When Lucifer first hit the airwaves in 2016, no one was sure how the comic book would translate to TV. Initially, the story of the Devil on vacation in Los Angeles struck a chord with fans, though it never drew in huge numbers of viewers. That caused Fox to cancel the series after Season 3, only for Netflix to pick it up for one more season, eventually green-lighting two more. Now, with Season 5 halfway over, Netflix might be tempted to make more seasons, but Season 6 seems like it will be the perfect time to say goodbye.
Fox's cancellation of Lucifer after the Season 3 finale came as a bit of a shock to fans. The final episode featured not only the death of that season's villain Cain but also the revelation that fans had been waiting years for. Detective Chloe Decker, Lucifer's crime-solving partner and love interest, saw the Devil's true face, and finally believed everything he had been telling her since day one.
Fans were excited to see how this would change the dynamic of Lucifer's relationship with the detective, and how she would handle this realization. So, for anyone who watched the show on Fox, the network's decision to cancel the series after such a poignant moment was a kick in the gut. Fortunately, Netflix picked up Lucifer for one more season, giving the creative team a chance to wrap up the story properly. Netflix then caught fans off guard when they decided to air two additional seasons, bringing the total to six. Everyone was excited that the plot would get a chance to play out, and more so that it would be on a streaming service that might let them swing bigger on content than a network.
Recently, the first half of Season 5 released and was met with stellar reception. According to Nielsen, Lucifer had the highest streaming rankings in the US for the week of August 17 to 23, with almost 1.6 billion minutes of viewing. To add to the success, it won the honor over popular series like The Legend of Korra, The Umbrella Academy and The Office. However, with numbers like that, Netflix might be tempted to bring Lucifer back for even more seasons, and the streaming platform should be wary of that.
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer know what happens when a show overstays its welcome. Season 5 was intended to be the end, but it jumped networks and two more seasons were made. There's a strong argument that Season 6 of BTVS is some of the worst TV ever produced, and while Season 7 provided some redemption and ended BTVS on a relatively high note, the series would still have been better off if it ended when it was originally intended to.
To put it simply, every story has a natural stopping point. Keeping in mind that Fox didn't take the narrative into account when canceling Lucifer, the end of Season 3 was not the right time to pull the plug -- but the end of Season 6 might be. By that point, the producers and writers will have had time to plan out how this story will end, hopefully giving the characters what they need to ride off into the proverbial sunset.
Lucifer stars Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar, Lauren German as Det. Chloe Decker, D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel, Rachael Harris as Dr. Linda Martin, Kevin Alejandro as Det. Dan Espinoza, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen Smith and Aimee Garcia as Ella Lopez. Season 5, Part 1 is available on Netflix now.