It’s pretty safe to say that by 2023, most of us have now had the experience of finding out that our latest show of choice has been cancelled. 1899, the most recent victim of the cancellation phenomenon, was cancelled by Netflix at the start of the new year despite reporting high streaming numbers. The sci-fi show is one of many series that have hit streaming only to be cancelled after one or two seasons; think The Wilds, The Society, Warrior Nun, I Am Not Okay With This, First Kill, Grand Army, and the list goes on. As you may notice, all but one of those shows is the property of Netflix. Netflix has become particularly associated with the pattern of cancelling relatively popular shows after one or two seasons, which I would argue is fueling a perpetual cycle of producing new content just to drop it a year later.
The frequency with which the streaming giant cancels new shows has created an interesting duality. More and more, people have an expectation that new shows will inevitably be cancelled irrespective of their popularity. Consequently, this makes subscribers hesitant to watch new Netflix originals. Given that viewership statistics play a large role in deciding the fate of a show, it’s easy to see how viewers being hesitant to watch new shows, for fear of becoming invested only to be let down, would lead to even more cancellations.
Personally, it’s true that I am hesitant to start a new Netflix original series, even if it is extremely popular. Often times if it isn’t the most popular, it won’t live to see another season. Much like a growing number of subscribers, I avoid this disappointment by waiting to see if Netflix will renew it before I start the show. This leads to Netflix pumping out more and more content while worsening in quality, because instead of giving a show time to develop its characters and plotlines and grow a fanbase, they keep starting from scratch with new ideas hoping to hit some benchmark of statistical success.
It’s my opinion that shows need time to grow. Of my favourite shows, I can’t think of any of which season one was my favourite. This is because, when given the chance, showrunners can develop the characters over time allowing for a reciprocal relationship between the audience and the creators. Audiences need the chance to become familiar with characters and watch their relationships and personalities change and grow. Over time, showrunners also learn to adapt to their audience, tailoring the show to the diehard viewers as opposed to trying to make it as widely appealing as possible and inevitably satisfying no one.
Additionally, most shows need time to flesh out their plotlines and are in fact planned to take place over several seasons. Take The OA for example, it was planned to have five seasons but was cancelled after three, meaning that the original plotline was never given the chance to play out. Now that showrunners might expect to be given a one-season test run, writing has adapted to cram complete plot lines into singular seasons. This makes them less complex and overall less interesting, given that each season is its own storyline because writers cannot depend on getting another season to further their plot.
It’s hard to say what to do about this. If we all save ourselves the heartache of watching new shows only for them to be cancelled, then said shows will be cancelled for low viewership and another will take its place. If we take the risk and watch anyway, the show may be cancelled despite it being relatively popular. Either way, both the creatives and the viewers suffer as a result of television losing its storytelling element in favour of pumping out as many shows as possible, so that one may be a smash hit.