Did These 6 Netflix Shows Really Deserve To Be Canceled?
Expect three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and Netflix cancelling shows.
No one understands the metrics of what makes a series a success on the streaming platform – probably not even the executives either – but Netflix loves to be ruthless with its programming. It’s to the point that audiences don’t want to get too emotionally attached anymore because the plug will be pulled inevitably.
Be that as it may, there are several Netflix shows that wrongfully disappeared after a single season. They’re the type of series that appeared to have everything going for them, then boom! Gone like the wind. Let’s take a look at six super-early cancellations that hit harder than most.
Dead Boy Detectives
Holding both a critical and audience score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, Dead Boy Detectives was a universally beloved show on Netflix. The quirky supernatural series centers on the adventures of two ghosts, Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) and Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew), who solve crimes in their own special way. Smart, humorous, and fun, Dead Boy Detectives also had the benefit of being a spinoff of The Sandman series and featured a few characters from there, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. One does wonder how much influence the Neil Gaiman allegations had in this cancellation, since he is a co-creator of the characters and served as an executive producer on the show.
The Brothers Sun
Imagine this: An action-centric show about a boy who discovers his family’s ties to the criminal underworld. He also learns that his mother moved him and her away to another city to protect them and now his older brother arrives and turns his life upside down. That’s the premise of The Brothers Sun, which holds humor and heart in equal measures. The martial arts scenes are outstanding and top-notch quality, but it’s the Sun family dynamics that has everyone rooting for reconciliation here. Plus, it has the always-sensational Michelle Yeoh in a leading role, and who doesn’t want more of her on their TV screen?! After failing to promote the show or even give it a chance to build a positive word-of-mouth, Netflix cancelled The Brothers Sun two months after its release in 2024. It’s nothing short of a travesty.
Ratched
Look, when news broke that Ratched would be an origin story for the sadistic Nurse Mildred Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it sounded like a bizarre idea for a series. Was there actually enough to tell a story here? Thanks to a powerhouse performance from Sarah Paulson as Nurse Ratched, it won people over, including this author. Ratched had mystery, drama, thrills, and a wicked sense of humor too, luring the viewer into this delicious web of Machiavellian characters and phenomenal set design. After debuting in 2020, the status of the second season remained unknown and stuck in the Netflix limbo, but Ratched was officially cancelled in 2024. Boo!
Archive 81
From its first episode, Archive 81 grips the viewer by the throat. Based on the 2016 podcast of the same name, the horror show follows archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) who is tasked with restoring a collection of tapes. As Dan begins his work, he discovers the recordings, which were made by Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), investigated a mysterious cult, and he gets pulled further into this sinister story. What Archive 81 does well is leave enough breadcrumbs in each episode to ensure that everyone hits the “play next episode” button as quickly as possible. Considering how Season 1 ends, it’s disappointing how the audience won’t ever find out Dan’s fate, since Archive 81 received its eviction notice from Netflix.
The Society
Upon its debut on Netflix, everyone was talking about The Society. It’s an intriguing concept after all: High school teens head off on a trip and when they return back to their town, they discover everyone is gone and they can’t contact the outside world. Now, it’s up to them to create a new society with their own rules. After Season 1 received praise and attention, Netflix renewed the show for a second season. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened, and the streaming service backtracked on the renewal. Speaking to Variety in 2024, showrunner Christopher Keyser promised that the creative team will find a way to conclude the story and provide closure for fans of The Society.
Everything Sucks!
High school shows are a dime a dozen, but Everything Sucks! possessed that extra something special. Set in the ’90s, it went deeper into the teenage experience – not just in terms of coming of age, but everything else that comes along with it, i.e., the good, the bad, and the ugly. The show also featured a pre-fame Sydney Sweeney, who received a lot of positive buzz for her performance as Emaline Addario. Despite having the compelling characters and story possibilities for a multiple-season run, Everything Sucks! was cancelled not even two months after its debut on Netflix. Don’t make us say who really sucks for making this decision…