Amazon's streaming service has made it clear that it has no problem with bucking convention — producing the adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle in the first place was proof enough of that — but things could have very quickly unravelled in that show's second season, which began streaming in December.
For starters, Frank Spotnitz, who adapted the alternate history novel, in which the Nazis and Japanese are victorious over America in World War II, departed the show mid-season over creative differences. Then the decision was made to not have a showrunner at all, allowing instead for those Spotnitz had hired to produce the series as a sort of team. And what could have been a disaster seems to have worked out okay with Amazon announcing that it has renewed the show for a third season. Additionally, they have decided to bring in an actual showrunner, in the form of Bosch's Eric Overmyer. Democracy on a TV writing staff, it seems, can only go so far.
Notes Amazon's Head of Comedy and Drama, Joe Lewis, "Eric and his team are doing an incredible job crafting stories about the inner lives of those who struggle to do good in a world that is not."
In an earlier interview with Empire, executive producer Dan Percival noted the power of the novel and, subsequently, the series itself, when he pointed out, "What is extraordinary to us is how the messages of that time still has resonance and is relevant today. Hitler rose in a great democracy. He rose by convincing his nation that he would lead them to greatness out of a time of great strife, of economic strife. They believed him and they followed him and then when he had power, we saw what he did. Let us not forget. That’s what Philip K. Dick wanted us to remember, that actually all of us are capable of sliding in to supporting something that can overwhelm us and overtake us very quickly."