Netflix seems to be cancelling sci fi and fantasy shows far too quickly over the last few years, sometimes giving them the ax after one season despite stronger viewership.
Netflix just recently announced the cancellation of its supernatural drama The Irregulars after one season despite the fact that it debuted at Number 2 in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 and improved to Number 1 in its second week (more on that cancellation at this link). That company is currently the dominating force in the streaming world and has shown a tendency toward pretty quick cancellations of late, much like the television broadcast networks. And even if originals from that streamer survive past their first season, typically a three to four year run is the most you can hope for. Netflix has a churn strategy designed to draw subscribers with buzzy new shows, but those get discarded pretty quickly when they are no longer pulling in the new sign-ups that the streamer’s algorithm demands. Below is a look at ten sci fi/fantasy shows cancelled by Netflix prior to The Irregulars, all of which came to an end far too soon.
Away (2020, 1 Season Totaling 10 Episodes)
This space exploration show followed a very similar trajectory to The Irregulars. It debuted in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 and went on to top that list. But despite the strong viewership, the show was cancelled after one season. A specific reason was not given for the cancellation, but high production costs and challenges with filming in the COVID environment apparently contributed to the decision. A three-year run was planned for the show which actually would have fit well with the Netflix model that typically caps off shows by their third or fourth season. The second year of the show would have focused on the mission to Mars while the third year would have followed the journey home and the arrival back on Earth. Netflix holds the rights to its originals for two years after they have debuted, so there is no chance that this one could make a quick jump to another venue. However, it comes from Universal Television and it was a high-profile series with Hilary Swank attached, so it is not impossible that at the end of the two years NBC’s Peacock could revive the show and complete the three-year mission.
The OA (2016-19, 2 Seasons Totaling 16 Episodes)
The cancellation of this genre-bending series was a heartbreaker that focused a lot of negative attention on the streamer. It did not make a huge impact with its first season (the Nielsen streaming ratings were not in place to track viewership at the time it debuted), but it slowly gained positive word-of-mouth and by its second season had developed into a cult favorite with a fair amount of acclaim. Sadly, Netflix execs had lost interest in the show by that time. A five-season arc had been planned, but the streamer decided to cut it short after two seasons leaving it on a cliffhanger with much of the story untold. Fans came out in force to support the show with a raucous campaign demanding at least a third season, but Netflix did not change its stance on the cancellation. This one is not owned by the streamer, though, and the two-year exclusive rights period has expired. Now is the time for fans to once again make a Call to Action to convince another venue to pick it up and continue the story of this sci fi TV gem.
Daredevil (2015-18, 3 Seasons Totaling 39 Episodes):
Sure, this show and the other MCU entries on Netflix (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher) were done in mostly by corporate shenanigans, but there was more to the story than that. Disney announced plans to launch its own streaming service which certainly drew the ire of Netflix execs. But even without that, it seems uncertain that any of the MCU shows would have lasted much longer on that streaming platform. This was the time that it became apparent that Netflix had shifted its strategy with scripted originals and had little interest in keeping them running beyond three to four seasons. The MCU shows had lost some of the steam they had when they originally launched and were no longer pulling in new subscribers at a high enough rate. Netflix execs had little reason to keep these shows going, despite the fact that they were still popular, and they instead focused on churning through new shows that would bring in more new subscriptions. So even if Disney had not announced its intentions to join the streaming wars, I’m guessing that Daredevil would have gone one more season at most, and the other MCU shows would have been dropped at some point as well. A very vocal fan campaign followed the cancellation and it is still going today. And it does appear that Daredevil along with other characters from these shows will be making a return to the MCU (Netflix’s exclusive rights have since expired). But it is unclear if they will be a direct continuation of the Netflix shows or go through a reboot to bring them back into the fold.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-20, 4 Parts Totaling 36 Episodes):
This supernatural drama is the epitome of what to expect from a Netflix original these days. Technically, it only had two seasons, but those were broken into four “parts”, each with a separate release, so in all practical purposes it aired four seasons before getting cancelled. The show had a dedicated fanbase and it definitely remained popular throughout its run with Part 4 landing the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 upon its release in late-2020 (those rankings were not in existence yet when the other parts were released). But the audience for a show tends to slip each season, a trend that is common across all platforms. And streaming originals tend to draw more subscribers during their early seasons and not as many by the third or fourth year. So Netflix decided to cancel the show in order to churn through new shows that might draw more subscribers even though The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina still had strong viewership and a fifth part was planned. A fan campaign followed, but that did little to sway the streaming service execs. This one is owned by Warner Bros., so there is a chance that it could switch over to The CW (it was originally planned as a spin-off of Riverdale) or HBO Max after the two-year period expires. But fans would have much preferred that the streamer show a stronger commitment to its viewers and its highly-watched shows and continue with the fifth part (and more) that was in the early stages of development at the time of the cancellation.
