One internal statistic at Amazon Prime Video could lead to The Baxters Season 4 never seeing the light of day, which is upsetting because it is out of viewers' hands.
The Baxters was adapted from a series of novels by author Karen Kingsbury. It follows a family as they go through everyday life, and there are over two dozen novels of source material that could be brought to life on-screen.
In March 2024, Amazon Prime Video officially released its episodic series titled The Baxters. However, fans weren't just treated to the first season, as three full installments came out at the same time consisting of 34 episodes in total.
Karen Kingsbury Gives Disappointing Update About The Baxters Season 4
In a video on her official Facebook page, the author of The Baxters' source material and creator of the show's characters, Karen Kingsbury, updated fans on the status of Season 4.
In the video, Kingsbury revealed she has been in talks with Amazon about renewing the show for a Season 4, and relayed what she was told about why it hasn't been given the green light yet.
According to the author, the show is "doing really well" and has high viewership numbers, but Amazon is hesitant to pull the trigger on renewing it for a new season because the show is "not bringing in new subscribers:"
"Right now, they're saying 'The Baxters' are doing really well. People love them, and they are getting viewed by millions of people, which is amazing. But, they're not bringing in new subscribers, which, of course, everyone already has Amazon Prime, so I get that, but they kind of just see it as dollars and cents."
Kingsbury then revealed that she is currently "asking" Amazon if the show can continue to move forward, but they haven't given her a definitive answer:
"So, I'm asking if we can make more, [but] I haven't gotten a 'yes' yet, so we'll see. That's yet to come."
So, Amazon Prime Video is basing the show's value on how many new subscribers it is bringing in rather than just viewership numbers, which is usually the most common statistic that decides if a show gets renewed or canceled.
However, like The Baxters, there have been some recent shows that have performed well in the eyes of studio executives but have still been canceled, such as Disney+'s The Acolyte.
That means The Baxters' fans and viewers are essentially getting punished the most since they are watching and supporting the show, which is bringing in good numbers but not bringing in new subscribers.
This will undoubtedly upset many fans since it is something entirely out of their control and is an instance where the ones paying the subscriptions are the exact people suffering from it.
Will The Baxters Get Renewed for Season 4?
In April 2024, one month after the first three seasons of The Baxters were released on Amazon Prime Video, the show's lead actor and executive producer Roma Downey gave fans a promising update on Season 4.
Downey revealed that she would love to continue playing the character and that fans should "never say never" in regards to Season 4 one day coming out (fans can read Downey's full quote about Season 4 here).
At the time, since the show had just debuted, it seemed promising to expect more episodes. However, with Kingsbury's recent comments, things are more up in the air.
If Prime Video is putting stock into bringing in new subscribers, The Baxters has probably already brought in its quota. This means, at this point and in the future, there likely won't be a huge influx new subscribers solely for the show.
It has been out for nearly a year now, so anyone who subscribed to Prime Video just for The Baxters has likely done so already.
So, if Amazon is still looking at those numbers, they will likely become more and more disappointed as time goes on, which will continue to decrease The Baxters Season 4's chances of renewal.
It is still possible that Season 4 could get greenlit at some point, but as of writing, it would not be a surprise if the show was over.
The Baxters is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
