David Farnor | On 18, Jan 2018

Amazon has cancelled One Mississippi, I Love Dick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson.

All three comedy series have reportedly been dropped by the online giant, as it continues its move towards producing bigger titles in hope of reaching a more mainstream audience. That intention has been made clearer than ever with its expensive deal to nab the rights to The Lord of the Rings for a new series – but it has come at the cost of a wave of casualties, including all of its most recent pilots, none of which were picked up to series.

Its arthouse-leaning line-up, including Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has helped Amazon towards awards success in recent years, but now, those three are the only comedy originals that Amazon Studios is continuing to make – with the exception of The Tick, which has just been renewed for a second run.

I Love Dick was a series from Jill Soloway, adapted from the lauded feminist novel of the same name, and following the struggles of a married couple in an academic community in Texas – fuelled by the fiery infatuation formed by a filmmaker for the titular Dick (Kevin Bacon).

“This bold, intoxicating dive into the female gaze is TV that demands to be devoured,” read our review.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson was a show starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, in which he played a fictional version of himself, part-time actor and part-time CIA assassin. The self-aware comedy satire premiered earlier this year, to mixed reviews.

“Jean-Claude Van Damme has undoubtedly still got it. What a shame, then, that this fails to do justice to the man’s obvious talent and apparent sense of humour,” we wrote in our review.

While I Love Dick was tantalising, if niche, and Jean-Claude Van Johnson failed to find its funny bone, though, One Mississippi has consistently impressed as one of Amazon’s most unique original titles. Starring Tig Notaro, the semi-autobiographical programme tackled such themes as cancer, discrimination and grief, and even including a veiled reference to Louis CK (an exec producer on the show in name only), in a scene that saw a radio producer masturbate at one of the female characters.

“One Mississippi’s surprisingly upbeat second run combines the personal and political to unassuming, funny, moving effect,” we wrote in our review of Season 2, which aired last year. “What a fantastic, unassuming piece of television this is.”

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