A High and Low Week for Flanagan and Macy
Last week was a bittersweet high and low for Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy duo. The high comes from the surprise news that the filmmakers have signed a new TV deal with Amazon under their Intrepid Pictures banner, which was first confirmed by Deadline. Flanagan is notable for his work on Netflix, where he made The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Gerald’s Game, and The Midnight Club. He was the creator of the first three and the co-creator of The Midnight Club. Macy’s executive produced them all.
“Amazon is a studio we have long admired,” Flanagan and Macy said. “Their commitment to engaging in groundbreaking series and content aligns with the ethos of what we have built at Intrepid. We look forward to working with the entire Amazon team as we bring our brand of genre productions to the service and audiences around the globe.”
From Netflix to Amazon: A Curious Transition
Interestingly, Flanagan and Macy never thanked Netflix during their lengthy time with the streaming service. Shortly after announcing their switch to Amazon, The Wrap reported that The Midnight Club was canceled. The Netflix series wasn’t much of a talking point like The Haunting series or Midnight Mass, though it drew solid ratings for the streaming service. There’s no word on why Netflix canceled the series, though the fact the streaming service pulled the plug mere hours after the Amazon announcement does seem as if it has to do with Flanagan and Macy switching brands. Flanagan and Macy are big names thanks to Netflix, so there has to be some behind-the-scenes reason that these two opted to change over to Amazon.
The Midnight Club: A Premature Ending
The Midnight Club was about eight terminally ill young adults who formed “the Midnight Club”, meeting up each night to tell each other scary stories. The series was created by both Flanagan and Leah Fong, who left plenty of cliffhangers that necessitated a second season. The show starred Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, Crhis Sumpter, Adia, Aya Furukawa, Sauriyan Sapkota, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford and Heather Langenkamp. While it’s officially the end of the Netflix thriller, Flanagan didn’t want to leave fans hanging on those compelling cliffhangers:
“My biggest disappointment is that we left so many story threats open, holding them back for the hypothetical second season, which is always a gamble. So I’m writing this blog as our official second season, so you can know what might have been, learn the fates of your favorite characters, and know the answers to those dangling story threads from the first season. So for those who want to know what we were planning to do, here’s a look at what would have been season!”
What’s Next for Flanagan and Macy?
The report doesn’t state exactly how long their new deals with Amazon last. However, if you’re craving another Mike Flanagan project under Netflix, you’re in luck, as the filmmaker has one last film coming to the streaming service. The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, is due to hit Netflix in 2023. Flanagan and Macy entered and signed a multi-year deal with the duo following the massive success of The Haunting of Hill House. Of course, Netflix said the typical friendly jargon (like Amazon) praising the duo. Though it appears to be a rocky end between Netflix and Intrepid Picture, the streaming service did manage to get great content from the production. It should be interesting to see the next project for Flanagan and Macy over on Amazon. It’s doubtful that the content will change since the demographic isn’t any different, but perhaps Amazon offered better creative freedom than the streaming giant. We’ll find out soon!
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