Netflix recently announced the cancellation of five shows (Shadow and Bone, Glamorous, Agent Elvis, Farzar, and Captain Fall), adding to the list of twenty-three shows the streaming platform has already canceled this year. These cancellations can be linked to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which ran from July to November and disrupted the writing processes of various shows, movies, and late-night shows.
Shadow and Bone, which ran for two seasons, hit Netflix’s Top 10 chart in eighty-five countries after both seasons were released, and even reached the number one spot after the release of the first season. The Nielsen Company found that the show had over 1.14 billion viewing minutes across both seasons. However, compared to more popular Netflix shows, like Wednesday, which had six billion viewing minutes, Shadow and Bone has significantly fewer viewers. Leigh Bardugo, the author of the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series, shared on her Instagram that she was “heartbroken and deeply disappointed” that “there will be no season 3 for Shadow and Bone and no Six of Crows spinoff,” although she was very thankful “to see [her] work adapted.” In the following days after her post, cast members of the adaptation posted goodbyes to their characters.
Among the other shows canceled was Glamorous, which ran for only one season and was released this year. The show was on Netflix’s Top 10 list for two weeks following its release and gained a total of 43.1 million viewing hours worldwide. Compared to other more popular shows, Glamorous was nowhere near as successful, making it clear as to why Netflix decided to cancel the show.
Diana-Maria Riva, who played Julia Mejia in Glamorous said at the Women in Film Honors on November 30th that she “had a lot of people of all ages come up to [her] and… say ‘Thank you because [they] took from that character some strength that [they] need for [their] child’s journey.’” The actor also said that she’s “very grateful but it’s very bittersweet” to have been a part of a show that had such an impact on others.
Three animated shows were recently canceled as well: Agent Elvis, which ran for only one season and was released this year, Farzar, which also only ran for one season, but was released last year, and Captain Fall, which ran for one season and was released this year. The shows received a 62%, a 33%, and an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score respectively, and none of the shows received large enough audiences for them to be renewed for a second season.
These are just five of the twenty-three shows that Netflix has canceled this year, and only five of the many shows that have suffered because of the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Netflix is not the only streaming company to suffer from the strikes in Hollywood, as HBO Max has canceled twelve shows, Prime has canceled seven, and Hulu and Disney + have both canceled eight. One can hope that, with the end of the SAG-AFTRA strikes, this mass cancellation of shows will come to an end.
