Has Netflix (ever) (cancelled) any of your favorite series? If so, which ones?

Has Netflix (ever) (cancelled) any of your favorite series? If so, which ones?

I don't know about Netflix, but the recent Jekyll and Hyde tv series with Richard E Grant was cancelled after one series, and it was really good.

A couple weeks ago, I remarked that Netflix now felt like it was “actively stealing time from me.” I can almost not even remember which cancelation I was talking about at the time, given that there have been so many, but I believe it was 1899, the new show from the creators of Dark, which like Dark, was set up as part of 3-season arc.

Naturally, it was cancelled on a cliffhanger after a single season because it didn’t attract enough viewership or have enough people finish all the episodes in some arbitrary stretch of time.

But what’s happened now is that this has happened so often with so many shows, that Netflix has created a self-fulfilling loop with many series that probably could have gone on to become valuable catalogue additions otherwise.

The idea is that since you know that Netflix cancels so many shows after one or two seasons, ending them on cliffhangers and leaving their storylines unfinished, it’s almost not worth investing in a show until it’s already ended, and you know it’s going to have a coherent ending and finished arc.

So you hold off watching new shows, even ones you might otherwise be interested in, because you’re afraid Netflix will cancel them. Enough people do this and surprise, viewership is low! And the show ends up cancelled. The loop is closed, and reinforced, because now there’s yet another example cited, causing even more people to be cautious the next time around. And now we’ve reached a point where unless a series is some sort of record-breaking fluke megahit (Wednesday) or established super franchise (Stranger Things), a second or third season feels like not even a coinflip, but more like 10-20% shot, at best.

Netflix’s cancelation policies have informed its viewers that if you want a show you like renewed, you need to watch it immediately, you need to tell all your friends to watch it immediately, and you need to finish all episodes in a short period of time. Anything less than that will result in likely cancelation, with the problem being, of course, that this runs contrary to the entire promise of a streaming service like Netflix in the first place. The core concept of “on demand” streaming was that ability to watch what you wanted, when you wanted to. But now binging a series in its opening weekend isn’t just an option to have, it feels almost mandatory, lest the negative data reflect poorly on a show you might otherwise like.

Something has broken with this model. It’s now created a system where creators should be afraid to make a series that dares to end on a cliffhanger or save anything for future seasons, lest their story forever be left unfinished. And viewers are afraid to commit to any show that isn’t a completely aired package lest they spend 10-30 hours on something that ends up unresolved, which has happened dozens and dozens of times, creating a vast “show graveyard” within Netflix, full of landmines viewers are going to be discovering for years (I just had a friend send me an angry text once he learned Warrior Nun was cancelled after committing to its first two seasons, which he loved). This will happen countless times to millions of current and future subscribers.

Netflix needs to get ahold of this. I don’t think even they understand what it’s doing to their brand or how they’re conditioning their own viewerbase with constant negative reinforcement like some demented behavioral experiment.

Update (1/17): Have been seeing at least some level of pushback here with some saying that this also describes beloved shows being cancelled in the pre-streaming era, and this is not a new problem.

While sure, everyone can remember some famously good shows that were killed too soon, from Firefly to Freaks and Geeks, it really is different in the streaming era because of the nature of the platform. On cable, when a show was cancelled, it would be mourned, but it would also simply...disappear. You could buy the DVD box set eventually, but it would simply be replaced on that channel by a slate of new shows.

This is not how streaming services work. While yes, they are constantly airing new programs, they are also focused on building up a library of shows as a back catalogue. While new shows will be given top billing when you log into the app, even five seconds of browsing will likely lead you to a number of months/years-old series that may look interesting to you. The problem here is that in Netflix’s case, so many of those shows now lead to complete dead ends and aborted storylines. But browsing FOX in 2005, you weren’t just randomly going to come across them airing an episode of Firefly after a 2002 cancellation, and be sad there wasn’t more of it. It’s a much different situation in the streaming space.

This is also a fairly Netflix-specific problem, compared to other streaming service. They have more shows, and as such, more cancellations. So for every show Amazon or HBO Max may cancel, it feels like Netflix probably has 5-6. Granted, other services are starting to catch up, like the mass cullings HBO has started to make under WB Discovery leadership, but if so, that’s as big a problem for them as it is for Netflix. I worry Netflix’s solution may also be what HBO Max has started to do, pull down entire series that aren’t finished, as they’ve just done with Westworld and Raised by Wolves. So in that case you’re not having content up that’s not finished, you’re just...erasing that content entirely, which I’d argue is an even worse situation. But that may be where we’re heading...

