Man in the High Castle Halts Season Two Production

Production on Amazon's hit period drama The Man in the High Castle has been halted as the show's showrunner, and former X-Files scribe and executive producer, Frank Spotnitz steps down from the role. Per Deadline, Spotnitz and Amazon decided to part ways after clashing over production details regarding the show's upcoming second season, which is currently being shot in Vancouver. According to a statement, released last night by Amazon, while Spotnitz will no longer have the position of showrunner, he will remain an executive producer of the series. The move, per Amazon, was meant to "locate all creative efforts on The Man in the High Castle to the west coast," something that was not possible due to the day-to-day involvement of the Europe-based Spotnitz. The show will not install a new showrunner in Spotnitz place, but will instead have the members of the production team take over the position. While the first season of The Man in the High Castle was a commercial success for Amazon (it was the streaming service's highest watched original series), it took some critical hits for being uneven. The series stars Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, Rufus Sewell, Rupert Evans, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Joel de la Fuente, as characters living in a world where the Axis Powers were victorious in World War II. The series, based on the Philip K. Dick novella by the same name, does not yet have a premiere date for its second season.