one season on the streaming service. Why was it canceled so quickly?

I guess my first question should be whether you even knew it was on Amazon Prime Video. Out of the five Originals canceled, this was the one that received the least amount of promotion. It wasn’t even on the list of movies and shows coming to the streaming service when it debuted in June.

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I scour the web for Amazon news and I had no idea about this series until it was suddenly upon us. I had to specifically write a separate piece about the show because it wasn’t on the list of Amazon Originals arriving in June. If I can’t find it, then it wasn’t getting the promotion that it deserved.

Without promotion, viewers aren’t going to check it out. They’re not going to know that it’s on the streaming service. After all, it landed on the same day as Absentia Season 2 (renewal talks are still ongoing, which is a good sign) so the focus was always going to be on the Stana Katic series.

It was also released in between Good Omens at the end of May and The Boys at the end of July. There was a lot of hype for these two series, so anything that didn’t get enough promotion was going to be lost in the shuffle.

Since people didn’t watch within the first couple of months, Amazon wouldn’t have felt like there was an audience for it. The last thing a streamer wants to do is put money into a show that doesn’t have a fanbase to start with. However, I think there could have been a fanbase had it gained the right promotion.

The promotion that it did get was odd. Critics got to review two episodes of the series ahead of time. That should have been great, except they got Too Old to Die Young Episodes 4 and 5. Usually, critics would get the first couple of episodes, giving them time to get to know the characters. It was an odd choice that just didn’t work out.

It’s a shame. I feel bad for shows that don’t get much or the right promotion in the lead-up to the release. They tend to be some of the most underrated shows, too. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be for Too Old to Die Young.

What did you think of Too Old to Die Young? Were you surprised by the cancellation news? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Too Old to Die Young is available on Amazon Prime Video.