The Netflix Red Queen has spoken again, and the latest show to fall to her “Off With Their Heads!” verdict is the YA vampire drama First Kill. That show will not be moving forward with a second season despite posting decent viewership numbers. It spent three weeks in the Netflix Top 10 for English language shows rising as high as Number 3 with 49 million hours viewed for the week. And it also logged two weeks on the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 with a high of 467 million minutes viewed for a week. Despite good numbers for what was not a high-profile entry and for a show that did not receive much promotion, Netflix chose not to pick it up for a second season. According to Deadline, the streamer decided that the show did not have “staying power” and “did not meet thresholds for viewing and completion of episodes”. Which is basically corporate speak saying it wasn’t a big enough hit for them and they are turning their attention to the next show in the churn. Showrunner Felicia D. Henderson put the blame on Netflix for the cancellation, claiming that the marketing focused on the YA romance but not the other strengths of its many storylines. She believed the show had “something for everyone”:
Strong women leads, supernatural intrigue, an epic, Shakespearean battle between warring families, and a prominently featured Black family in the genre space, something Black viewers crave and a general audience needs to be treated to.
First Kill did not score well with critics, only managing a 58% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. But viewers gave it a much higher rating with an 89% Audience Score. From what I saw on social media during the show’s first few weeks of release, it does appear that it picked up a notable fanbase, and I expect they will lobby for a second season. That will definitely be an uphill battle, though, because Netflix execs are a hard bunch to sway. But I am guessing that a raucous campaign will follow.
First Kill follows a teenage vampire who is ready to make her first kill in order to take her place among a powerful vampire family. She becomes romantically interested in a new girl who has moved to town, but that person turns out to be a vampire slayer. It stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Imani Lewis, Aubin Wise, Gracie Dzienny, and Elizabeth Mitchell and it is based on a short story by V. E. Schwab.
The 2021-22 season has just about ended, but there are still quite a number of shows waiting for word on their fate (more on that at this link) plus several Summer entries. You can see the status of all the currently airing and returning 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 Cancellation Watch 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.
