96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 927,000 views in two days — and Prime Video cancelled it anyway
Prime Video has axed a Bond-like spy comedy with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score after one season — but which one?
Well, this is a bit of a curveball from Prime Video. If you caught their summer original Ride or Die — the one with Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer gallivanting around as best mates with a spy twist — you might want to sit down for this. Despite notching some of the most impressive numbers in Prime Video’s recent lineup, it’s already been cancelled. Not a second series, not even a goodbye tour. Paramount Television Studios, which produced the thing, are now out in the marketplace, hoping someone else snaps it up.
Ride or Die set a new Prime Video record with 927,000 debut-weekend views, nearly doubling its nearest rival.
Smash Hit, No Future — For Now
Let’s unpack just how well Ride or Die actually did, because this wasn’t one of those ‘critically adored but nobody saw it’ situations. The show landed with a bit less PR hype than some of Prime’s other Young Adult fare this year — think Elle, Off Campus, Every Year After, and Sterling Point — but even so, absolutely trounced them on views. According to the data folks at Luminate, it saw 927,000 streams in its very first two days, which is more than double what Elle managed, and about four times what Off Campus pulled in.
On day one in the US, it shot straight to the top, even overtaking the platform’s expensive Masters of the Universe film, which is not something I’d have put money on. Then, when you look at the Nielsen weekly tallies, Ride or Die launched at #8 overall and #3 for originals, racking up 869 million minutes in week one. That did not taper off, either; in its second week it was up to #4 overall, hitting 922 million minutes and ranking #2 for originals. Average shows don’t get numbers like that, especially not with a modest launch campaign.
Global Performance, Critical Love
Not only did the show go gangbusters in America, but globally it sat as Prime Video’s #1 original for three weeks running, and months later still hadn’t dropped out of their Global Top 10. Critics were keen as well — the Rotten Tomatoes split is 96% for critics and 85% for audiences, so pretty much a rare thing everyone’s decided they actually like.
The kicker, though? It all cost less than expected, and season one left things dangling on multiple cliffhangers, clearly planned for a second go-round. Naturally the decision’s left viewers confused, if not downright irate, because there’s no obvious reason beyond ‘streaming maths’ for this to end here. At the moment, Paramount are actively shopping the property around; those international streaming stats mean there’s a good chance someone else will want it, so all eyes now are on whether another buyer takes the punt.
Who’s Who & What It’s About
For those not caught up: Ride or Die is the brainchild of Tessa Coates, starring Spencer as Debbie Claybourne and Waddingham as Judith Burton. The hook is that these two lifelong friends have their reality turned upside down when Judith’s history as an international assassin comes out, and from there, chaos ensues. The supporting cast is proper loaded too, with Ed Skrein, Calam Lynch, Savannah Steyn, Jamie Parker, Jacky Ido, Sylvia Hoeks, and Bill Nighy all on board.
Fans now have the pleasure of waiting in limbo to see if the show gets rescued. That’s streaming for you in 2026.