Sneaky Pete was one of the most successful shows released by Amazon Studios in recent years. It attracted many watchers, and was considered to be a true fan favourite.
Airing from 2017 to 2019 for three seasons and 30 episodes, Sneaky Pete followed conman Marius Josipovic as he assumed the identity of ex-cellmate Pete Murphy. The family he settles with are dysfunctional to say the least.
To the disappointment of so many, Sneaky Pete was cancelled after three seasons, with little explanation as to why. Time has since passed without any hint of a revival. Will Sneaky Pete Season 4 ever happen? We take a look.
Background
Sneaky Pete starred Giovanni Ribisi as Marius Josipovic alongside the main cast featuring Bryan Cranston, Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, Libe Barer, Peter Gerety and Margo Martindale.
Originally floated back in 2015, it took until 2017 for Sneaky Pete to be given the green light by Amazon Studios. Season 1 proved to be huge hit, and two further seasons followed.
But in June 2019 – just weeks after the release of Season 3 – Sneaky Pete was cancelled. This left fans of the show devastated, and left wondering what happened.
Sneaky Pete Summary
Sneaky Pete followed Marius Josipovic, who assumed the identity of ex-cellmate Pete Murphy after exiting prison. He faced the wrath of gangster Vince Lonigan (Bryan Cranston), who Josipovic had previously conned.
With nowhere else to go, Josipovic went to live with Pete’s estranged family – the Bernhardt’s. The Bernhardt family were a complex group. But they welcomed Marius/Pete into their lives.
The first season culminated in a remarkable “Turk Con”, with Marius and his team getting the better of Vince, before escaping with a huge haul of money. Pete was due to leave the family, before being kidnapped by two men.
This set up Season 2, where Marius had to track down his supposed “mother” Maggie in order to get his hands on money that Maggie had stolen in the past. Another con was attempted, though it didn’t result successfully.
In Season 3, Marius was contacted by Lizzie – a former lover. The third season featured many plot lines, including one part of the family searching for their presumed-dead mother, evading a criminal named Chuck, and conning an arrogant millionaire out of a famous painting.
The show finished with Marius on good terms with the family, even though one member knew he wasn’t who he said he was. It was a happy ending, with the whole family surviving, and after holding onto priceless diamonds, Marius handed them to the family.
How did the critics rate Sneaky Pete?
The reception of Sneaky Pete was fantastic. It was one of the most popular shows on Amazon Prime Video. The show is full of high scoring reviews on the user-rated element of Amazon Prime Video, with Season 1 at 5 stars.
Season 1 featured a 97% rating on the notoriously difficult to please Rotten Tomatoes. The second season achieved 91% on the same site, before a terrific 100% rating for Season 3.
Other review sites were full of praise too, with high scores on various grading/scoring systems. In terms of the general public, Sneaky Pete proved highly popular.
Why was Sneaky Pete Cancelled?
Given the success that the show had, and how there seemingly appeared to be more of the story to tell, it came as a surprise that Sneaky Pete was cancelled after 3 seasons. This decision came just weeks following the release of the successful Season 3.
An annoying aspect of the cancellation was that no reason was given by Amazon at the time, nor has one ever been given. This led to fan speculation.
Some suggested that there could be issues with the cast. However, no main cast member had other pressing commitments, nor were they locked into other contracts. This makes casting issues seem unlikely.
There were some questions on whether or not there truly was still a story left to be told. But the dynamics of the family meant that surely there were many more storylines. And there is no shortage of cons that could have been pulled off. It is possible that Amazon felt otherwise.
One potential issue could have been the departure of showrunner Graham Yost at the end of Season 2. Blake Masters replaced him, and seemed to do a good job in Season 3, but did preside over dropping viewer numbers.
Viewing figures dropping would be the most likely reason for cancellation. Season 1 was the most popular season, and it is true that viewing figures lowered as time went by. But judging by fan reaction, Season 3 still pulled in large numbers, and remained very popular.
A recent, albeit frustrating trend, is seeing streaming services avoiding long shows, instead favouring a shorter run. After 3 seasons, it is possible that Amazon Studios wanted to leave the show as is, before moving on to fresher shows.
The drop in viewing figures, along with the departure of Yost and questions over the future storylines of the show, may have been a deadly contribution that led to the cancellation of Sneaky Pete.
Will Sneaky Pete Season 4 ever happen?
Unfortunately, this seems unlikely. Other streaming services picking up a cancelled show is far from unusual, but this tends to happen within months of cancellation.
It has now been over two years since Sneaky Pete was cancelled. Viewing figures are what counts the most to streaming services, and after being concerned over a drop in figures, Amazon Studios may be reluctant to bring back the show due to worries of another drop in viewership.
Fans of the show made a strong effort to try and get the show to remain. They launched a petition which garnered a lot of support, but the appeal fell on deaf ears. No other streaming platform stepped in either to save the day, as has been the case in the past, such as Netflix saving Lucifer.
With every month that passes, the chances of Sneaky Pete returning seem to become more and more remote. Any talk of Season 4 has gone quiet, and the cast have largely remained conspicuously quiet.
There seems to have been a general acceptance from the cast, producers and Amazon Studios that the show had ran its course. Of course, this was devastating for fans.
In the future, it is possible that the show will be revived, but again, it is unlikely. Revivals have seen an increase in recent years, but a 5 or 10 year break in this story probably wouldn’t be beneficial.
Summary
It seems that Sneaky Pete will never return. Fans will be left wondering what came of the family, and how they would have reacted when they learned the truth behind Marius’ identity.
Of course, in television, you can never say never. There is always a chance that Sneaky Pete Season 4 will happen, but the odds seem to be stacked against this.
