‘The fans deserve better’: X users mourn Netflix’s most egregious series cancellations

It’s been a rough few years for Netflix subscribers. With price hikes and show cancellations, I just want to give up on it altogether. …Then they put out a new season of Bridgerton, and I’m crawling back. But the shows we lost still cut deep.

The last few years have been an uncertain time for shows and series. The entertainment industry has overcome a number of hurdles, from the pandemic, which saw studios completely shit down till mass testing took effect, to the Hollywood strikes in 2023, which saw writers and actors take to the streets to demand fair pay and limit the use of AI. Because of all these things and more, studios have become a little more cautious with what they put out on their platforms and shows have had to go above and beyond to prove themselves worthy, because if not, studios are ruthless in their cuts.

So many shows have been axed, not just at Netflix but across the board. If a show isn’t garnering the views and the response required, it’s gone. Today, the pressure on writers, directors, and producers to make something truly amazing straight out of the gate is enormous. Some of the cancellations have been met with fierce backlash from fans, though it’s rare (but not unheard of!) for outcry to lead to a second chance for an axed show.

Keyboard warriors

Last year, one of the most talked about shows was Netflix’s Warrior Nun, which was canceled after only two seasons despite having relatively decent viewing figures, fantastic critical feedback, and a diehard fanbase. A fanbase that would prove just how committed to the show they were by mounting an extensive campaign to bring the show back from the dead. Similar shows have also felt the keen edge of the executioner’s sword, with the most recent one coming in the form of Dead Boy Detectives.

The recent cancellation has sent fans to X to share their own personal losses causing #NetflixCancels to trend.

Of course, the recently canceled Dead Boy Detectives was a big part of the equation.

Another shock cancellation came in the form of the fantasy book adaption, Shadow and Bone. With its cancelation, nothing felt safe.

Many called out the fact that a lot of the shows canceled were fantasy series, especially fantasy series featuring queer relationships. They feel that if Netflix is going to do a fantasy, they need to put the effort into making it good or leave it the hell alone. The below list of canceled shows is certainly worrying for the genre.

One user posted a whole list of shows that have walked the plank in the last few years.

This user points out that Netflix had already promised to try and not leave a story hanging, but that hasn’t seemed to happen at all.

Of course, Warrior Nun was mentioned a lot in the list.

When cancellations like this keep happening, viewers will inevitably become more hesitant to engage with any new content for fear that the characters and the story they’ll fall in love with will be taken from them without any satisfying conclusion. In the end, platforms like Netflix lose our trust and, eventually, our money.