Sense8 (2015-18, 2 Seasons Totaling 24 Episodes):
This sci fi series from The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski was one of the early high-profile cancellations by the streaming service, with its demise coming before the axing of the MCU shows. The high cost of filming the show across multiple worldwide locations was given as the reason for pulling the plug on the show, but its explorations of LGBTQ+ themes may have made it less than appealing to Netflix execs. The show had developed a very loyal following and a raucous campaign followed trying to convince the streamer to keep the show going or for another venue to pick it up. The third season did not happen, but it did get a finale movie, one of the few times that Netflix made concessions to its fans. Interestingly enough, the porn site xHamster offered to pick up the show for a third season. Netflix still held the rights at that point, but those should have lapsed by now. There were definitely plans to keep the show going further, so maybe now is the time for fans to make another Call to Action on the socials nets to revive this one.
The Order (2019-20, 2 Seasons Totaling 20 Episodes):
This supernatural drama is another example of a show that appears to have been discarded by Netflix after two seasons, not dissimilar to The OA. It arrived in 2019 with little promotion, but managed to develop a loyal following and was given a second season because the streamer was more generous with renewals at that time. The second season premiered with little advance notice (many Netflix originals are just put out there to sink or swim on their own), and it is likely that little more than those following the show paid much attention. It was then cancelled later in the year despite the fact that the show received a fair amount of critical acclaim (it currently holds a 100% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes). But the story arc it was developing was left unfinished and may not be resolved since the show never managed to develop a very large audience.
Altered Carbon (2018-20, 2 Seasons Totaling 18 Episodes):
This cyberpunk series received plenty of buzz leading up to its release, and even though the reviews were mixed upon its debut, it still developed somewhat of a following. But ultimately it likely succumbed to its rather hefty budget which made it difficult to justify keeping on the air no matter how high the viewership. And that’s a shame because there was a good concept here even if the execution was not always on target. Plus, the show had plenty of flexibility with the freedom to change the lead role as needed (as they did between the first and second seasons). This one also delivered a one-shot Anime movie that suggested a different direction for the franchise, but it does not appear Netflix will do any more with that now that the live-action series has been cancelled.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019, One Season Totaling 10 Episodes):
Fortunately, this fantasy series was designed to tell a full story in its first season, which acts quite well as a prequel to the 1984 Jim Henson movie, so viewers were not left hanging. But that first season was really quite excellent and the creators had plans to continue the story beyond that. The show pulled in good viewership according to numbers released at the time, but it may have been another entry that was too expensive to justify multiple seasons. The rights for this one should be reverting back to the Jim Henson Company soon, so perhaps they will explore continuing the series on a different venue. And since the leads in this show are puppets, they have time as they don’t have to worry about the actors aging out of their roles.
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The Society (2019, One Season Totaling 10 Episodes):
This Lord of the Flies-like series was originally renewed for a second season, but like another YA-focused genre series I Am Not Okay With This, the renewal was reversed citing complications with filming in the COVID environment. The Society definitely had many scenes with large groups of people together and it would have been difficult to apply the proper social distancing while filming a second season. But you might have thought Netflix could have given either or both of these shows a little more time before yanking out the renewal. Sure, some of the actors already were looking a bit old to be playing high school students, but when has that ever impacted television productions? The Society was actually turning into a promising series and it ended on a pretty large cliffhanger which will likely never be resolved. I believe this one is owned by Netflix and they would have little interest in releasing it to another venue to continue the story.
