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- Recently, after earning rave reviews from both critics and consumers, a highly anticipated YA Netflix show, Lockwood & Co. was canceled after only one season. This information prompts viewers to wonder how many other excellent shows on this network have been canceled despite having the chance to reach their second season.
With its original content, Netflix is, without a doubt, the market leader and a pioneer in the streaming service sector. Nevertheless, the network is also notorious for consistently canceling its shows after just one season, regardless of the ratings and reviews from fans and critics alike.
Since Netflix doesn't always disclose the details of why a popular new show was canceled, viewers must somehow come to terms with the network's unpredictability and continue watching the current programming. Fans can binge-watch a number of excellent one-season TV programs in a single day on Netflix but don't hold out hope for a second season because the streaming giant has already terminated it.
Updated on May 16, 2023, by Jessie Nguyen:
Recently, after earning rave reviews from both critics and consumers, a highly anticipated YA Netflix show, Lockwood & Co. was canceled after only one season. This information prompts viewers to wonder how many other excellent shows on this network have been canceled despite having the chance to reach their second season.
13 ‘Girlboss’ (2017)
Girlboss is loosely based on Sophia Amoruso's 2014 autobiography #Girlboss, which describes how Amoruso founded her company Nasty Gal while serving as a host for campus safety at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. The show follows Sophia (Britt Robertson), an outcast who finds a love for fashion and develops into an unusual businesswoman as a result.
Although some reviews and fans commended Robertson's portrayal, some critiqued the main character's unlikeability, making it one of a few shows that are widely disliked by critics. The first season had a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was quickly canceled after its debut.
12 ‘The Good Cop’ (2018)
Based on an Israeli show of the same name, The Good Cop follows a disgraced former NYPD cop named Tony Caruso Sr. (Tony Danza) who resides with his devoted, relentlessly honest don, NYPD Detective Tony Jr. (Josh Groban).
With the leads' explosive chemistry and the impression that they are just hanging out instead of acting, The Good Cop is a favorable, typical detective sitcom that adheres to a unique formula and adds some warmth and humor, for viewers seeking the comfort of a simpler period. Yet, the show was unfortunately discontinued after one season.
11 ‘Spinning Out’ (2020)
Spinning Out follows Kat Baker (Kaya Scodelario), a rising star in single skating who is preparing to hang up her skates after a catastrophic fall that knocked her off the competition track. When Kat jumps at the chance to continue her pair skating career with a skilled bad-boy partner, she runs the risk of spilling a tightly guarded secret that could upend the rest of her life.
Spinning Out tackles a number of significant issues, including Kat's precarious mental health as well as the effects that total dedication to an endeavor can have on a person's life. However, the show was canceled just over a month after its debut despite receiving a rating of 7.6 on IMDb as well as positive reviews.
10 ‘Everything Sucks!’ (2018)
Everything Sucks! is a show that centers on students at Oregon's Boring High School in 1996, particularly the Drama and A/V clubs, which are both viewed as outcasts. It follows Luke O'Neil (Jahi Di'Allo Winston), a freshman at Boring, along with his closest friends Tyler Bowen (Quinn Liebling), a squeaky-voiced youngster, and McQuaid (Rio Mangini), a cynical geek.
The show garnered favorable comments from reviewers and fans with a rating of 7.5 on IMDb and a certified fresh of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, like so many other programs on Netflix, the show was quickly axed by the network after season one aired. Everything Sucks! is praised as a joyful, sentimental, and fond journey back to 1996.
9 ‘Uncoupled’ (2022)
After being unexpectedly dumped by his long-term partner, Uncoupled follows Michael Lawson (Neil Patrick Harris), a gay Manhattanite real estate agent who begins navigating the dating world for the first time in 17 years. Michael learns that the gay dating scene has altered since he was in a relationship as he adapts to being single in his late 40s.
Uncoupled and Sex and the City have numerous similarities since they were both developed by Darren Star with self-love and friendship take center stage. With a solid 7.0/10 rating on IMDb and positive feedback from both fans and critics along with 76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the show sadly falls into Netflix’s “unfinished business” category with cancelation after one season.
8 ‘1899’ (2022)
1899 is a German multilingual period mystery-science fiction TV series set in 1899. It centers on a group of European immigrants sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City, America, on the ship Kerberos.
