Netflix canceling themselves

Netflix used to be one of the most popular platforms to watch fan-favorite films and TV shows. Now, it has started to become the least favorite platform for most due to the continuation of them canceling their original shows that fans are excited to watch. And although these shows have been popular with fans, it wasn’t enough for them to be canceled. 

This isn’t the first time that Netflix has canceled Netflix originals that fans were in love with. Within the past few years, fans were disappointed to see original shows such as Anne With An E, and I Am Not Okay With This not continue with other seasons. Recent shows such as The Midnight Club, Fate: The Winx Saga, Locke and Key, and Raising Dion also made fans disappointed at Netflix when they found out that they weren’t getting another season. 

Something that all of these shows have in common is that they were popular shows that left fans either on a cliffhanger or wanting more. But the question that everyone is wondering is why is Netflix canceling all of these original shows. The answer to this question comes down to one person: Peter Friedlander. 

Peter Friedlander is the Head of UCAN Scripted Series (US and Canada), basically being the gatekeeper overseeing strategy and creative development for Netflix. In his explanation of the cancellation of popular Netflix original shows, he looks at the long-term life of each show and makes the decision based on those estimates rather than that show’s performance when it was released. 

Friedlander continued to say that although some people would think that the Top 10 would play a factor in not canceling these shows because of their popularity level of them, their main purpose is to show what’s popular at the moment and for people to talk about them. One example of this is Blockbuster, which it was popular when it was first announced and had a decent amount of people talking about it. Now, no one talks about it anymore, as if it never existed. 

Because of these cancellations, fans feel as though salt is being poured onto fresh wounds. Knowing that their next favorite show could be canceled at any moment, fans try to keep them going, but to Netflix, popularity isn’t a main priority for keeping a show from being canceled. An example of this is The Society, which was a great show that fans loved and had the perfect amount of suspense, but was unfortunately canceled and left on a cliffhanger that fans are still trying to figure out. 

Netflix continues to cancel current shows that were doing great and then were left on a cliffhanger, such as Inside Job. The shows that have been canceled early on compared to current shows don’t really have any differences as to why they were canceled and were equally doing great. First Kill and Everything Sucks, for example, were liked by fans, doing great with viewings, and even were on the Top 10 page for a while when they were first released. 

The way that Netflix is choosing to cancel shows is probably not the smartest choice on their end. They should look at how well a show is doing with fans and money-wise before they consider the long-term life of each show. If they continue to look at the long-term life, then that would lead to the downfall of Netflix, because at that point, almost all of the shows that fans enjoy will probably be left on cliffhangers that will never be answered or will have an ending that doesn’t make sense.