V-Wars (2019, One Season Totaling 10 Episodes):
This is one of several series tossed out by Netflix with little promotion and then in turn given the hook pretty quickly. It is based on the books and comics by Jonathan Maberry and had Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder in the lead role (this time playing a human instead of a vampire) and seemed to be set for a multiple-season run on the streaming service. But apparently Netflix execs did not like the numbers (the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 was not in place at that point, so I don’t have viewership stats), and they decided to put a stake in it. Other genre entries that had a similar one-season-and-out run over the past few years for the streamer include Chambers, October Faction, and Daybreak.
Shows Currently in Limbo: Cursed and Dragon’s Dogma
Netflix has been releasing so many originals of a late that they apparently hope you just forget about some past entries that they haven’t gotten around to officially cancelling. The fantasy series Cursed–based on the Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler comics–debuted last July and there has been no word on its fate since then. Production was delayed due to the pandemic, but it seems like a second season should be ramping up at this point if the streamer wanted the show to continue. Then there is the video game-based Anime Dragon’s Dogma which premiered last September. Netflix has two other animated series with “dragon” in the name–Dragon Prince and DOTA: Dragon’s Blood–so maybe they forgot about this one?
The cancellations will continue on Netflix which could be bad news for shows like The Witcher that have a grand design. Despite high viewership, execs making the decisions for the streamer will be more interested in bringing on the next shiny new object rather than fostering a long-running series with a loyal audience that might be delivering diminishing returns on new subscriptions. The company continues to invest billions in its original programming, but as people come to realize the lack of a long-term commitment to these shows, subscriptions may take a downward trend due to a strategy that does little to reward viewer loyalty.
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The only ones that I lament being cancelled are The OA and Dark Crystal.
Altered Carbon was a good show but was nixed after 2 seasons while the reimagined Lost In Space series was renewed for a 3rd season.. go figure. If there was one thing I could ask Netflix it would be this: Why should your viewers invest their leisure time in a series if the series doesn’t reach a conclusion to its’ story and its’ viewers and followers are just left hanging?
Still pay for Netflix but it’s going to end, enough is enough, viewing a serie is an investment. So I’ve been more and more on Amazon and HBO services. Offer is not fresh every new month but we can follow and enjoy story arches a see characters develop.
Lost in Space is a great family friendly sci-fi show in a tv landscape that has far too few of those. I’m grateful we got 3 seasons out of it.
At the time I thought they should have canceled The OA already after the first season… but then season 2 came around, and I *really* liked that one a lot—fantastic filmmaking—, so I can agree that it was canceled too early.
Away was horrible from the first to the last second… glad it’s gone.
Sense8? Never really liked it *that* much, but would have remained a viewer, had it not been canceled, but I’m not sad that it’s gone. And we’re getting The Matrix 4 instead, so it’s all good.
Altered Carbon was nice, especially season 1… should have continued.
I’m game for any and all vampire content, so I would have liked a couple more seasons of V Wars.
The rest I haven’t seen.
PS: would have loved more seasons of The Punisher and Jessica Jones.
There are rumors that both The Punisher and Jessica Jones (along with Daredevil) could return on either Disney+ or Hulu.
I really like that rumor. 🙂 But I suspect they would land on Hulu due to the adult nature of the content. Speaking of Hulu & adult SciFi: I really hope they will do that rumored Alien(s) TV series… but they should also let Ridley Scott make his third & final David prequel film.
I really hope that happens.
Sense 8 was a weird one. It’ was technically good but not really enjoyable. I’m gutted about the OA – that rare show – something truly different.
Losing AWAY so abruptly and so. . .so inexplicably was a slap in the face to all on either side of the screen! NETFLIX rocks but that left a rock in my shoe.
Seeing it brought back on any network at all would be a gift!