Amid its 2022 crisis, Netflix has announced the cancelation of a number of its original shows. The demand for streaming content increased as the pandemic irreversibly affected the movie and television industry. This gave rise to more streaming platforms, presenting diverse viewing options to consumers. Consequently, these competitors posed a threat to Netflix, forcing the streaming giant to map out its future based on its viewership data and cancel any original content that wasn't pulling in large numbers of new subscribers.
Following the reports of its first-quarter earnings this year, Emily in Paris, it is still home to critically panned releases.
Over the years, Netflix has become too quick to cancel an original show — regardless of promise — that fails to reach massive global success. In 2021 alone, Netflix abandoned original shows like The Duchess and La Révolution after only one season. Meanwhile, The Irregulars was still canceled even with its successful eight-episode run set within the Sherlock Holmes universe and solid fanbase. The mass cancelation of shows continues, however. Here is every Netflix original show canceled this 2022.
On The Verge
On The Verge followed four female friends as they navigate life through their midlife crises, seeing their ages as an opportunity to reinvent themselves instead. Starring Julie Delpy, Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Jones, and Alexia Landeau, the French-produced comedy series premiered on September 7, 2021 with 12 episodes. Unfortunately, On The Verge’s run did not last long. Delpy, who also created the show, revealed in the comments section of one of her Instagram posts that the show had been canceled. She even added that Netflix “forgot to announce it was cancelled,” but she later clarified that other streamers had expressed interest, thus igniting hope for a renewal.
Archive 81
Based on the 2016 podcast of the same name, Archive 81, which ends on a cliffhanger, stars Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi. Daniel Turner (Athie) is a conservator tasked to restore the video footage of Melody (Shihabi)’s decades-old graduate school dissertation and investigation into a mysterious cult. Released in January 2022, the eight-episode series was canceled just two months later. The news came as a surprise, especially since Archive 81 was watched for almost 130 million hours, breaking into Nielsen and Netflix’s Top 10 ratings. Possibly, the viewing hours attained by the show were not enough to compensate for the budget shelled out for its production, leading to its cancellation.
The Baby-Sitters Club
Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club, which avoided the books’ biggest mistake, debuted in July 2020, with its season 2 premiering in October 2021. Due to the balance between its faithfulness to the source material and suitability to the modern generation, the series received universal critical acclaim and gained a large fan following. Regardless, The Baby-Sitters Club was canceled; it failed to reach Netflix’s viewership expectations, unlike its first season. According to showrunner Rachel Shukert, the algorithm of the streaming platform, unfortunately, contributed to the decline of the show’s viewership data.
Gentefied
Created by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, Gentefied’s cast of characters, with the show running on Netflix for two seasons from February 2020 to November 2021. While it was praised for its authentic Latinx representation, it never attained enough viewing hours to appear in the Netflix Top 10. This low viewership likely factored into the company’s decision to ultimately drop the positively reviewed show.
Cooking with Paris
Netflix’s culinary reality show Cooking with Paris saw actress and heiress Paris Hilton recreate recipes alongside celebrity guests such as Kim Kardashian, Saweetie, and Demi Lovato. The show’s six episodes chronicled the socialite’s chaotic cooking process, showcasing her flashy red-carpet ensembles and bejeweled utensils. Sadly, Cooking with Paris was canceled after just one season due to its low viewership and poor critic reviews.
Another Life
Another Life, which debuted to negative reviews in July 2019, continued with a second season, which was then released in October 2021. Just four months after, Sackhoff revealed in a tweet that Netflix opted out of renewing Another Life, ending its 20-episode run. This decision might have been brought about by the show’s failure to reach Netflix’s Top 10 ratings in the U.S. or UK.
Raising Dion
Raising Dion, one of Netflix’s comic book adaptations, was canceled. The announcement was shared by Haney on Instagram, surprising their viewers. After all, the series was among Netflix’s most-watched shows for four consecutive weeks in February.
Pretty Smart
Created by Jack Dolgen and Doug Mand, Pretty Smart focuses on book-smart Chelsea (Emily Osment), who is forced to move in with her free-spirited sister Claire (Olivia Macklin). There Chelsea meets and cultivates relationships with Claire’s roommates. After premiering in October 2021, the one-season Pretty Smart was canceled in April 2022. The report came shortly after news of Osment’s promotion to series regular status on CBS’ Young Sheldon broke. While the two events were likely not related to each other, Pretty Smart’s cancelation might be due to its mixed critical and audience reviews.
Space Force
Reuniting Greg Daniels and Steve Carell of The Office, Space Force is a workplace comedy inspired by the Trump istration’s creation of the sixth branch of the U.S Armed Forces. Its first season in May 2020 was released to mixed reception, while its second season opened with generally favorable reviews. Despite the improvement, Netflix still opted out of renewing the show for another season. Because Space Force had a higher production budget, its performance bar was also set higher. As such, its critical acclaim and viewership, which was not impressive, were key factors in determining its future.
