Costly Spider-Noir cancelled despite 11 Emmy nominations and acclaim
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Prime Video has confirmed it will not renew "Spider-Noir," the Nicolas Cage-led superhero drama, for a second season, despite the show earning an 11 Emmy nominations, the most of any Prime Video series in 2026. The cancellation ends the first series to reach screen under Amazon MGM Studios' multi-title partnership with Sony Pictures Television, though the wider collaboration is continuing, with several new projects in development and one said to be nearing a series order. The decision appears rooted in the mismatch between the show's high production costs, including filming both colour and black-and-white versions, and its viewership, which was solid but not sustained.
Spider-Noir scored a 92% critics' rating and 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and launched at No.2 on Nielsen's US Top 10 for original series, drawing 851 million minutes viewed in its first week and 2.6 billion over six weeks after premiering on 25 May on MGM+ and 27 May on Prime Video. However, it fell off daily Top 10 rankings more quickly than other recent Prime Video hits such as "Reacher" and "Ride Or Die." The series, based on the Marvel comic "Spider-Man Noir" and starring Cage as 1930s New York investigator-turned-hero Ben Reilly, told a largely self-contained story, meaning few loose ends remain. It was developed with the "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" team of Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, alongside co-showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot.
- Prime Video cancels "Spider-Noir" despite 11 Emmy nominations and strong reviews
- High production costs vs modest sustained viewership likely drove the decision
- Amazon-Sony partnership continues, with new undisclosed projects in development
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Prime Video is an Amazon-owned streaming service, and it has cancelled "Spider-Noir" after just one series, even though the show was widely praised by critics and picked up 11 Emmy nominations. The series starred Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, a 1930s New York detective with Spider-Man-style powers, and was based on a Marvel comic. It was made under a new partnership between Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television, and was the first show from that deal to actually air.
The decision matters because it highlights the tension in streaming between critical acclaim and commercial viability. "Spider-Noir" was expensive to produce, partly because episodes were shot in both colour and black-and-white, and while it drew respectable viewing figures at launch, interest dropped off faster than other recent Prime Video hits. That combination of high cost and fading audience numbers appears to have driven the cancellation, despite the show's reviews.
The wider Amazon-Sony partnership is not affected and continues with other projects in development, so the story is really about the fate of one show rather than the collaboration itself. Key figures involved in "Spider-Noir" included Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, known for the "Spider-Verse" animated films, alongside showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot.
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