It’s a sad, sad day when you hear the bad news of a television network canceling one of your faves. If you’re living under a rock or aren’t on the Netflix bandwagon, I’ll explain why everyone is getting their world rocked as of late — and not in a good way.
Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings (yes — I’m calling him out), has taken it upon himself to cancel a lot of our favorite series and people are not happy with him. I’m sure you can imagine the fury of having your number-one guilty pleasure snatched right out of your hands. It’s maddening. It’s enough to send someone into a downward spiral of pitiful rage. It makes you wonder why we have to face the reality of Netflix canceling shows in the first place.
But of course, the man has his reasons. According to Hastings, the streaming service’s, “hit ration is way too high right now.” He then went on to explain in further detail why exactly that was a bad thing. “I’m always pushing the content team: We have to take more risk, you have to try more crazy things. Because we should have a higher cancel rate overall.”
One man Hasting’s is referring to by “content team” is Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer. Sarandos had his own explanation to offer, saying, “The goal is to become HBO before HBO can become us.” And in order to do that, apparently, they’ve decided on a crazy amount of cancellations. I guess they need to cancel more shows to make room for newer, “better” stuff. Smdh.
Reasons or not, there are definitely more and more great shows being canceled and more and more people becoming enraged by this. Here are a few shows that have been canceled recently by the streaming service and, not gonna lie, you can expect this list to continue growing in the future:
17. Netflix Presents: The Characters
This comedy show is basically Netflix’s attempt at squashing Saturday Night Live, but they technically (epically) failed. With the show bringing a bunch of amazing comedians together, they tried their best to put on something hilarious but unfortunately, fans weren’t all that amused. Looks like Netflix will have to find another way of getting their comedy ratings up because this series only got one season.
16. Girlboss
I know, I know. A badass, empowering story for women finally got its own show and after one season, Netflix pulled the plug. I guess that’s how it goes. It’s an amazing story that follows the real-life events of Nasty Gal founder, Sophia Amoruso, as she built her empire. The first season ended with many questions and truthfully, viewers are simply going to miss the badassery that was portrayed by Britt Robertson. I guess this is just something we’ll all have to accept.
15. Lilyhammer
This Norwegian drama following the life of a former gangster amidst his new identity under witness protection in Norway got the cut after only three seasons. Even though the show had a big following, it inevitably got canceled due to business complications within Netflix’s partnership with a Norwegian broadcaster. The costs got too high and the website had to pull the plug. So maybe Netflix canceling shows isn’t always about viewership.
14. Hemlock Grove
This was Netflix’s very first original show to get canceled and fans aren’t exactly happy. The show gained popularity for its cast of great-looking folk and supernatural intrigue but Netflix found that the costs of production were too much and the viewership was dropping. Therefore, we all had to say goodbye to our favorite werewolves.
13. Bloodline
What sucks most about this show coming to an end after only three seasons is that the show was rumored to have five or six seasons planned. Meaning, all of us fans missed out on a full two seasons of streaming a family whose lives are suddenly rocked by the return of their distant brother. While part of the reason it was canceled is that the show was filmed in the Florida Keys (which is expensive AF), but ultimately it was Netflix that told Sony to hit the brakes on Bloodline for good because it couldn’t justify the cost. At the time, it was fairly rare for the streaming service to cancel a show but now it is becoming far too common. RIP Bloodlines and all the other great stories that can no longer be brought to life because of Netflix cancellations.
12. Marco Polo
No, I’m not talking about that hella fun game we used to play in the pool as kids. I’m talking about the Netflix Original that was the very first to get canceled without making it to a full three seasons. Rumors have it that this show following a young Venetian trader wasn’t all that popular, eventually costing the streaming network a whopping $200 million by the time of its cancellation. OMG. Nevertheless, it’s another Netflix Original down the drain.
11. The Get Down
The buzz about this musical drama was insane. People were extremely excited for a show set in the 1970s that featured the downward spiral of disco and the rise of hip-hop. With Baz Luhrmann directing, people thought it would be a hit. Despite fans, the show ended up getting canceled after one season and the biggest reason for this is rumored to be Luhrmann’s inability to continue directing the show due to film obligations.
