The 11 Netflix shows that should have never been cancelled
As ‘Kaos’ bites the dust, Isobel Lewis looks back on the other Netflix shows axed before their time
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Your support makes all the difference.Kaos, the cult series starring Jeff Goldblum, is the latest show to have been unfairly cancelled by Netflix.
The news was announced on Tuesday (8 October), with lead star Aurora Perrineau paying tribute to the show in a moving post praising showrunner Charlie Covell, her co-stars and the creative team behind the contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology.
Kaos’s cancellation follows a range of Netflix original series that have been prematurely axed. The streamer has often been accused of having a callous attitude towards ending shows, cutting them after one low-performing season where traditional television may have let them continue.
Here are 11 TV shows that Netflix axed far too soon:
Kaos
The future looked bright for Kaos, an expansive contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology from the mind of The End of the F***ing World’s Charlie Covell. The first season felt like a precursor to something even bigger – an ensemble piece that was laying the pieces for what was sure to be an invigorating second season. Netflix’s cancellation of the show, which was met with derision from fans, indicates a frustrating lack of vision from the streaming service.
The Get Down
Baz Luhrmann creating a Seventies-set musical drama series should have been a surefire hit for Netflix. But while The Get Down – which followed a group of teenagers living in the Bronx during the birth of disco and hip-hop – had a cult following, it wasn’t widely watched. Factor in the reported $120m (£88m) cost to make and it’s not surprising the show was cut – even if it is gutting.
AJ and the Queen
RuPaul’s grip on the reality TV landscape may be strong, but her move into fiction in 2020 didn’t fare as well. She created and starred in this buddy-comedy series about a drag queen and her 10-year-old companion, but while the show featured cameos from Drag Race royalty, it failed to impress fans or critics and was cancelled by Netflix. “End of the road for AJ and The Queen,” Ru tweeted. “Netflix has decided to not extend our trip across America.”
Seven Seconds
Flying fully under Netflix’s radar, Seven Seconds starred Regina King as the mother of a Black teenager who is killed by a white police officer, stoking tensions in the local area. King won an Emmy for the role in 2018, but the show was still cut by Netflix just two months after it aired. The streaming service said that they hoped the show would be viewed in the future as a standalone series.
Everything Sucks!
An underrated gem of a Netflix show, Nineties high-school comedy Everything Sucks! only got one season in 2018 before it was swiftly cancelled. Still, the show now gets major props for casting girl-of-the-mo’ Sydney Sweeney before she was a star in Euphoria and The White Lotus.
I Am Not Okay With This
There was more than a hint of The End of the F***ing World to this Netflix series, which starred Sophie Lillis as a teenager who learns she has super powers. I Am Not Okay With This was well received by critics and had a strong young fanbase when it dropped in 2020, but ended up being one of the many shock television casualties of coronavirus. Just six months after season one dropped, Netflix announced that it would not be coming back, citing “circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Next in Fashion
Despite having two fashion legends at the helm (Alexa Chung and Queer Eye’s Tan France), Netflix’s take on Project Runway failed to set the reality TV world alight. Next in Fashion received good reviews (the show has an 85 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), yet Netflix never even bothered to announce that it had been cancelled. In the end, France let slip in an interview that it had ended up being “a one-season show” and wouldn’t be coming back.
Tuca and Bertie
One of the greatest injustices on this list, even thinking about the cancellation of Tuca and Bertie is still enough to make fans’ blood boil. With links to Bojack Horseman and all-star leads in Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish, the first season was widely praised for both its comedy and its emotive exploration of difficult topics such as sexual assault. Its cancellation naturally prompted an outcry, but was thankfully short lived, as Netflix made the rare choice to let Adult Swim continue the series. Season two aired last summer on the Cartoon Network late-night channel, with a third on its way. Phew.
The Society
Much like I Am Not Okay With This, The Society was another teen-drama casualty of Covid-19. Sources said that the show – billed as a modern take on Lord of the Flies – was pulled due to “uncertainty around production dates and balancing the availability of a large cast” combined with “unexpected budget increases due to Covid”.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
A follow-up to the 1988 film, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance was billed as Netflix’s exciting first collaboration with The Jim Henson Company, but ended up being known as an “expensive disappointment”. The critically acclaimed show, which featured an amazing voice cast led by Taron Egerton and Anya Taylor-Joy, aired in 2019 and was quietly cancelled a year later. Just a week before the show was binned, it had won an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Programme.
The OA
OK, so The OA ran for two seasons – but judging by a marvellous final scene that threw the scope wide open, it had mileage. Well, not at Netflix, who cancelled the show in 2019. The OA has found itself at the centre of many fan . petitions ever since, calling on Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling to find another way of bringing the show back. Some fans were so dedicated to the cause that they went on hunger strike outside Netflix HQ.
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