Shows these days seem to always be canceled between a season or two. It sucks when I’ve searched for so long and finally found the perfect show and all of a sudden, there’s no more. The most recent victim was the summer hit show, My Lady Jane, canceled after only one season at Amazon Prime. The show had a slow start, but after a week, seemed to be the only thing on my explore page. It seems like some shows never end (cough, cough Riverdale), but other shows get canceled just as they start to get good.
With streaming networks, it seems to always be the fantasy shows that get the cut. In 2023, both Fate: The Winx Saga and Shadow and Bone were canceled by Netflix, despite both running in the top ten for weeks after their release, and having large fan bases. The thing that all three shows have in common: they were all fantasy adaptations made for streaming.
The biggest barrier to success fantasy shows face is that on top of a typical show budget (cast, set design, costume work, etc.), they require good special effects. Good special effects require having a visual effects team to design and execute the effects in a relatively plausible way. In addition, usually the costumes and sets require more careful detailing to adequately immerse viewers of the show in the fantasy worlds. With all of these barriers, sometimes it’s no wonder these shows fail.Â
These days, it seems like unless a show breaks through the cultural zeitgeist in a major way, it doesn’t have more than a season, or maybe two. So many hit shows including Julie and the Phantoms, The Society, Anne with an E, and High Fidelity, also fell victim to the cancellation curse. All of these shows were popular, but with more niche audiences rather than mainstream audiences.Â
Canceling shows like this impacts the culture. One of the reasons people bond with each other is sharing niche interests. I can’t count the number of people I met at UGA who I bonded with over our favorite TV shows. It is one of the things that creates a community and brings people together. Canceling every show that isn’t a major success takes away all of these avenues for connection. If we’ve already put in so much effort to set up a show, especially those fantasy ones that have such long and intricate plots and built in fan bases, we should give them a chance to breathe and thrive.
