Amy Schumer’s ‘Life & Beth’ Fails To Impress Viewers Despite High Rotten Tomatoes Ratings; Canceled After Two Seasons
Hulu has officially canceled Amy Schumer's semi-autobiographical dramedy "Life & Beth" after two seasons despite garnering high praise from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
On Friday, the Disney-owned streamer announced the axing of the series that brought together Schumer, Michael Cera, Susannah Flood, Kevin Kane, Yamaneika Saunders and Sas Goldberg for 30 minutes of laughs and unexpectedly serious moments per episode.
Also starring Laura Benanti, Arielle Siegel, Michael Rapport, Lily Fisher, Lavar Walker, and Gary Gulman, among others, "Life & Beth" promised an engaging miniseries when it premiered its first season in March 2022. It was even quickly renewed for another ten-episode season by April of that year, and Season 2 arrived on the streamer just this February, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
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The show followed Schumer's character, Beth, who, despite having "a cool job, a great apartment" and a "New York-eight" boyfriend (played by Kane), realized how dissatisfied she was with her life in the city and found her way back to her home town. While restarting her life on Long Island, she developed a relationship with Cera's character, John.
Speaking of the series she directed and wrote based on her own experience, Schumer previously told the outlet, "There are some elements that are obviously exaggerated, but some of it is direct from my life and conversations that I've had, and other stuff is a collaboration from the writers and the actors. It really is an amalgamation of everybody's lives."
Unfortunately, the dramedy failed to resonate with viewers, with Deadline reporting that its cancellation did not come as a surprise considering that it failed to crack Nielsen's streaming list. Even Hulu did not release viewing data for both seasons.
Interestingly, the series received high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The first season scored 90%, while the second garnered 89% on the Tomatometer. Critics even lauded Schumer's performance.
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"Nuanced, funny, carefully observed and with a pivotal turn from Michael Cera as a quixotic farmer, the show reveals a flawed, vulnerable and relatable side to Schumer that is as welcome as it is surprising," critic Andrew Male wrote in his review of the first season.
"Life & Beth embodies what Mark Twain said best: 'Comedy is tragedy plus time.' Schumer rips moments from her life that are hilariously funny, poignant, and at times, achingly real," Geek Vibes Nation's M.N. Miller commented after watching the second season.
Before "Life & Beth's" cancellation, Schumer was seemingly hopeful about doing another installment, telling TVLine in February that she and Cera "would love to do it." However, at the time, she wasn't sure which direction the characters should take.
"I think that's something nice about the show. We really want it to feel organic. So any sort of ideas that we might have, we're very down to let them go for something that feels better [in the future]," the actress said.
