Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle is coming out of its nest.
The streamer on Tuesday announced that the upcoming fourth season of the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1962 alternate history novel of the same name will be its last. Production on the series will wrap next month in Vancouver for a premiere in the fall.
“It has been a great privilege to work alongside our extraordinary High Castle team, in partnership with David Zucker and Scott Free, to bring my father’s classic novel to life, particularly during this tumultuous period in our real world. I believe fans will be thrilled and satisfied by the epic conclusion we have in store for them,” executive producer Isa Dick Hackett said Tuesday in a statement announcing the news. “I am very grateful for the ongoing support from Amazon as we produce this final season, and look forward to building on this extremely successful partnership. Stay tuned; there’s more to come!”
The news arrives mere weeks after Hackett inked a first-look deal to bring more of Dick’s works to the small screen.
The decision to wrap Castle with four seasons arrives after the drama became a breakout hit out of the gate when it launched on Amazon back in 2015, when Roy Price ran originals for the retailer/streamer. Amazon at the time crowed that the series became its most-viewed original on the service — though the company, like other streamers, does not release any viewership data. Since then, Castle has had nearly as many showrunners as it has had seasons. Frank Spotnitz launched the drama but exited midway through production on season two after clashing with Amazon over budget and location issues. Eric Overmyer boarded as showrunner after season two operated without a centralized exec producer.
The cancellation arrives as new Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke has been cleaning house, opting to cancel Hackett’s Sony TV-produced anthology Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams after one season.
Alexa Davalos, Joel De La Fuente and Rufus Sewell star on the series.
The news arrives as Amazon is also saying farewell this year to Transparent (ending with a musical movie) and the comedy Catastrophe. Awaiting word on their futures are Lore and Patriot as Amazon and Salke plot a scripted roster that also includes Syfy transplant The Expanse and its massive investment in Lord of the Rings, among others.
