Every canceled Netflix show that you need to know about
From 1899 to Steve Carrell's space-centered office comedy, here's what's on the Netflix chopping block
Netflix has built up a reputation for cancelling shows early, and 2023 has already seen a fair few TV series scrapped by the streamer. The most recent casualties are 1899, The Midnight Club, and Warrior Nun, while 2022 saw several big names drop off the streamer.
We've rounded up every single show that's been brought to an abrupt end right here – and there's quite a few of them. We're also keeping the list up to date, so you can see exactly what new shows have ended early.
Netflix cancelations in 2023
1899
From the creators of Netflix's Dark, 1899 saw a migrant steamship leave London and head west to leave the old continent – only to stumble upon horrors beyond their wildest imagination.
Though Netflix is known to cancel a show for low streaming views, the series racked up over 87.9 million hours viewed since its November debut on the platform and still remains in the Top 10. The true reason for cancellation remains unknown.
Netflix cancelations in 2022
Warrior Nun
Based on the manga series, the fantasy drama stars Alba Baptista as a quadriplegic orphan who joins an ancient order of warrior nuns after discovering she has superpowers.
Warrior Nun's small, yet dedicated fanbase started an online movement in favor of season 3, after fearing that cancellation was imminent due to the show's low streaming numbers. Despite the drop in viewership, the show sits at a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Midnight Club
Based on the novel The Midnight Club by YA horror author Christopher Pike, Mike Flanagan's horror mystery-thriller series follows eight terminally ill teens who come together every night at midnight to tell each other stories.
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After releasing on the streamer in October, the series was well-received but only stayed in Netflix's top 10 for three weeks. It debuted at number 4, with 18.8 million hours viewed, which pales in comparison to recent releases like Wednesday, which hit 341.2 million hours in its first week.
First Kill
The LGBTQ star-crossed teen romance about a vampire and a monster hunter hit the Netflix top 10 upon initial release. Showrunner Felicia D. Henderson explained that the cancellation came down to the show's completion rate.
The streamer measures the completion rate as viewers who watch 90 percent of a film or season of a series. Even though First Kill was watched for almost 50 million hours in its first week, it didn’t "rank highly enough" to get a renewal.
Resident Evil
The series, based on the popular video game franchise, aimed to tell the story of Jade Wesker, her father Albert, the sinister Umbrella Corporation, and how New Raccoon City became the origin of a deadly virus that led to a global apocalypse in 2036.
Unfortunately, the adaptation was lambasted by critics and fans alike, with the streamer canceling the show less than a month after the first season aired.
Bone
Bone would have been an adaptation of Jeff Smith's comic of the same name, which follows Fone Bone and his cousins as they get into mischief and have adventures. It was announced in 2019, but was eventually axed in 2022.
This was the third attempt at adapting the comic, and Smith took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the news.
Sigh. pic.twitter.com/0c9cFOdv8dApril 22, 2022
The Midnight Gospel
Co-creator Duncan Trussell revealed on Twitter that The Midnight Gospel would not be returning for a second season after being canceled by Netflix. "In my mind there's one more season but the sentient glass "deciding" cube they keep in their catacombs vibrated "No more." And it's hard to argue with a cube," he wrote.
The animated series follows a "spacecaster" named Clancy, who traverses the multiverse interviewing subjects for his spacecast (what us Earthlings call a podcast). Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward developed the series with Trussell.
Another Life
Another Life was a high-production sci-fi comedy-drama that starred Katee Sackhoff as Niko Breckinridge, an astronaut and commanding officer on a mission to determine the origin of a mysterious alien artifact. Though the first season was poorly reviewed, it was renewed for a second season – which was far more favored by critics. Still, this didn't save the show from being shut down ahead of a planned season 3.
Archive 81
Archive 81, based on the horror podcast of the same name created by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger, followed an audio archivist who is hired by a mysterious company to restore a collection of burnt videotapes from 1994, which contain a grad student and filmmaker's documentary project about an apartment building that suspiciously burned to the ground. The series holds an 85% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and charted in both Nielsen and Netflix's Top 10, but was canceled after only one season.
The Baby-Sitters Club
Based on the best-selling book series by Ann M. Martin, The Baby-Sitters Club followed a group of five middle school best friends who run their own babysitting service in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Despite having a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix pulled the plug after just two seasons.
Gentefied
Gentefied, produced by America Ferrera, followed the story of three Mexican-American cousins in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles as they chased the American Dream inside their rapidly gentrifying community. Though the comedy-drama received positive reviews as well as a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix ultimately ended the show after just two seasons due to low viewership.
Cooking with Paris
Paris Hilton is arguably the OG queen of reality TV, though that didn't stop Cooking with Paris from getting the ax after six seasons. The show featured Paris cooking, baking, and making cocktails with her celebrity friends – the gag being that the heiress doesn't actually know her way around the kitchen. Though the series briefly cracked the Netflix Top 10 in its first week, it's possible that poor reviews are what ultimately led to its end.
On The Verge
On The Verge was axed without any official announcement, and was instead confirmed in an Instagram comment from creator and executive producer Julie Delpy. The comedy followed four women in their forties dealing with midlife crises in LA. Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Jones, Alexia Landeau, and Delpy starred – Delpy also created the series, and executive produced along with Shue.
Pretty Smart
Premiering in October of 2021, Pretty Smart starred Hannah Montana's Emily Osment as a snobby Harvard grad named Chelsea who gets dumped and is forced to move in with her free-spirit sister Claire (Dead to Me's Olivia Macklin) and Claire's equally spacey roommates. The streamer ended the show after 10 episodes, potentially due to the news that Osment was promoted to series regular on the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon. Unfortunately, the first season ended on a cliffhanger – one that might never be resolved.
Raising Dion
Raising Dion, based on the 2015 comic book and short film of the same name by Dennis Liu, followed the story of a woman named Nicole (Alisha Wainwright) who is left to raise her superhero son Dion (Ja'Siah Young) after the death of her husband Mark (Michael B. Jordan).
Following the premiere of season 2, the series rose to the number one spot on the Netflix Top 10 and was watched over 108.75 million hours in its first 26 days on the streaming platform. Sadly, this didn't stop Netflix from giving it the boot.
Space Force
Space Force was created by Carell and Greg Daniels, the latter of whom adapted The Office for American audiences. The workplace comedy starred Carell as the Chief of Operations at the United States Space Force, a work-in-progress branch of the US Armed Forces tasked with getting "boots on the moon."
Netflix gave the production a ten-episode series order, which debuted in 2020 to mixed reviews. The streamer greenlit a second season, but cut the number of episodes down to seven. Space Force was ultimately given the ax despite season 2's warmer reviews and much lower budget.
For more on Netflix, check out our guides to the best Netflix shows available to stream right now.
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.
- Molly EdwardsSenior Entertainment Writer