Amazon Cancels ‘The Last Tycoon’

Amazon has canceled The Last Tycoon, a drama series spawned by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished novel of the same name. The series debuted July 28. Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer and Lily Collins are in the cast.

The story was inspired by the life of film mogul Irving Thalberg. According to Amazon, “In a world darkened by the Great Depression and the growing international influence of Hitler’s Germany, The Last Tycoon illuminates the passions, violence, and towering ambition of 1930s Hollywood.”

A co-production with TriStar Television, The Last Tycoon is executive produced by Billy Ray and Christopher Keyser, who are showrunners, as well as Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin, David A. Stern and Scott Hornbacher.

Related: ‘Sigmund and the Sea Monsters’ Debuts on Amazon Oct. 13

Billy Ray told B&C he was keen to explore the issues in Hollywood when the story is set, and now. “You can have a conversation about the Hollywood of today by telling the story of Hollywood in the ‘30s and ‘40s,” Ray said. “That was a conversation I very much wanted to have.”

Amazon recently canceled another drama series with links to F. Scott Fitzgerald: Z: The Beginning of Everything, starring Christina Ricci as the author's wife, Zelda.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.