Why Netflix keeps cancelling your favourite shows | WIRED Explains

Last year, sci-fi show Altered Carbon joined Sense8, The OA and Luke Cage in being axed from Netflix after just two seasons. What followed was the now-traditional furious fan campaign to save the series from an early death.

But while it’s sad for fans to see a show cut dramatically short, for Netflix, it comes down to the data. In this WIRED Explains, we explore the data metrics Netflix uses to decide whether to renew or axe a TV show.

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[lostpianist]

Because they don’t respect their customers’ experiences.

[victoriap]

The problem is that the catalog becomes weaker as you don't want to watch that show later on if it's incomplete

[LewisWalsh]

I get it. But I wish when they axed a show they would make a feature-length final episode to tie things up.

[fuckhq]

Yes and then I cancelled my Netflix subscription

[pigizoid]

Netflix cancels shows that take risks to create amazing new content, they cancel those shows so they can fall back into their comfortable money making shows that get high foot traffic by being bland and easy to observe while not actually being good, they just want another big mouth season

[limesquared]

Two months is not enough time to decide if a show gets canceled. And what if hit shows like Dark and Stranger Things had been canceled
after a year ? They would have absolutely been ruined. We need to go back to a show a week to give the shows a bigger chance.

[RM]

so many childhood shows just dissolved. i remember seeing one season of one of my favourite shows missing, kinda sad how netflix is slow to add shows but quick to delete them

[usafinland]

I am getting very tired of Netflix in Finland, not only do they cancel good shows but are so slow to add new ones. Any advice on a alternative network besides HBO?

[melb]

Utter disregards for its customer base. Not going to get a penny from me anymore

[Alkis]

It used to be the case that series would last forever and gradually fizzle out. Than series finales were invented. I see a lot of shows that people say were cancelled when it actually had an ending. Sure, some like sense 8 and Marco Polo were truly cancelled, but a lot of shows, like queens gambit, were never intended to be long shows. Sometimes for the better. There is nothing worse than dragging a popular show just to milk it for money without actually any original idea on how to keep the story going.

TV networks also have the habit of axing series way soon, Fox being the greatest offender. At least, if a series Fails on netflix it is not because it was allotted a bad timeslot or released episodes in the wrong order (* cough * Firefly * cough *)

[pendaranroberts]

If I like a show on Netflix it’s pretty much guaranteed to be canceled. I’m thinking of doing my own canceling. The latest show I loved is archive 81, which I think is fantastic. Better than American horror story. Cancelled! Pisses me off so much!

[ryanartward]

At least Amazon had the decency to make a series final season instead of doing a tablecloth pull.

[fidker]

Here after 1899 got cancelled prematurely, so basically they will continue normie shows no matter if it's bad and axe shows that challenges, take risks and actually break new grounds, thankfully they'll cancel my access to Netflix themselves by removing password sharing this year

[nicb.]

But now its gotten to the point where i refuse to watch a new series unless it is already finished. No point in filling my head with incomplete stories. Definitely not paying for that.

[-atrc_ty-]

I frikin hate you Netflix,
For fking cancel my favorite childhood cartoon for 1-4 seasons.
1-4 SEASONS. NETFLIX.
And then you just what cancel a whole entire seasons for p0rn movies?
Yeah, no thx

Edit: sorry for raging..

[sirjunior]

ALTERED CARBON sadly didn't get it's last and 3rd season.

[macberry]

On the other hand they drop a show all at once and you have to wait a year for the next season. Right now Disney is doing better, right after Wanda they put falcon and winter soldier

[applemontea]

It's sad if the show is actually good, and some people just haven't realized or had the free time to watch it, and because the show's 28-day metric was simply trimmed not to produced in the future, then quietly sank and died slowly.

just like WIRED Explains who stopped uploading new videos 2 years ago

[rasmusdrongesen]

Why have a netflix when most of the shows gets cancelled leaving with a shitty ending...

[BettyBoolean]

Jupiters Legacy was cancelled after a single season but it was within on a couple of weeks of launch. It was set up for more seasons so it seems the decision to cancel was made before viewer data had been collected? I question even the annoucement of the decision in this case, why did netflix feel the need to announce when the show hadn't even had a chance to earn some word of mouth? The announcement itself must have had a negative impact on people giving it a chance. Why watch a show thats going nowhere?