Netflix has again made headlines this week for canceling another four shows, firmly solidifying its reputation for being trigger-happy and pulling the plug on original content before viewers are ready.

In the high-stakes streaming wars, Netflix is clearly looking for as many Stranger Things or The Witcher-level smash hit as possible. Nevertheless, the platform’s penchant for terminating original series that are still finding their feet is really grating on me.

Granted even in the days before streaming, networks weren’t afraid to snuff out underperforming shows regardless of unresolved plot points or a dedicated following (#JusticeforJericho). That said, the churnable nature of streamed content has only exacerbated this issue.

New shows are no longer given the chance to find their footing and slowly grow an audience. Instead, it’s either an immediate pop-culture phenomenon that drives subscriptions or its one season then straight onto the bowels of Netflix’s content library never to be seen on the homepage again.

I may love Netflix as a distributor for original movies, but that's about it right now. I’m rapidly losing interest in giving the service’s newest long-form content a chance for fear that the minute I get invested is when the axe will swing.

So many canceled shows

In 2020 alone, Netflix canceled more than 20 original series. In the same year, roughly 45 Netflix-branded programs premiered (that number includes animated shows), so the service is hardly posting a great success rate, stopping much of its upcoming content from getting another run.

Sure some of these programs canceled last year were of questionable quality (was anyone sad to see October Faction go?) but also on the list were promising programs such as I Am Not Okay With This and Teenage Bounty Hunters.

Regardless of Netflix's reasons, that’s 20 different fandoms who were disappointed to see a show they enjoyed brought to an early conclusion.

Plus, Netflix isn't slowing down in 2021 either. The streamer pulled the trigger on The Last Kingdom, The Irregulars, and The Duchess earlier this year, and that was just the beginning of a tidal wave of cancellations.

Last month it was confirmed that neither #blackAF nor Grand Army would be returning for a second season. Then in a surprising turn big-budget superhero series Jupiter's Legacy was canceled just a month after its first season dropped — though the universe will still be explored further thanks to a planned anime spinoff.

If all those cancellations weren't already frustrating enough, four more shows have just been axed by the streaming giant. The Crew, Mr. Iglesias, Bonding, and Country Comfort were all placed on the chopping block this week. Clearly displaying that Netflix has no intention of putting the brakes on its rapid-fire cancellation spree just yet.

Not given a chance to develop

While some of the shows canceled in the past year and a half like GLOW and The Last Kingdom were multiple seasons deep (three and five seasons respectively), most frustratingly around two-thirds of the shows that Netflix has canceled since 2020 only got a single season on the platform.

That’s an awful lot of stories that will forever be left untold. Many of these canceled shows, such as Messiah and Altered Carbon, ended on cliffhangers or feature unresolved plot points. Also, when you consider that in the world of television it’s hardly a rarity for a show to get off to a rocky start before finding its feet in subsequent seasons, it feels like these shows were barely given a chance before being chalked off.

Hell, if Netflix had produced The Office it would have probably nixed it after its lukewarm first collection of episodes. Though Space Force got its second season, so maybe Netflix will trust anything led by Steve Carrell.

I don't have time for heartbreaking cancellations

Does Netflix not realize that watching even a single season of a television show can be a pretty significant time commitment?

My free time has never been more valuable or scarce. Between full-time employment, a regular fitness routine, my desire to play basically every video game under the sun, and watching endless teenage drama shows at my partner’s behest (currently we’re binging Dawson’s Creek), I only have so much time to give to trying new shows.

If I’m going to commit to watching a full season of a show, I’d like to be confident that doing so will not ultimately lead to nothing but loose narrative threads and a cliffhanger that has to be resolved by the show’s creator in an interview post-cancelation.

While getting in on a television show early doors has always come with the risk of premature cancelation - not to mention disappointment if the finale doesn’t live up to expectations. When it comes to Netflix original content, the odds of a show continuing beyond a season or two feel pretty low.

It didn’t used to be this way

Arguably my favorite Netflix original series of all time is Love. I wouldn’t be shocked if you’ve never heard of it. The show ran for three seasons between 2016 and 2018 and followed two dysfunctional twenty-somethings trying to navigate the choppy waters of romance while also dealing with their own baggage. You should absolutely watch it.

I bring the show up because I’m fairly confident in saying that if Love had premiered in 2020 then it probably would have been among the lengthy list of series culled. It was never a ratings smash by all accounts, received little mainstream attention, and the first season is pretty uneven overall.

