This story has been updated since it was originally posted on 04/20/2023 to include more cancellations
It seems that the Grim Reaper has come to Netflix once again—and this time, four shows have gotten the chop.
Despite recently renewing some huge fan-favorites, including Wednesday, Cobra Kai, and That 90’s Show, it looks like some other shows weren’t so lucky. Netflix Originals Lockwood & Co., Sex/Life, Freeridge, Human Resources, 1899, Inside Job, Uncoupled, and Mindhunter met their ends recently, and fans are, in a word, “gutted”. The cancellation news comes amidst Netflix’s announcement that, starting September 29th, the service would be stopping its DVD rental business after 25 years, perhaps the biggest “cancellation” of all.
Of course, all of this is on top of the fact that the product of many of our favorite shows (like Stranger Things and The Last Of Us) are currently on hold while Netflix writers strike to fight for better working conditions and employee protections.
While our fingers stay crossed that an agreement is met, we’ve rounded up the biggest show cancellations announced at Netflix this year.
Lockwood & Co.
Fans of the supernatural young adult series Lockwood & Co. are "utterly devastated" that the show has been cancelled after just one short season of 8 episodes. The shows production company, Complete Fiction Pictures, announced the cancelation online on May 12.
Some news. #LockwoodandCo pic.twitter.com/tv6e5mdk79
— Complete Fiction Pictures (@FictionComplete) May 12, 2023
"With a heavy heart, we announce that Lockwood & Co will not return for a second series," they wrote. "To the fans—to Lock Nation—you really have been the greatest. We cannot thank you enough for how much you have embraced, celebrated and loved the show."
Despite the passionate fans, Variety reports that this Ruby Stokes-starring show didn't garner as many views as it expected. For this reason, we won't be blessed with another season—and the fans who did watch aren't happy about it.
"My kids and I are utterly devastated by this. Daughter feeling grief like she’s lost a friend @NetflixUK has a lot to answer for," one person Tweeted.
Those eight episodes will live on in our hearts forever!
Freeridge
The ending of On My Block left fans in shambles. That is, of course, until Freeridge, its spinoff series, came into the picture. Unfortunately, though, this is just one more sad goodbye for lovers of the franchise, as this coming-of-age show has been cancelled after just one season. Rolling Stone broke the news on April 12, less than two months after the series hit Netflix.
This comedy set in the same neighborhood as On My Block followed siblings Gloria and Ines and their friends Demi and Cameron—and there was even a curse involved. Talk about juicy! It's no wonder fans are so sad to see it go.
"I didn’t even know on my block freeridge was out until the other day, but it was too late because Netflix has already cancelled season 2," one person Tweeted. It's always heartbreaking to see a series end so soon. Our fingers will stay crossed that this isn't the last time we'll step into the lives of the kids in Freeridge.
Human Resources
Another spinoff bites the dust! Fans of adult cartoon Big Mouth also caught a double whammy of endings recently. Not only will this comedy end after its eighth season, but we'll also have to say goodbye to its spinoff, Human Resources, after just two seasons, Deadline reports.
Human Resources, created by Kelly Galuska, Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett, is set in the same world as Big Mouth. It follows the lives of the monsters whose jobs are to represent the feelings of humans they've been assigned to.
Luckily for fans of both of these series, there's still a good amount of time left before the final farewell. While Human Resources may have only gotten two seasons, fans still have two more seasons of Big Mouth to look forward to, as the seventh is set to hit Netflix later this year, and the eighth will launch in 2024. It will even include beloved characters from Human Resources in order to give them a proper send-off. Phew!
Sex/Life
Here's one show that got the chop prematurely. Sex/Life had a good two-season run, but Variety reported on April 7 that the show will not be getting a third. This announcement came just shortly after the second season hit Netflix on March 2.
This series, which was based on B.B. Easton's novel "44 Chapters About 4 Men," chronicled the life of Billie Connelly (Sarah Shahi) as she reflects on and returns to her youth—and a past relationship.
The cancelation might have something to do with the fact that Shahi found the second season "challenging" to film, which she spoke about on a podcast just days before the official cancelation. "I definitely did not have the support that I did the first season from the people involved in the show," she revealed. "It became a much different thing for me, and I’m not afraid to say that. I struggled with the material... I mean, I’m never gonna work for Netflix again now after saying all this, but I can’t lie. And it was definitely a challenge." She even noted that the season had "more moments that felt very gimmicky." Yikes!
Fans are sorry to see the show go. "Omggggg they canceled Sex/life. Netflix really is trash smh," one person lamented on Twitter. Luckily, as Netflix noted to Today.com, the second season succeeded in wrapping up all storylines.
1899
Yes, sadly for fans of the weird, 1899 has been confirmed to only be a one season wonder. Showrunners Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who previously created the Netflix hit Dark, announced on Instagram that the positively-reviewed mindbender was not renewed for a second season:
View this post on Instagram
Forbes theorizes that perhaps the issue is "completion rate": "This is what percent of a show’s audience actually finishes the show, and according to third party measurements services who believe they can track that sort of thing, Netflix often directly ties which shows get cancelled and renewed to completion rate...1899 reportedly had a dismal 32% completion rate, according to third party sources. And it was cancelled."
Rest in peace, 1899, just like Netflix password sharing before you. We hardly knew ye.
Inside Job
This one definitely comes as a shock to fans of the animated show, since Netflix actually announced Inside Job's renewal back in June 2022. But no—it looks like the first season of the conspiracy comedy will also be its last.
In a statement posted to Twitter, creator Shion Takeuchi wrote, "I'm heartbroken to confirm that Netflix has decided to cancel season 2 of Inside Job. Over the years, these characters have become real people to me, and I am devastated not to be able to watch them grow up. Reagan and Brett deserved to get their ending and finally find happiness. And I would have loved to [have] been able to share what was in store with you all."
Inside Job followed a team of shadow government operatives as they handled global conspiracies; voice actors included Lizzy Caplan and Clark Duke.
Uncoupled
A real shocker came in the cancellation of Uncoupled, a Neil Patrick Harris-led romantic comedy from producers Darren Star (Sex and the City) and Jeffrey Richman (Modern Family). Netflix axed the series after just one season following the story of a real estate agent (Harris) navigating the New York dating scene after the end of a long-term relationship.
However, there's a happy ending to this one: according to Deadline, the rom-com was just picked up by Showtime as "part of a new content strategy" at the network including a focus on "Metro Cultures" and "culturally diverse takes". There also speculation that the Showtime version of Uncoupled will be "edgier and racier" than its Netflix counterpart. Ooh la la!
Mindhunter
And now, the news no one wanted to hear: after two beloved seasons, the long-hiatused Mindhunter has officially been cancelled by Netflix. The intense criminal psychology drama from auteur David Fincher (The Social Network, Zodiac) depicted the creation of the FBI's behavioral unit and was based on the true story of retired FBI agent John E. Douglas, from his book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit.
In an interview with French magazine Le Journal du Dimanche, Fincher confirmed that the smash hit psychological thriller would not be returning for a third season. "I'm very proud of the first two seasons. But it's a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn't attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment. I don't blame them, they took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer. It's a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness. The day our desires are not the same, we have to be honest about parting ways."
Fans have been in an absolute uproar since the news broke of Mindhunter's cancellation, with responses to this post about the axing by DiscussingFilm including comments like "This ruined my day" and "Netflix is obsessed with canceling good shows."
Mindhunter had been on hiatus at the streamer since January 2020, one of several decisions that have left the streamer's customers furious.
