Sneaky Pete Canceled by Amazon After Three Seasons

Sneaky Pete was unable to grift itself another season on Amazon Prime Video, which has canceled the series.

The series, the co-creation of Bryan Cranston and David Shore, launched on the streaming platform on August 7, 2015. It starred Giovanni Ribisi as Marius Josipovic, a smart, seedy con man who, initially upon his release from prison, dodges a debt to a dangerous gangster (Cranston) by posing as his cellmate, Pete Murphy, using all the stories he’s been told to ingratiate himself to the Bernhardts, Pete’s long-estranged Connecticut-based family, who run a bail bonds business. However, as we witness over the course of three seasons, Marius/Pete instinctually grifts his way out of problems; a practice that’s usually successful, but tends to spawn more problems and compounds others.

Joining Ribisi in the cast were Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, Margo Martindale, Peter Gerety and Libe Barer, with recurring players such as Ethan Embry, Alison Wright, Michael Drayer, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Jay O. Sanders, Justine Cotsonas and Jacob Pitts. Efrat Dor, Patrick J. Adams, Jeff Ross and Ricky Jay fielded prominent roles in Season 3.

Amazon premiered Sneaky Pete‘s third season on May 10, heralding it with praise as one of its top performers, referring to it as Amazon’s second-most-streamed original scripted series. Besides a showrunner switch from (Shore’s replacement,) Graham Yost to Blake Masters, said third season managed to save money, with the production having taken advantage of a major tax break by shifting from New York to California; a migration that was explained on the series with a coincidental convergence of storylines over in Los Angeles. However, like streaming giant Netflix (and Marius), Amazon keeps its cards close to its chest when it comes to hard viewing statistics. While it does raise questions about how a purportedly successful series gets unceremoniously axed like this, it might make sense when one considers that Amazon is looking at production for a supposedly $1 billion Lord of the Rings series amongst its existing lineup, which includes the recently-premiered Good Omens.

Cranston originally developed the pilot as part of his overall deal with CBS, which ultimately passed, after which it was shopped and scooped up by Amazon. Cranston – who lent the series some Heisenberg-level star power playing Vince, the main antagonist of Season 1 – would subsequently remain onboard as executive producer, joined by James Degus. The show was produced by Moonshot Entertainment, Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television.

Seeing as the series was originally shopped around after an initial rejection, one must wonder if there’s another home out there for a prospective fourth season of Sneaky Pete (maybe a mulligan pickup for CBS All Access). Regardless, the more likely scenario is that Marius/Pete is getting ready to be permanently put out to con man pasture.

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.