Nothing is ever guaranteed in life, especially if you’re part of the entertainment industry. That truth still doesn’t change the fact that in the case of series cancelations, there have been a lot of would-be Netflix subscription drivers that ended without a proper conclusion. In the spirit of that fact, try not to get too upset about this rundown of streaming series that found themselves axed without either a happy, sad, or any ending at all!
Kaos
The best-laid plans of even the Gods can find themselves disrupted, as seen with the now cliffhanger ending for Kaos. With the finale showing us Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) seemingly mortal and kicked out of his own throne, various plot threads seemed to be set into motion for a potentially brutal Season 2. Alas, it didn’t take long after Season 1’s premiere for Kaos’ cancellation announcement to strike like a bolt out of the blue.
Resident Evil
Oh, those poor Wesker clones (Lance Reddick). As if Resident Evil’s Season 1 ending didn’t already have enough open-ended heartbreak, that singular season was all fans ended up getting out of this split narrative. Considering that expertly placed Ada Wong tease, and the fact that there’s still a lot of stuff we don’t know about between 2022 and 2036, every time this cancellation is brought up it stings like it did upon first learning the news.
1899
Thanks to the cancellation of 1899, this sci-fi mystery taught us how Netflix’s “28 Day Rule” could have been the law of the land that cut down so many shows in their prime. Of course, that decision also left viewers hanging on perhaps one of the craziest endings you could cancel a show with: a 100-year time jump, and the revelation that this period drama was actually a high-tech simulation.
Gentefied
The end of Gentefied’s two-season run was a mixed bag, as Casimiro (Joaquín Cosío) was allowed to stay in the US, but Chris (Carlos Santos) took off for Mexico to pursue his future. Though the season’s story was wrapped, all of the Morales family had relationships put into play by creators Marvin Lemus & Linda Yvette Chávez. There were still places to go, which left this end of the road feeling more like a fork into uncertainty.
I Am Not Okay With This
What’s worse than a cliffhanger ending that gives ominous hope to a young girl with telekinesis (Sophia Lillis)? Try being greenlit for a second season, only to have it taken away - much as I Am Not Okay With This did. Originally we would have seen more of Sydney’s journey after an eventful and deadly prom. But according to creator Jonathan Entwistle’s Season 2 revelation, unexpectedly expensive COVID protocols ended the production.
The OA
The untimely 2019 cancellation of The OA left creator/series star Brit Marling feeling quite emotional, and rightfully so. Only airing for two seasons, this bonkers drama series spanned genres and had more story to go before it could finish. Much to Netflix’s chagrin, the following for this series was so intense that it proceeded to carry out the tradition of adding demands to revive the project under any and all new social media announcements from the streamer.
Sense8
Depending on who you talk to Sense8’s series finale “special” is the end of the road, and it was planned to be just that. However, series co-creators Lily Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski have mentioned numerous times that there were notes and possible scripts for a Season 3. MoviePilot even shared Strazynski’s comments on some plot beats that were in the works for such a continuation.
Mindhunter
Cancellations are typically a swift affair, especially in the realm of Netflix. However, director/Mindhunter collaborator David Fincher is anything but typical - and so are the projects he attaches himself to. With the two-season run concluding in 2019, it wasn’t until early 2023 that Fincher confirmed Mindhunter Season 3 wasn’t happening. As this case finally closed, it was the predictable crossroads of budgetary woes and viewership numbers that were the culprits all along.
The Midnight Club
Oh Mike Flanagan, if only The Midnight Club hadn’t been taken away so early in its run. Adapting the works of author Christopher Pike, the horror series was cut down after only a season of twists and turns. Ever prepared, Flanagan had plans for The Midnight Club Season 2 story, and one could guess that fans return to these revelations every now and then, if only to reunite with those dearly departed friends.
Santa Clarita Diet
If you’re going to leave the airwaves, it’s usually a good idea to do it with a bang. Of course, when the unexpected ending to the Drew Barrymore-starring Santa Clarita Diet dropped at the end of Season 3, that wasn’t exactly the plan. As we saw Joel (Timothy Olyphant) going through a potential conversion to the world of the undead, the perceived lack of a definitive answer will only bother you if you haven’t made up your mind on what it means.
Space Force
Going into Space Force’s two-season run, you would have probably guessed that the journey to return to the moon would have been the first arc to suffer from a surprise cancellation. But considering that was achieved in the first season, that wasn’t the problem this Steve Carell ensemble comedy left on the table. Instead, the end of Season 2 saw an asteroid heading towards Earth as a potential Season 3 menace - still waiting for its day in the sun.
Archive 81
Some fans of Archive 81 probably wish they could travel back in time to the day the intriguing horror drama premiered, if only to boost the ratings. A web of intrigue was being woven, and with some decent viewing numbers too. Sadly, that finale where Mamoudou Athie’s Dan was thrown back in time a couple of decades was never resolved, as Netflix gave this promising nightmare the axe.
