Netflix has been the dominant force of entertainment for many years now, giving us a space to find shows while also creating many wonderful original series. As much as I love this platform, lately I’ve been in a slump when it comes to Netflix shows. This is because many of my favorite shows keep getting canceled. Now, a show being canceled is not something irregular, but with Netflix Original shows lately it almost feels like a ritual — especially with shows that have a lot of LGBTQ+ representation.
Shows like “Dead Boy Detectives,” “First Kill,” “I Am Not Okay With This,” and “Shadow and Bone” have been given only one to two seasons before they are canceled, which is very disheartening because this never gives shows the amount of time they need to get the full story across. Sure, shows like “Heartstopper,” “Sex Education,” and “Young Royals” got to have their full run, but other shows like “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” got less seasons than they wanted. I personally think this makes watching shows on Netflix disheartening — if a show is interesting and has representation, I’m met with this gut-wrenching knowledge that it will probably get canceled.
This ongoing fear of shows being canceled leads to fans begging people to watch the shows, but even then that doesn’t matter, as the shows could still be canceled. We can see this with how the show “Shadow and Bone” was canceled even though their first season did better than the third season of “Outer Banks.” “Shadow and Bone” had an exceptional cast and a hit trilogy leading them to success, but still, the show was canceled, letting down tons of fans.
I don’t know why Netflix keeps doing this to their shows — making exceptional first seasons and then canceling them — but as far as I can see, the trend started with “Julie and the Phantoms” in 2020 and has only continued to everyone’s dismay. Personally, it’s starting to get on my nerves and makes watching a show by Netflix not enjoyable, which is sad because they are capable of making good shows — after all “Stranger Things” has shown us that.
