Why was The Man in the High Castle canceled after four seasons?

For four seasons, we watched the story of The Man in the High Castle play out. Why didn’t it continue despite there clearly being the storyline available?

The Man in the High Castle was an immediate hit. It brought us a great mixture of alternate history and sci-fi. After all, by the end of the first season, it was clear that there was more to that footage of the Allies winning the war in the alternate history where the Axis powers won.

Over the course of four seasons, we watched as Julianna tried to figure out everything that was going on while trying to keep herself safe from the Japanese authorities and then the Nazis. We watched as John Smith made difficult decisions and tries to keep his son alive despite the Nazi regime. Then we watched as Joe found his father and ended up brainwashed into the Nazi life.

Did The Man in the High Castle end?

Ahead of the fourth season coming to Prime Video, we learned that the show was coming to an end. That’s the way it was sold to us: that the show was ending with its fourth season.

However, watching the season, it was soon clear that it wasn’t written that way. The ending came with some major storylines left completely open. While there was a little bit of closure for the story of the portal to other worlds, there was the big topic of the rebels fighting for change.

Why did Amazon cancel The Man in the High Castle?

So, it was clear that The Man in the High Castle was effectively canceled. Amazon gave the writers time to at least bring some sort of an ending, but it wasn’t all that satisfying.

The cancellation was never fully explained, but it was likely linked to the show not quite getting the attention that Amazon wanted. Amazon wanted a Game of Thrones, and that wasn’t the case for this alternate history series. Sure, it was good, but it was costly, and it wasn’t getting the subscribers watching it needed to keep it going.

It wouldn’t end up being the only time Amazon would do something like this to a series. Just look at the way The Expanse ended.

The Man in the High Castle is available to stream on Prime Video.