Let the bloodbath begin. Netflix announced last week that it had lost subscribers for the first time in ten years, and after accusing it existing subscribers of password cheating, the CFO suggested that the streamer may slow down on its development by saying it would be “smart and prudent in terms of pulling back on some of that spend growth to reflect the realities of the revenue growth of the business.” And now just a few days later, Netflix has cancelled the superhero series Raising Dion.
The news first broke when series star Sammi Haney put the following post on Instagram:
Sad to say that Raising Dion is CANCELED. Thank you for all of the amazing support we got from all of our wonderful fans! Season 2 was a success, equal to Season 1, even if just looking at how many people watched all of it and wanted a season 3!
According to Deadline, Netflix later confirmed the cancellation. The second season of the show was released if February of this year, and it spent four weeks in the Nielsen Top 10 for streaming originals, rising as high as Number 4 and topping out at 1.1 billion minutes viewed for the week. It also spent four weeks in the Netflix Top 10 with 49 million hours viewed for its top week. The show has also been generally well-received by critics, currently holding an 83% Fresh Rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Netflix shows typically run for about three seasons and this one certainly seemed to be on track to return for another year. I have no confirmation that Netflix’s meltdown over its subscriber loss directly resulted in the cancellation of Raising Dion, but it seems likely that was at least a factor. It may have been one of their more expensive originals and may have become eligible for the chopping block once the streamer decided to cut back on spending. Expect more cancellations to follow as Netflix remains in panic mode (over what is really a pretty small drop in its subscriber base). And some new development that has been announced, may end up not going forward (like the much anticipated animated adaptation of Jeff Smith’s Bone).
Raising Dion focuses on a woman trying to raise a son who possesses multiple superpowers. In the process, she tries to keep her son’s existence a secret from those who may want to exploit his abilities. It stars Alisha Wainwright, Ja’Siah Young, Jazmyn Simon, Sammi Haney, and Jason Ritter and it is based on the comic book of the same name by Dennis Liu.
We are headed into the final month of the 2021-22 regular season and more renewals and cancellations are on the way. You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows on our Cancellation Watch Page. And be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Sci Fi TV Update posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