1899 rated second among the Top 10 TV English titles on Netflix during the first week of its release, with 79.27 million hours watched. The show's "distorted reality" motif was seamlessly and beautifully symbolized by pyramids and triangles and is inspired by both the mysterious disappearance of ships in the Bermuda Triangle and the migrant situation in Europe. Even though the show received excellent reviews from both fans and reviewers with a rating of 7.4 on IMDb and 76% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, it was unfortunately canceled.
7 ‘The Get Down’ (2016 - 2017)
The Get Down set in 1977 New York, depicts the history of the development of hip-hop and the demise of disco through the lives, music, and art of the South Bronx youth who would permanently alter the course of history.
Despite the show's 8.2 IMDB rating, it couldn't save the show from being axed by Netflix because of behind-the-scenes problems. Excellent music, a creative cast, and a respect for authenticity in casting several historical figures in producer roles were cited as the show's main selling points.
6 ‘I Am Not Okay With This’ (2020)
I Am Not Okay With This follows Sydney (Sophia Lillis), a teenage girl who must deal with the difficulties of high school, the intricacies of her family, her developing sexuality, and the enigmatic superpowers that are only now starting to emerge within her.
Possibly as a consequence of the pandemic, despite having mostly positive reviews and overall high ratings including a 7.5/10 on IMDb and 86% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the show was discontinued. The show is a queer version of Carrie with a nice touch of black comedy that any family can easily binge.
5 ‘The Society’ (2019)
The Society tells the tale of a group of teenagers who, when the town's other residents vanish, are left to fend for themselves. The mystery is revealed when the local high school kids return early from a postponed field trip and discover that everyone else has vanished.
The second season of The Society was renewed by Netflix in the summer of 2019. However, the streaming service changed its mind a year later, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, despite receiving positive feedback from both the audience and the critics. The statement coincided with Netflix's decision to cancel I Am Not Okay With This.
4 ‘Lockwood & Co.’ (2023)
Based on Jonathan Stroud's book series of the same name, Lockwood & Co. takes place in a different version of modern-day Britain, ghosts have been emerging from the dead for the past 50 years and are lethal to touch. The show centers on a little business run by two young men and a recently arrived, incredibly psychically gifted woman, a renegade three on the verge of solving a riddle that will alter the path of human history.
The show moves quickly and is full of action, with sword fights, secrets, fleeing from the house, and battles with the dead, which can easily entertain viewers of all ages. Moreover, Lockwood & Co. provides a new fascinating world-building as well as creates relatable and intriguing characters. Despite receiving positive reviews for its first season, the show was unfortunately canceled.
3 ‘The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself’ (2022)
Based on the 2014 novel Half Bad by Sally Green, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself centers on Nathan Byrne (Jay Lycurgo), a young man who learns that he is the dangerous witch Marcus Edge's (David Gyasi) illegitimate son.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself shows the viewers how ugly people may get while also serving as a reminder that not everyone is as horrible as they may appear. Additionally, the Netflix adaptation is quite close which is both magical and cruel, it also examines discrimination and family history while simultaneously giving a nuanced depiction of adolescent sexuality. Despite receiving a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Bastard Son was axed after one season.
2 ‘Julie and the Phantoms’ (2020)
Julie and the Phantoms is a musical comedy-drama that centers on Julie (Madison Reyes), a young, gifted vocalist who struggles to cope with her mother's passing. Everything changes when she encounters three young ghosts from a boy band. Since Julie appears to be the only person who can hear and see them, they decide to create music together.
Due to the fact that Julie can see her new pals while her family and friends cannot, the show successfully combines drama with comedy. Julie and the Phantoms is another teen-focused Netflix program with an average IMDb rating of 8.4; it wasn't renewed for a second season even though its plot was far from finished.
1 ‘Teenage Bounty Hunter’ (2020)
Teenage Bounty Hunter follows high school teenagers and fraternal twins Sterling (Maddie Phillips) and Blair Wesley (Anjelica Bette Fellini) start working as bounty hunters for veteran bounty hunter Bowser Simmons without their parents' awareness after denting their father's pickup truck.
Despite receiving favorable reviews from both reviewers and audiences, the show was nevertheless canceled just two months after its premiere. Moreover, since the series successfully balanced approachability, character, and relationship development, as well as excitement, it’s worth a visit.