Netflix just canceled vampire drama First Kill after only one season.
The streaming platform pulled the plug after the series underperformed against two key renewal metrics, viewing and completion of episodes, reports Deadline. This will likely come as a surprise to fans, since First Kill ranked among the Top 10 English language shows on Netflix three days after it premiered on June 10. It also went on to crack the top three by the end of its first full week on the platform, racking up 48.8 million hours viewed. Only Stranger Things Season 4 and Peaky Blinders Season 6 performed better in the seven days after their respective premiere dates.
First Kill is based on a short story of the same name by V.E. Schwab, who oversaw the live-action adaptation, as well. It stars Sarah Catherine Hook as Juliette Fairmont, a teenage vampire who falls in love with Imani Lewis' Calliope "Cal" Burns, a monster hunter in training. First Kill received a lukewarm critical response, with many reviewers criticizing it for its lack of originality and uneven tone. It did receive positive mentions for adding a queer dimension to vampire mythology, although some critics felt this aspect of the series was too restrained.
Turbulent Times for Netflix
Netflix canceling First Kill comes at a turbulent time for the streamer, which lost just under a million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently addressed the decline in subscribers, crediting Stranger Things Season 4 with preventing the drop-off numbers from climbing to the previously estimated figure of 2 million. Other negative press surrounding the company includes its recent lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning creators of an unauthorized Bridgerton musical, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.
Another of Netflix's most popular shows, The Witcher, also made headlines for the wrong reasons recently. Sources close to the production claim that Geralt of Rivia himself Henry Cavill recently tested positive for COVID-19, putting principal photography on hold until the English actor is cleared to return to the set. These same sources allege that Cavill was preparing to film one of Season 3's biggest action set pieces before contracting the virus.
In more positive news for Netflix, the streamer just announced that it will move forward with a sequel and spinoff to The Gray Man, the Russo Brothers' action-thriller film starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. Netflix reportedly intends for the two projects to serve as the springboard for a wider expanded universe of Gray Man films.
First Kill Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: Deadline