Prime Video cancels Zelda Fitzgerald series
The 2015 Prime Video period drama 'Z: The Beginning of Everything,' starring Christina Ricci, was canceled after its first season despite a renewal for a
Prime Video's period drama 'Z: The Beginning of Everything' was canceled after a single season in 2017. The series, which premiered in 2015, starred Christina Ricci and David Hoflin as the iconic literary couple Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Based on Therese Anne Fowler's 2013 novel 'Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald,' the show's first cour covered the couple's initial meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, their whirlwind courtship, and the early, tense years of their marriage. According to the source, the season concluded in 1921 with Zelda discovering her pregnancy.
Critical and Audience Reception
Critical reception for the series was mixed. The source reports the show holds a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it scored an 83% audience score on the platform's 'Popcornmeter,' indicating a more enthusiastic viewership response.
The cancellation was particularly disappointing for fans because the series had only just begun to explore the Fitzgerald's story. The first season adapted roughly one-third of the source novel.
The Story Left Untold
Another season would have moved the narrative to Paris, where the Fitzgeralds lived among the 'Lost Generation' of artists in the 1920s. The source states this would have included depicting Zelda's notorious feud with Ernest Hemingway, a major storyline from Fowler's book.
A second cour also likely would have covered Scott Fitzgerald writing 'The Great Gatsby' and Zelda Fitzgerald penning her novel 'Save Me the Waltz.' The later years of their relationship, marked by Zelda's mental health struggles and Scott's alcoholism, remained unexplored by the series.
Behind the Cancellation
Screen Rant reports that 'Z: The Beginning of Everything' had actually been renewed for a second season. The renewal was confirmed four months after the first season's premiere. Pre-production was underway, and Amazon had already spent $7 million on the project.
The series was ultimately scrapped as part of a cost-saving measure by Amazon, which was reducing spending on original series. The source suggests that, as the show was neither a major viewership hit nor a critical darling, it became a target for cancellation.
Period dramas are expensive. They often fail to attract the large audiences commanded by fantasy or sci-fi series based on popular intellectual property. The series remains available to stream on Prime Video.
