Prime Video Cancels Jesse Williams' Hotel Costiera

Amazon is back on the chopping block. After dropping Jensen Ackles' thriller Countdown earlier this fall (and Daniel Dae Kim's Butterfly with it), Prime Video has now canceled Jesse Williams' Hotel Costiera. It’s a frustrating one, because on paper the show seemed to be doing what it needed to do.

So, what was Hotel Costiera?

Premiering in September, the English-language Italian series cast Jesse Williams as a former Marine turned fixer working at a luxury hotel on the Amalfi Coast. It ran six episodes and came from Amazon MGM Studios and Lux Vide (run by Luca Bernabei and owned by Fremantle). Adam Bernstein and Giacomo Martelli directed, with Williams joined by Maria Chiara Giannetta, Jordan Alexandra, Antonio Gerardi, Sam Haygarth, and more.

• Reception: Strong out of the gate with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score
• Availability: A Prime Video exclusive in several territories, including the US
• Performance: Debuted at the top of Prime Video charts where it was exclusive; did not crack Nielsen's weekly Top 10 for scripted originals; logged three weeks on Luminate's Top 50

Why the cancellation?

Amazon hasn’t offered a detailed explanation. The read, per industry chatter, is that the overall response wasn’t convincing enough to justify another season while Amazon MGM Studios works through internal shifts. Fremantle still holds the rights and is now shopping for a new co-producing partner in case a second run can be mounted elsewhere. That’s a very 'behind-the-scenes' kind of move, and it tells you they aren’t ready to bury it yet.

The Countdown context

This comes just months after Prime Video opted not to move forward with a second season of Countdown, despite it doing legit numbers. Deadline reported both Countdown and Butterfly were dropped after a single season. Countdown performed well on Nielsen’s Top 10 for streaming originals and kept hanging around Prime Video’s US Top 10 for over a month after its season finale. The call, ultimately, came down to global viewership, which is where streamers live or die now.

Jensen Ackles, who played LAPD officer Mark Meachum, reacted on Instagram with a mix of disappointment and gratitude:

"Countdown did not get picked up for another season. Amazon's gonna let it go, and it's a bummer because I had such an amazing time making that show... That's the end for Mark Meachum... But I'm thankful for the experience. We'll see you down the road on something else, I guess."

He also thanked creator Derek Hess and Amazon for the shot. The series co-starred Eric Dane, Jessica Camacho, Violett Beane, Uli Latukefu, Elliot Knight, and more.

Where things stand

Hotel Costiera is out at Prime Video for now, but Fremantle is trying to keep it alive with a new partner. Countdown remains canceled, despite solid metrics — a reminder that success on one chart doesn’t always translate globally, which is the only metric that matters at these streamers.

If you want to check out what the fuss was about, both Countdown and Hotel Costiera are still streaming on Prime Video.