Despite being the highest-profile streaming service on the planet, Netflix subscribers have become increasingly jaded over the last few years, and a lot of it is down to the sheer volume of popular original shows that end up getting canceled.
There’s been 26 such titles in the fantasy genre alone since the beginning of 2020, with the company seemingly happy to plunge mountains of cash into an episodic project only to decide it doesn’t deserve to last longer than a season or two. However, the problem has been going on for a lot longer than anyone thinks, and it runs a lot deeper than you might have expected, too.
Since House of Cards debuted in February of 2013, Netflix has seen a whopping four live-action dramas run longer than four seasons. Orange is the New Black and The Crown are the only other outliers that were born and raised as in-house exclusives, although they’ll at least be joined by You when everyone’s favorite serial killer Joe Goldberg makes his final stand.
Animation and comedy do tend to fare a lot better, though, with Grace and Frankie marking Netflix’s most episode-heavy original of all-time after racking up 94 installments, while BoJack Horseman has 77 and counting, with Big Mouth set to end its run with 81 in the can, and even The Ranch managed to accrue 80 episodes despite the fact nobody ever talked about it.
Even when you look at the platform’s most-watched titles in its history, it makes for discouraging reading. Stranger Things? Ending after five seasons. Sweet Tooth? Done after the third. Money Heist may have gotten five parts, a remake, and an upcoming spin-off, but only the final three were produced by Netflix. Ozark? Finished after four seasons.
Audience investment is key, but that’s never going to happen in the long term if Netflix keeps axing everything people tend to latch onto.
