Why Prime Video's Ride Or Die Was Canceled After 1 Season (Despite Near-Perfect RT Score)

Published Sep 22, 2026, 2:15 PM EDT

Kyle is a senior writer at ScreenRant and has been part of the team for over two years. Having led coverage on The Walking Dead projects alongside Rick & Morty, Kyle is well versed in numerous genres.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Kyle is a passionate journalist who has a keen interest in TV and film. He has six years of experience studying journalism including a HND in Practical Journalism and a BA Honours in Journalism, Media and Communication and History. Alongside his love for TV and film, Kyle enjoys video games, football and Formula 1.

Prime Video's Ride or Die was a surprise summer hit for the platform, as the comedy spy series debuted to strong reviews and pulled impressive viewership numbers for a new show. The eight-episode thrill ride stars Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer as two best friends who seem to know each other inside and out, except for one massive secret.

Debbie (Spencer) finds out that her best friend of 20 years has actually been working as an international assassin, leading to the duo going on the run when a mysterious enemy comes after them. The project does an excellent job of mixing a high-stakes plot with plenty of comedy, bringing out the best in its two leads.

It may not be the streaming service's biggest show of the year, but reviews for Ride or Die were extremely positive, as it boasts a 96% critics score and 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition, it spent 9 weeks on Prime Video's top 10 chart and even hit the #1 spot shortly after it premiered, proving it wasn't a hidden gem either.

With the new series performing well and the appetite seemingly there for it, all signs pointed towards its renewal, yet Prime Video surprisingly canceled Ride or Die, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to why. No official reason has been released, but one report seems to indicate it could be down to young adult shows being the priority.

According to Deadline, there is a high chance Amazon executives simply don't see much appeal in the project's demographic, as it caters largely to middle-aged women, who already use Amazon Prime. Therefore, despite its competition drawing fewer views, the fact that they attract a younger audience makes them more lucrative.

Sadly, this appears to be a leading reason as to why the series was axed, since there aren't many other logical explanations.

Trends Show That Streaming Platforms Are Relying More On YA Shows

With Ride or Die reportedly coming in under budget, accumulating strong viewership numbers, and earning overwhelmingly positive reviews, being shelved for shows aimed at a younger demographic seems to be the reason behind its fate. Beyond pure speculation, there is also some evidence that backs up this theory.

As Deadline's report pointed out, Prime Video's Obsession is in Session campaign focused largely on YA shows, featuring the likes of Off Campus, Elle, Every Year After, and Sterling Point, which all have been renewed for second seasons. For better or worse, this seems to be a common theme among most streaming platforms.

Netflix's Discover Your Future 2026 ad focused largely on series for young adults, with the likes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, One Piece, Devil May Cry, and The Gentlemen all having big segments throughout the ad, highlighting their importance. More and more projects and campaigns seem to be catering to this demographic, suggesting it's where the most value is for platforms.

With the majority of Prime Video's best shows of 2026 appealing predominantly to younger viewers, it seems like very few new releases are bucking this trend. Unfortunately, even when something like Ride or Die comes along and manages to excel with a different audience in mind, it isn't given the chance to continue.

Perhaps there is more to the story with Ride or Die than meets the eye, but streaming trends are becoming increasingly favorable towards young adult shows, which seem to be the future of streaming. However, without variety, platforms may come to regret this single-minded strategy.

Ride Or Die Is Still Considered A Success For Prime Video

Credit: Prime Video

Despite its cancelation, there is no doubt that Ride or Die was a major success for Prime Video. Modern audiences often find themselves divided on new projects, especially when compared to critics, yet the overall consensus is that Ride or Die is a great show, and it absolutely deserves every bit of praise it has received.

Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer had a natural chemistry that made their friendship easy to get invested in, while the strong supporting cast helped cap off a great first season. The comedy made sure not to take itself too seriously and let the humor shine, yet there was still a gripping plot that was a real treat to watch.

Being considered good is one thing, but getting the views to back this up is a whole other task, one that Ride or Die passed with flying colors. It accumulated nearly 1 million views in two days, beating summer blockbuster Masters of the Universe to the #1 spot in the US, which is no easy accomplishment.

The fact that it achieved all this while apparently coming in under budget should have made it a prized possession for Prime Video, and had it been catered for a younger demographic, there's no doubt we would've seen many more seasons. Being canceled doesn't take away from its success though. In fact, it proves the series overcame difficult odds.

Such little support, even after all these accomplishments, suggests it was never meant to do this well, highlighting just how impressive Ride or Die's streaming success is, even if Prime Video decided to let the project go. Fortunately, there is still some hope that a second season could happen in the future.

Could Ride Or Die Season 2 Still Happen?

In theory, Prime Video's decisive decision should signal the end of Ride or Die, but the journey may not be over yet for Debbie and Judith. Although Amazon isn't continuing with the show, it is being shopped to other networks, as Paramount TV Studios is making the project available to other networks or streamers, having helped produce it.

So far, there is no news on possible interest, but with over 900 million viewing hours in the US in less than a week, it will surely be a hot commodity for potential buyers. A new network picking it up could change the formula slightly, as they may have different ideas tonally, or order a different number of episodes for season 2.

Regardless, audiences have clearly become attached to these characters, and the nature of the show makes it easy to pull off multiple seasons. Therefore, there is a real chance that Ride or Die returns for another outing even after Prime Video dropped it, but only if prices, copyright, and other semantics don't get in the way.

All eight episodes of Ride or Die season 1 are still available to stream on Prime Video.

Octavia Spencer's response to Ride or Die's cancelation indicates that she has nothing but fond memories of working on the show, meaning if someone else were to pick it up, she'd likely be up for returning. Whether the rest of the cast feel the same way is anyone's guess, but all hope of a return isn't lost.

Knowing that there was such a strong reception for this hilarious hit and that it performed well in all metrics provides hope that Ride or Die could get a second season. That said, even if it is renewed elsewhere, it may be a while before we see this chaotic friendship back on our screens, but it would certainly be worth the wait.

Source: Deadline