Until a few days ago, Amazon was holding the most valuable sci-fi treasure of all streaming services: peripherals. At first glance, it’s a nondescript evil-tech-in-the-near-future blah blah. Upon second glance, it’ll blow you away with the sophistication of Westworld, the beauty of Sense8, and twists that would make even M. Night Shyamalan green with envy.
No other sci-fi series has surprised me so much in recent years and convinced me again and again that the genre has not yet been told. I cheered when Season 2 Peripherals was ordered. Amazon still kills the series out of nowhere with a shock cancellation. As if that wasn’t reason enough for weeks of teary-eyed eyes the background of the dismissal to freak out.
Amazon makes a huge mistake: The sci-fi competition is extremely strong and yet peripherals stood out
Some constellation of stars has got to be right for sci-fi fans for the past few years as so many good series come along with no end in sight. With Silo, Severance, Foundation and For All Mankind, Apple hoards four sci-fi strokes of genius like other noodle packs. At Paramount+, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds outshines it all, and Netflix wowed me with the final season of Stranger Things.
Periphery beat all these sci-fi series in one important respect: it blew me away, enchanted and shocked me in a completely unexpected way. Me an old sci-fi bunny who pulls in everything that says spaceship or post-apocalypse.
The book of the same name by the well-known sci-fi author William Gibson * from 2014 bravely withstood the last nine years of AI development and the climate crisis. The story begins when gaming-loving rednecks get their hands on a mysterious VR headset. You shouldn’t know more because of the WTF density. Gibson himself was scared when watching the series, the template was implemented so cleverly and mercilessly.
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Periphery proves that sci-fi series can be the complete package of fairytale show value and clever vision of the future – without a decade-long franchise in the back. Amazon is therefore making a huge mistake with the shock cancellation. Periphery has the qualitative caliber and underdog potential to become a cult hit.
Produced by Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan and directed by horror master Vincenzo Natali (Hannibal), Periphery goes far beyond the original. Not least because of a considerable budget of 175 million US dollars for Season 1, which more expensive series such as The Rings of Power or The Witcher do not know how to use nearly as well.
But the money is now the undoing of the series. Because Amazon draws the wrong conclusions from the current strike situation in Hollywood.
The reasons for Amazon’s sci-fi cancellation have to do with the Hollywood strike, and it’s hilarious
In the case of peripherals, Amazon had already decided to spend the high budget again when it ordered season 2. So the value of the series was recognized. In the case of subsequent shock deductions like this, money plays a role as well usually a second factor also plays a role. These can be contractual problems, restructuring at the broadcaster or, in recent years, shooting delays due to the corona pandemic.
Periphery Season 2 would probably not have come to Amazon until 2025 due to the production delay. Dozens of stopped series are currently having to adjust to long breaks between seasons. When considering which series to cancel in order to save costs due to the exceptional situation, Amazon chose peripherals. The comparatively expensive series with a comparatively small audience – and no franchise connection whatsoever.
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That’s triple crying. Firstly, because fair remuneration would prevent the strike from happening in the first place. Secondly, because Amazon just kills the sci-fi diamond peripherals to save money. And thirdly, because the series had already been extended and the company not only hit the proverbial fist in the stomach, but also the dagger in the heart.
That is the same triple howl. Firstly, because fair remuneration would prevent the strike from happening in the first place. Secondly, because Amazon just kills the sci-fi diamond peripherals to save money. And thirdly, because the series had already been extended and the company not only hit the proverbial fist in the stomach, but also the dagger in the heart.
It will be a long time before a series like Periphery comes along again. By then I will certainly have watched the first season several times. Because even if the story isn’t finished, Season 1 can stand on its own. Maybe it will still be something with the cult hit.
Podcast tip: The best sci-fi series to start this year
So that Periphery’s dismissal shock doesn’t go too deep, we have a few encouraging suggestions for you. Introducing sci-fi shows we’re really looking forward to in 2023.
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Chaotic time travel, survival struggles at the edge of the universe, gripping alien conspiracies on earth or dystopian societies in the post-apocalypse: the sci-fi series starting in 2023 show how diverse the genre can be.
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