Last February Amazon launched the pilot episode of a proposed new post-apocalyptic drama series created, written and directed by Chris Carter, previously best-known for the worldwide 1990s phenomenon of THE X-FILES, on their online streaming service. The everything-and-the-kitchen-sink hour-long pilot depicted an inexplicable catastrophe which wreaks havoc in Los Angeles and throws together eight disparate survivors who work together – usually reluctantly and with lots of swearing – to make their way to safety as they try to make sense of their strange and inexplicable new world. The episode was well-received enough for Amazon to order a short-run season of eight new episodes which were expected to launch later in 2015.

This week, however, comes the news that Amazon has now decided not to go ahead with the series and that no further episodes of THE AFTER will be entering production. Variety reports that Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios, released a statement, “We have decided to not move forward with THE AFTER. We would like to thank Chris Carter, the phenomenal cast, crew and producers for all their efforts.” High production costs and actor salaries are rumoured to be fundamental to the decision to stifle the series before even a frame of its next episode could be filmed.

The axing will be a blow for Carter, who had envisaged the show running for ninety-nine episodes and whose creative star has waned since the heyday of THE X-FILES (1993 – 2002) and the less successful MILLENNIUM (1996 – 1999). Rumours of a third X-FILES movie continue to rumble despite the relative failure of the second feature film, 2008’s I WANT TO BELIEVE.

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