Sadly, Amazon won't be able to (easily) save The Acolyte after its cancellation

There has been some sad news when it comes to cancellations lately. Disney has canceled The Acolyte after just one season.

Of course, when there are cancellations, fans want to know two things. They want to know why the cancellation happened, and they want to know if the show could be saved. The Acolyte isn’t being shopped around, but that isn’t the only reason Amazon wouldn’t be able to step in to save this one easily.

The Acolyte is part of the Star Wars franchise

The main reason Amazon wouldn’t step in to save this series is because it’s part of the Star Wars franchise. This is owned by Disney, and there’s no way Disney would want a series within its franchise to go elsewhere.

We just have to look at what happened when Disney took over Marvel and there was an overhaul in the Marvel shows that were on Netflix. They were suddenly canceled.

On top of that, is the cost. If Disney doesn’t have the budget to create such a show, then neither would another streaming platform. Sure, Amazon could have the budget, but a lot of money is going into The Lord of the Rings, so it’s hard to have that budget available for a Star Wars show.

Streaming contracts make it difficult for Amazon to step in

Let’s just take out the equation that it is part of the Star Wars franchise. The fact that it is on another streaming platform also make sit much harder for Amazon to step in to save it. The contracts for streaming originals are vastly different to the contracts for broadcast and premium cable network shows.

The contracts tend to prevent the shows from being released on another streaming platform without some sort of licensing agreement in place. What’s the point in a streamer picking up a new season when it doesn’t have access to an old one? It doesn’t make sense, even though it is disappointing for the fans as they don’t get to see how a story continues.

Streamers already serve an international audience, as well. If there isn’t the viewership to the show on the original streaming platform, there is a huge risk for another streamer to save the show. With the cost of producing it, the viewership needs to be high. If Disney can’t get it, then Amazon can’t.