A pair of formerly green-lit AMC series are no longer continuing at the network. Season 2 of 61st Street and thein-development Invitation to a Bonfire have both been canceled. According to an exclusive with Variety, the decision was made in part of a cost cutting measure that could save the company around $400 million in content write downs.
AMC hinted at this when announcing the exit of CEO Christina Spade in late November. “We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray,” interim chairman James L. Dolan said in a memo when first taking over. He also mentioned “a large-scale layoff as well as cuts to every operating area of AMC Networks.”
Created by Peter Moffat (Your Honor) and executive produced by Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Black Panther), 61st Street premiered in 2019 and was set to be a two season limited series. Starring Courtney B. Vance and Tosin Cole, the first season followed a high school athlete (Cole) who becomes intertwined in the Chicago justice system when he is arrested in suspicion to the death of a police officer. The second season has already completed production, however AMC has decided to cancel it anyway, as the move will help them cut costs.
Based on the novel by Adrienne Celt, Invitation to a Bonfire was created by Rachel Caris Love and would have starred She-Hulk’s Tatiana Maslany as “a young Russian immigrant and groundskeeper, who is drawn into a lethal love triangle with the school’s newest faculty member — an enigmatic novelist — and his bewitching wife.” Other members of the cast include Ngozi Anyanwu (The Affair) and Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), four of the first season’s six episodes have already completed filming in Massachusetts.
These cancelations are the latest in a recent trend of production companies shelving current and completed projects in favor of financial write-offs. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav has already garnered a reputation for axing projects after he nixed DC/HBO Max’s already completed Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace (In The Heights) and Michael Keaton as Batman. While it is unknown if AMC will look to license the series elsewhere, it is possible they could find a second life since both are well into production.
The first season of 61st street is currently available to watch on AMC+. You can watch the trailer below: