Since it began its foray into original programming, Netflix has released a vast amount of content, with fresh movies and series coming out seemingly constantly. Some of these have been excellent and won acclaim from audiences and critics. Others have been savaged, and many, many more have been viewed as merely disappointing.
Something that has caused fans consternation has been Netflix's tendency to cancel shows. Plenty of poor or mediocre Netflix shows get the ax, but so do beloved ones, particularly after promising first seasons. By contrast, shows that nobody seems to enjoy wind up getting second or third seasons.
10 Canceled: The Society Even Got A Promise Of Renewal
A somewhat familiar premise, even to Netflix, The Society follows a group of teenagers living in a town where the rest of the population, including all adults, have vanished, leaving them to fend for themselves. Nonetheless, the show managed, in its first season, to elevate itself above a Lord of the Flies knock-off, and earn itself fans.
The show was successful enough to get a second season announced in 2019. However, Netflix was unsure it could be filmed during the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus instead canceled the show.
9 Went On Too Long: Hemlock Grove Was An Early Disappointment
Hemlock Grove is a horror series that was released early in Netflix's attempts at original programming, premiering around the time of House of Cards. Unlike that show's acclaim, Hemlock Grove was typically met with a tepid response from critics at best, viewing it as a collection of gothic horror tropes that did nothing new.
Despite this, the show would go on to be renewed for a second and then third season. While critical reaction increased slightly from some quarters as the show went on, it never became positive. A likely reason for the show's continuation before finally being canceled after its third season is the Emmy nominations it earned as part of Netflix's early programming.
8 Canceled: Tuca & Bertie's Cancelation Spawned Backlash
Tuca & Bertie is a show that formed one of Netflix's early forays into adult animation, telling the story of the friendship between a Toucan and a Song Thrush as they attempted to navigate adult life.
Despite positive critical reviews and good viewing numbers, Netflix canceled the show without explanation after its first season. There was fan backlash to the announcement, with petitions and hashtags arising in protest. Fortunately for fans, Adult Swim took up the show for a second season and announced its renewal for a third.
7 Went On Too Long: Orange Is The New Black Couldn't Sustain Itself
Orange is the New Black was another of Netflix's earliest original shows, and, along with House of Cards, one that received critical acclaim and proved to many that Netflix could be more than just a platform for the content of others.
Its first two seasons received near-universal adoration, being considered some of the highest-quality television on offer. After that, it began a downward decline, with a reviled third season. Despite a better-received fourth season, the show's fifth season would slip once more, and there would be little recovery for its sixth and seventh seasons. Despite a promising start, the show ultimately proved to be unable to maintain its quality, stretching out something that could've been excellent and lowering its average quality.
6 Canceled: Seven Seconds Had Great Promise
Seven Seconds is a political crime drama that examines the institutional racism present within many of the police forces in the United States, as well as other issues like the 'closed ranks' that impair internal investigations.
Although never one of Netflix's best-regarded shows, it was well-received by critics, who praised it for being willing to take a look at social issues many shows would have avoided. With anticipation present for a second season telling a different story, Netflix instead canceled Seven Seconds, retroactively branding it a limited series, instead of an anthology show.
5 Went On Too Long: Friends From College Had No Likable Characters
Despite having a high-quality cast including comedic actors like Cobie Smulders and Keegan-Michael Key, Friends From College was savaged critically for its lack of engaging plotlines, questionable humor, and the lack of any sympathetic characters. Despite its title, critics often commented that none of the characters seemed to be actual friends, or even possible to make friends with.
Despite the show's reputation, it was renewed for a second season of eight episodes, which failed to garner the show more positive reviews. After this, the show was quietly canceled.
4 Canceled: I Am Not Okay With This Was Another COVID Casualty
Reuniting Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff from IT, I Am Not Okay With This is a teen dark comedy following teenager Sydney Novak as she develops supernatural powers a year after her father's death.
The show received positive critical reviews and fan engagement, with particular praise for the chemistry between Lillis and Oleff. The show was announced to be canceled in 2020, despite having a second season ready to film, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential impacts on filming.
3 Went On Too Long: Iron Fist Was The Weakest Marvel Show
Netflix's run of Marvel properties, culminating in The Defenders, ultimately appears to be considered a failure by the studio, with no further appearances from the characters in it besides a cameo for Edwin Jarvis, despite the typical interconnectedness of the MCU.
Several of the shows made an impact, however, in particular Daredevil and Jessica Jones, with Luke Cage and The Defenders proving more controversial. Almost universally disliked was Iron Fist, combining poor writing with a questionable performance from lead Finn Jones, exacerbating an already bland protagonist. Despite these issues, strong viewership saw the show given a second season, before its cancelation.
2 Canceled: The Get Down's Budget Ballooned
Detailing the rise of disco and hip-hop from the point of view of a group of teens, The Get Down made a splash on Netflix when it was first released, with its first season coming in two parts. Even when its story disappointed some, the musical numbers and the visuals kept audiences eager for more.
Its budget proved too much for Netflix, ultimately running $20 million over budget, as a result of numerous production difficulties. As a result, it would be the first Netflix show canceled after a single season, but far from the last.
1 Went On Too Long: 13 Reasons Why Outstayed Its Welcome
13 Reasons Why had massive impact with its first season, courting controversy with its subject matter and its depictions of certain acts, including its conversations about mental health, teenage bullying and sexuality, trigger warnings, and censorship. Despite the controversy that followed it, the first season was typically considered a good show, with positive messages.
Writing past the book, the second season would prove to have diminishing returns, causing some of the same controversies without bringing the same quality to the show. Taking a hard pivot in its third and fourth seasons, the show would continue to lose viewers and critical reception, dying, in the eyes of some, with a whimper, not a bang.