Why was The Tick canceled by Amazon after two seasons?

When Amazon was just getting started with its Prime Video streaming platform, it brought some fun and different shows. One of those was The Tick, which premiered in 2016. However, it was canceled after just two seasons, and we’re taking a look at why that was.

There have been a lot of shows canceled by Amazon over the last decade or so. Many of them have been canceled after two seasons. We just have to look at the likes of The Wilds, Hunters, and Carnival Row. A lot of streaming shows in general are canceled after two seasons, and it all comes down to costs.

It won’t be too surprising to find out that The Tick was a casualty due to costs. Here’s a look at things from a business point of view.

The Tick didn’t get the following that it needed

While the comedy series was certainly popular with fans of the comic books and the critics, it didn’t quite get the following that it needed on Prime Video. This was an expensive series to create due to the graphics in mind, so it needed to get the viewers to make it financially viable for Amazon. Without the subscribers watching it, it meant that Amazon couldn’t justify the costs.

Of course, we do need to put the blame on the streaming model as a whole for this one. Amazon originally had a model where pilots were released to see if there was an interest in the series. So, the first episode arrived in August 2016 and then it took a whole year for the next five episodes to drop!

After that, it was another six months for the rest of the season to arrive. Amazon tested out this split season model at a time when streaming was just really getting started.

It then took until April 2019 for the second season to arrive. The downside at this point was the lack of promotion. By 2019, there were a lot of other shows that took over for Prime Video, with the likes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Transparent. We also got The Boys and Carnival Row that year. With interest moving onto other new, “bigger” shows, Amazon feared there wouldn’t be the attention for The Tick Season 3, so canceled it.

It's a shame because this is a funny series. It's also a great adaptation of the comics.

The Tick is still available to stream on Prime Video.