Yet in its second and third seasons, the show flourished, and for its small (but dedicated) army of fans, we got to see the show reach a fairly natural conclusion. There was probably room for a fourth season, but let’s not be greedy. What a shame it would have been if creators Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, and Paul Rust hadn’t been given the chance to tell the full story.

Don’t forget Netflix is the platform that gave House of Cards six seasons and allowed Orange is the New Black to run for seven. Sure those shows were its first attempts at original programming, so were given a fairly gracious runway, but the point is Netflix used to let shows run even beyond their natural conclusions.

We used to actually get sick of Netflix shows, now they’re usually finished before we’ve even had the chance to decide if we even want to commit to watching on.

The impact of Netflix’s reputation

The real problem with Netflix’s developing this reputation for hastily canceling shows is that it’s creating a vicious cycle.

I’m now so convinced that every Netflix show I start that isn’t one of its chosen behemoths (you know the ones that get all the marketing dollars) is going to wind up getting canceled after just a single season, that I rarely bother starting any. I seem to be far from the only person with this concern, which in turn leads to lower ratings and therefore more cancelations.

In fact in 2021, I have yet to begin a single new Netflix series. Instead, I’ve turned to competitors like Disney Plus and Prime Video for my original content fix in the television space. Until Netflix can prove that it’s willing to give series a chance to find their audience, and won’t be so quick to press the cancelation button I’ll be sticking to using the streaming service for watching movies and reruns.

How Netflix can right its wrongs

Now I’m not naive to the business realities of the situation. With many of these curtained series, it made absolute sense for Netflix to cancel them due to the cost of production outweighing the value the show was bringing to the platform. I totally understand that fact.

I’m not advocating for every small screen auteur to be given an unlimited budget and an infinite number of seasons to fulfill whatever creative vision they deem worthy of exploration. But it would be appreciated if Netflix would maybe greenlight fewer shows and instead fully explored the series already under its belt.

In fact, Netflix could take a leaf out of HBO Max’s book, which has just announced new movies for classic Adult Swim animated shows (The Venture Bros., Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Metalocalypse). If Netflix greenlit more movies to resolve some of these canceled series (as it did with Sense8) — it could wrap up any cliffhangers and dangling plot points.

This would require a much smaller investment than a whole new season and would allow fans of the respective series a sense of closure, not to mention giving the creative team behind the camera the ability to tie a neat bow on things. I’d be much more willing to give the latest Netflix original a chance if I knew that the story wasn’t going to be left hanging even if it ultimately ends up on the chopping block after just a handful of episodes.

On Wednesday, news hit that “The Ark” would be renewed for a second season. Deadline reported Syfy renewed the series after it brought in 6.5 million viewers during the first season across all platforms the show was on.

“The Ark” is set 100 years in the future. According to Variety, the series features missions to settle different planets to help save humanity. They travel on a spacecraft called “Ark One” and as a result of a catastrophic event, they have to try to survive on slim supplies.

The show’s creator, Dean Delvin, is known for writing films like “Independence Day,” “The Deal” and the 1998 “Godzilla,” per IMDb.

Delvin and his co-showrunner, Jonathan Glassner, told Variety, “We couldn’t be more excited to get back into space with the crew of ‘The Ark.’ Syfy continues to be an amazing partner and home for this series.”

The show appears to be something of an allegory. Similar to the biblical account of the flood, in order to survive the catastrophic event, Noah and his family have to go into an ark. Prima facie parallels like that seem to appear throughout the show.

The cast includes Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read and Ryan Adams. “‘The Ark’ opened on a high note for the network as the Feb. 1 series premiere broke a new record for the best in total viewers since January 2021, reaching 1.1 million, and best in the 18-49 demo since October 2021,” according to Variety.

Lisa Katz, president of Scripted Programming, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said to Variety, “Heading into space with Dean and Jonathan has truly been a trip worth taking and we’re tremendously excited about how this otherworldly adventure will continues in season two.”

What is ‘The Ark’ about?

The show is set 100 hundred years in the future, when a group of individuals survives a catastrophic event. The group is on a ship called “Ark One” and in order to survive, per Syfy, they have to keep the ship functioning. Another part of the show is the group’s mission to colonize a different planet so that the people from their world have a place where they can live and stay alive.

Since everyone is stuck on the ship, things can get a little dramatic from time to time. The show follows the relationships between the characters, which are sometimes romantic and other times, their rocky relationships come to the forefront.

The crew also doesn’t have much time left before things go from bad to worse. Variety reported, “With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive.”