Buoyed by a relatively successful bow on Amazon Prime, everything coming out of The Man in the High Castle bode well going into the show’s planned second season.
At least, that was until a fortnight ago, when Deadline broke news that Frank Spotnitz was to step down as showrunner just as production for season 2 was primed to get underway. Spotnitz, who remains attached to the High Castle as executive producer, addressed the announcement at a recent panel for Amazon’s historic series, calling attention to the team steering the show back to the streaming service later this year.
Here’s what Spotnitz had to share: “No, I am hugely proud of the show and very excited about its future as well. I am really glad that you guys are here to call attention to the amazing work that everyone on stage has done.”
Fans can at least take solace in the fact that Spotnitz’s decision was an amicable one. No word yet on a replacement, but here’s Amazon’s official statement on the changing of the guard.
“Given the ambition and scope of the series, the decision has been made to locate all creative efforts on The Man in the High Castle to the west coast; Frank Spotnitz will remain as an Executive Producer and step back from showrunner. His responsibilities will be managed by our deep and talented bench of producers. We are enormously grateful to him for bringing our customers on one of the most watched original shows on Amazon Video and we are excited about the team’s vision for season two.”
The Man in the High Castle is expected to return for a 10-episode run later in 2016. Production is expected to resume from its temporary hiatus in Vancouver on June 6.
