Lindsey Vonn made her hosting debut in November when the canine competition show, The Pack, landed on Amazon Prime. Now, however, she will not return for a second season. Amazon has decided against renewing the series, ending its run after only 10 episodes.
The Wrap first unveiled the news and responded by reaching out to Amazon and The Pack studio Renegade 38 for comment. Neither organization provided any further information about the cancellation. The news follows leaked footage showing dogs and their human counterparts rappelling down a waterfall, prompting condemnation from People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). However, an Amazon spokesperson did tell Deadline that PETA’s statement did not influence the decision to cancel The Pack.
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The Pack featured twelve teams of dogs and their humans on an adventure across several continents. The human and dog duos then went through a series of challenges, which were reportedly designed with a team of accredited veterinarians and certified dog experts.
The human and dog duo that won the competition received a $500,000 prize. Another $250,000 went to an animal charity of their choice. Amazon also donated $250,000 during the filming of the lone season to multiple charities and animal rescue organizations in each country visited by the show.
Following the show landing on Amazon, two videos surfaced that showed raw footage of a challenge in the third episode. This challenge tasked the teams with rappelling down the 108-foot Los Campesinos Falls in Costa Rica. The humans did the work while the dogs hung in harnesses. The videos showed the contestants trying to rappel down the rock face while the water cascaded down. The dogs, on the other hand, moved their paws about, trying to find a sturdy surface. PETA responded to the footage with a strong statement to The Wrap, as well as a letter to Amazon’s head of unscripted programming, Chris Castallo.
“Video footage of a dog dangling in midair from someone’s harness and paddling in a futile effort to gain his footing before getting swung into a rock face shows exactly where producers’ priorities lay for The Pack,” PETA said in a statement. “It seems that this clip ended up on the cutting room floor because producers knew that the dog was not enthusiastic and happy, but distressed. This senior dog should be curled up on a sofa, not thrown into one dangerous situation after another for the sake of ratings. No dog would choose to be part of this ‘pack.’”
