Netflix horror series Archive 81 canceled after only one season

An image from Archive 81, a new Netflix horror series
(Image credit: Netflix)

Archive 81, Netflix's supernatural sci-fi horror mystery series, has been canceled after only one season, Deadline reports.

The show, described by some as a mashup of Blair Witch Project and Rosemary's Baby, starred The Getdown's Mamoudou Athie and Altered Carbon's Dina Shihabi. Audio archivist Dan Turner (Athie) is hired by a mysterious company to restore a collection of burnt videotapes from 1994, which contain grad student and filmmaker Melody Pendras's (Shihabi) documentary project about an apartment building that suspiciously burned to the ground. As Dan becomes more and more engrossed in Melody's story, he finds himself diving deeper and deeper into dangerous waters – and there's no turning back.

Archive 81 is based on the horror podcast of the same name created by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger. The show was produced by James Wan's Atomic Monster and developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine, executive producer Amazon Prime's gritty superhero drama The Boys. Two of the episodes were directed by indie horror duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who recently signed on to direct Loki season 2.

Though the series holds an 85% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and charted in both Nielsen and Netflix's Top 10, it's possible that the streaming app decided to cancel the show for the same reason it canceled The Getdown – the amount of viewership couldn't make up for the high production costs.

If you're just as bummed as we are, we recommend firing up Spotify or Apple Podcasts and giving the original audio-only show a go.

For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows and the best horror movies.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.