As we look through the TV premiere dates and prepare for both returning favorites and brand new prospects, we’re all still asking one question in the back of our minds: what shows are going to get cancelled next? Anyone with a Netflix subscription might be familiar with that question, with the recent decision to end 1899 after one season being the most recent reminder of why we ask that specific query.
And now, with some further insight into how that streaming giant decides to renew or cancel other shows, what's known as the 28-day viewership rule has come into play. In short, this strategy speaks volumes about why some shows soar while others sink, and it can apply to the metrics that supposedly deleted this promising series.
What Is Netflix’s 28-Day Viewership Rule?
According to Vulture, Netflix works with that “28-day viewership rule” we mentioned above. That rule is what supposedly decides the life or death of any series that sits on the streaming servers you use to watch every episode of The Recruit or Kaleidoscope. And it comes down to a word mentioned in this source: “completion.”
It’s a short, but sweet concept: in the first four weeks of a show’s Netflix lifespan, the metrics on who actually finishes the show are what supposedly drive the decision to renew or cancel said show. So if the first four weeks of Kaleidoscope’s experimental episode randomization don’t yield enough viewers in those 28 days to make things worthwhile, you’re probably not going to see another season. Which brings us to what this means in terms of 1899’s untimely demise.
How It May Have Led To 1899’s Cancellation
The follow-up to Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s work on their previous Netflix hit Dark, there was quite a bit of hoopla around the first season of 1899 when it premiered last fall. However, despite the seeming agreement of fans and critics that this sci-fi mystery was well worth your time, the numbers may have told a different story.
That’s even with the show consistently landing decent placements on Netflix November trending reports on the platform during its initial debut. 1899 debuted on November 17, 2022, with December 15th marking the 28 day viewership window. In that slot, there were apparently not enough viewers finishing the eight-episode run to justify continuing the story.
In this model, popularity doesn't mean anything if subscribers aren't finishing the series. Therefore, the decision makers at Netflix passed on renewing 1899, leading to the news of what could be called the network’s first cancellation of 2023. And here we thought those four terminations in the first four months of 2022 were brutal.
Unless another network takes a chance on the series, or some other venue takes up the torch to complete 1899, we may never know how the story was supposed to end. The streaming landscape has a lot of options, but it also has a lot of metrics some providers choose to focus on in order to make decisions.
So when a streaming show you’re particularly fond of gets the boot, just remember: it’s not personal, it’s metrics. The best way to support a show like 1899, or anything else you're enjoying, is to finish it up within those first four weeks, and encourage friends to do the same.
