Netflix is the home of some of the biggest shows on television that have already run (or are guaranteed to run) for many seasons, but the streamer has also gained a reputation for canceling shows after just one batch of episodes. Now, as the writers of Stranger Things announced that they’re getting to work on the fifth and final season, news has broken that another show got the axe after just eight episodes this summer.
Stranger Things Is Getting Ready For Season 5
Stranger Things' fourth season released the second of its two volumes back in early July, leaving fans on a doozy of a cliffhanger about the fate of not only Hawkins as a whole, but also Max as a character. There is no confirmation of when Season 5 will arrive to finish the Stranger Things story (and no guarantee that the wait will be shorter than between Seasons 3 and 4), but the writers had some encouraging news:
Day 1 pic.twitter.com/9m44RkJnc3August 2, 2022
The writers are officially getting back to work! They’ve had just a little over a month since fans got to see the twists and tragedies of the end of Season 4, which was the first in Stranger Things history that was fully written before filming began due to the pandemic delays. It’s not clear just yet if the Duffer brothers want to do the same thing for Season 5, but since these episodes will be the last, it seems like the right time to plan all the way ahead.
While Stranger Things is already guaranteed one more season and at least one spinoff (with Stephen King pitching in his own spinoff idea), many other shows aren’t so lucky.
Netflix Cancelled First Kill After One Season
First Kill debuted on Netflix back in June as a fresh take on a vampire TV show, but Deadline reports that the streamer has axed the series less than two months after the premiere. It was based on a short story penned by best-selling author V.E. Schwab, and quickly gained a following, although there were some major differences between the show and story.
Fans have been campaigning for more, with “First Kill Season 2” trending on Twitter just hours before the cancellation was confirmed. The Season 1 ending definitely left some stories open-ended enough for a second season to pick up where it left off; sadly, it’s not happening. The teen vampire drama is also far from the only Netflix show to be cancelled after only one season. In fact, there’s enough of a trend of early cancellations that it can be risky for Netflix subscribers to fall in love with a new show.
Netflix actually cancels so many freshman shows (and often without any fanfare) that people don’t always even realize it until later. First Kill has gone the way of shows like Cowboy BeBop, Julie and the Phantoms, and Archive 81. Few that that don’t fall under the Stranger Things or Bridgerton umbrella feel entirely safe nowadays.
Fans can always hope that more campaigning will result in a rescue and renewal, but those campaigns are rarely successful. For now, they can at least revisit the full first season available streaming on Netflix, and check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule for some other viewing options.
