Yesterday, the news broke that Amazon has cancelled Spider-Noir after one season. While the Prime Video series told a complete story, people who enjoyed the show hoped that Nicolas Cage might return as Ben Reilly for another investigation.
However, like many TV shows where all episodes are released on the same day, Spider-Noir didn't stick around for very long after its May premiere and was quickly forgotten. Love or hate the discourse surrounding Lanterns, it's dominating the conversation week to week, which is paying off in terms of viewership.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Spider-Noir has 92% from critics and 90% from audiences. Some Marvel fans were unhappy with the liberties it took with the comics, but those scores ultimately speak for themselves.
Spider-Noir also received 11 Emmy Award nominations, though those were in technical categories like Sound Editing and Production Design rather than the splashier "Best Series" or "Best Actor" nods that typically generate headlines.
So, why was Spider-Noir cancelled? Despite launching at #2 on Nielsen's U.S Top 10 for original series during its first week and generating a reported 2.6 billion viewing minutes during its first six weeks, Spider-Noir simply didn't have "staying power."
According to Deadline, it failed to reach the same heights as Prime Video hits like Off Campus, Reacher and Ride Or Die, quickly dropping from the streamer's Top 10 rankings. With viewership deemed "respectable but not outsized," that, as well as the high cost of producing Spider-Noir, sealed its fate.
With streamers basing renewal decisions on cost vs. performance in the crowded marketplace, Spider-Noir has suffered the same fate as Wonder Man for the same reasons. We've also reached out to a few sources and have been told the show's viewership dropped significantly after the first two episodes, suggesting the eccentric take on Spider-Man wasn't for everyone.
So, it's the end of the road for Spider-Noir, but Cage is expected to reprise his role as the animated version in next summer's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Sony is also still developing another series with Amazon, though what this is remains a mystery to us.
Spider-Noir is a live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir. It tells the story of Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a seasoned, down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.
The cast also includes Lamorne Morris, Li Jun L, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson. Guest stars include Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice, Amanda Schull, Andrew Caldwell, Amy Aquino, Andrew Robinson, and Kai Caster.
All episodes of Spider-Noir are now streaming on Prime Video.