10. The Killing
Fans were stoked when Netflix first announced that they were reviving this AMC mystery thriller. However, Netflix didn’t pick it up as their own show and instead only ordered 6 final episodes to the series. Fortunately, fans were happy to get what they did after assuming they wouldn’t be seeing any more of the series on TV. Unfortunately, it was very short-lived as a Netflix Original.
9. Longmire
This is another show Netflix decided to pick up after its cancellation on A&E. The original network it was on decided that, despite amazing ratings, the show had to go because it didn’t bring in their desired (younger) demographic. But since Netflix doesn’t give a flying fruitcake about demographics, they picked it up in order to draw in an older audience they were missing. After three additional seasons and six total, Longmire was caught in the clutches of Netflix’s TV-show purge and we had to say goodbye.
8. Sense 8
I FEEL YOUR RAGE. Believe me, this is a show I didn’t want to see go. This story of eight strangers forming close bonds through tragic losses is something we can all relate to. Not only is it gripping and emotional, it was also the Netflix favorite of a lot of people. It’s one of the most popular shows Netflix has and yet — it was still canceled. Thankfully, Netflix has at least agreed to give the people a finale they can be happy with. Let’s hope they don’t disappoint.
7. Atelier
Perhaps people just aren’t huge fans of the fashion industry what with this show and Girlboss getting the axe. This show follows a young “fabric geek” as she gets a job at a major Japanese lingerie company. However, the girl quickly learns that the real world is a lot harder than she thought. After only one season, Netflix decided the show wasn’t good enough to move on to season two.
6. Richie Rich
After two seasons, Netflix gave the boot to this TV show starring Jake Brennan. Though the series was based on a Harvey Comics character, fans just didn’t get hyped enough about this child billionaire for Netflix to keep making the show and it was canceled in 2015. This is slightly surprising, considering the show was produced by the same guys behind The Suite Life of Zack & Cody but true all the same.
5. Gypsy
Despite having the Academy Award-nominated Naomi Watts in the lead, Gypsy was canceled after only six weeks open for public consumption. While the show about an ~unprofessional~ therapist had mixed reviews from critics, it did appear that it was officially axed because of Hastings’ desire to have more cancellations and a lower “hit ratio.”
While there were certainly some fans left disappointed at the lost potential, the show wasn’t even really on long enough before its cancellation to heartbreak fans too much.
4. Chelsea
After two seasons on Netflix, the talk show with Chelsea Handler at the helm is officially going off air. While it’s been reported that the show was canceled by the streaming giant, Chelsea seems to be happy with the decision as it gives her more time to work on her activism.
In fact, Chelsea said, “I’m excited to share that I will continue my partnership with Netflix, working together on a documentary where I’ll engage with people I don’t talk with enough – people of different ethnicities, religions, and political philosophies.” However, having a nightly talk show just proved to have far too much competition to keep Handler’s afloat.
3. Hibana (Spark)
This is a very unique show that Netflix originally thought would bring in a new audience. It follows a young comic who just isn’t finding luck in his industry until he runs into a more seasoned comic with a great career. The newbie offers to write a biography in exchange for some lessons and soon his career takes off while his master’s declines. It’s a really cute concept but apparently, Netflix didn’t think it was executed properly and they cut the chords on continuing.
2. Terrace House
Netflix decided to dip its toes in reality TV with this one. After eight seasons on its original Japanese network Fuji Television, Netflix picked it up. Basically, it’s Real World but in Japanese. The show follows six people as they go through their daily lives and believe me, it’s much calmer than any Real World episode ever was, which may be why it was ultimately canceled.
I guess we can be mad all we want at Netflix canceling shows we actually loved. However, they’re doing it for a good reason. Who knows? Maybe canceling amazing shows like Girlboss will lead to even better shows we’ll like more.
1. Haters Back Off
After two seasons on Netflix, the streaming service decided that this Miranda Sings comedy would be given the boot. While her first season reeled in decent viewership, the second season proved that having 8.3 million YouTube subscribers doesn’t necessarily mean anything for a show on another platform.
We’ve also got to assume that Netflix’s desire to have a higher cancel rate had something to do with their decision to cancel Haters Back Off. Of 18 new shows on the site this year, 13 have already been renewed for season two. Furthermore, Stranger Things season three was recently confirmed at Netflix, Mindhunter just got its second season and they recently signed on a Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot, so something had to give — and it was Colleen Ballinger‘s quirky show.