GLOW
GLOW has to be one of the most frustrating cancellations on the books in the modern era of streaming originals. Allison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and the rest of the cast were actually given a fourth and final season to tie things up. Unfortunately, as the series even went into production on what was supposed to be a proper sendoff, the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Talk about a heel turn.
Shadow And Bone
Author Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse was poised to become a new television universe in the Netflix library. As Shadow and Bone opened the door with two seasons based on the lore of this universe, a spinoff named Six of Crows was given the green light to go before cameras. Sadly, both shows were canceled in the wake of the 2023 strikes from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA; leaving devoted followers to hound social media with pleas for a reversal of fortune.
Inside Job
It’s crazy that the term “un-renewal” now exists in the entertainment industry. It used to be you were either “renewed” or “canceled.” The animated comedy Inside Job found itself becoming a Schrodinger’s Cat of sorts in that respect, which coincidentally mirrored the plot of its final episode. Just as Reagan (Lizzy Caplan) was promoted to throw her off the trail of The Shadow Board’s real plans, a mid-season renewal for Season 2 turned into…well, you know.
The Chair
While Sandra Oh delivered plenty of barbs and ethical moments through her ten seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, she only had one season to do so on the dark comedy The Chair. Even with her character losing the titular position, there was plenty of room for future kerfluffles involving academia and cancel culture. Also, any show that gives a snarky Holland Taylor power deserves at least one more season to let her wield it.
One Day At A Time
The story of Netflix’s One Day at a Time reboot is complicated, but with a pleasantly bittersweet ending. Three seasons of the Latinx revival of producer Norman Lear’s legendary sitcom ran on Netflix, only for the series to be canceled. A reprieve by the Pop Network gave the project new life for a fourth season…which then found itself cut short/canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least the series’ final episodes do live on, as Variety reported a table read in late 2024 kinda drew things to a close.
The Society
Whether you're in West Ham or New Ham, the ending to the singular season of The Society left everyone with more questions than answers. An odd combination of life, death, and dogs sent viewers into the cancellation void, as the cancellation axe was swung after Season 1. Maybe future seasons just shifted into another dimension once the series was canceled?
Spinning Out
Picture this: you start watching Spinning Out with no intention of getting invested. But by the time you’ve finished all 10 episodes, you find yourself rooting for Kat (Kaya Scodelario) and her family to overcome the dramas they’ve been working through. And then, to add insult to traumatic flashback injury, you never get to see if Kat overcomes said trauma by performing her Sectionals routine! Curse you, 28-Day Rule; you played us like a fool!
Julie And The Phantoms
Pop music and the unfinished business of the afterlife was sweet music to the ears of folks hooked on Julie and the Phantoms. Just as Julie (Madison Reyes) and her literally spirited band seemed to be on the way to stardom, as well as lifting a nasty curse, a last-minute possession created a complicated cliffhanger. Which is where the show was canceled, leaving this one-season wonder with plenty of unfinished business.
Neo Yokio
Anime comedy Neo Yokio has a history as weird as its delightfully colorful plotline. Boasting the voices of Jaden Smith, Susan Sarandon, and Jude Law, this series was originally supposed to run on Fox. Netflix swooped in with a last-minute save to air what was produced, which kind of explains how this fusion of futuristic anime and a Wes Anderson film was technically left hanging. And we’re not kidding about that second influence, especially with Jason Schwartzman being part of the voice cast.
The Get Down
Not even Netflix's seemingly deep pockets were immune to Baz Luhrmann's excesses. A journey into the evolving music scene of ‘70s New York, it was once the platform’s most expensive series produced upon its 2016 debut. The Get Down found itself canceled too soon, but at least it ended on a high note.
Warrior Nun
Technically Warrior Nun was given a slight reprieve, thanks to the greenlighting of a trilogy of films to continue the story of Ava Silva (Alba Baptista) and her order. However, that’s not thanks to Netflix, as the platform gave creator Simon Barry’s adaptation of Ben Dunn’s comic only two seasons. Not even Rotten Tomatoes could save this series from getting the axe, with the time and place of its resurrection being a complete mystery.
Lockwood & Co.
What would you do if someone you knew was holding a massive secret, and just as they were about to reveal it to you…they stopped? Congratulations, you now know how viewers of Lockwood & Co. felt when it was canceled after a single, eight-episode season. For comparison, author Jonathan Stroud’s literary source series consisted of five books; which makes cutting this cord a bit harsher when you think about it.
That ‘90s Show
Legacy-quels don’t always work, no matter how deeply the nostalgia is felt. That ‘90s Show felt like a no-brainer, as fans still love That ‘70s Show’s original charms to bits. Two seasons, a ton of ‘90s references, and yes one cliffhanger later, the lights have gone out once more in Wisconsin. And now we’ll never know if Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) will have their granddaughter on a more long-term basis.
Black Summer
Black Summer’s two-season prequel to Z Nation is kind of a glass-half-full/half-empty situation. While some say the plot was satisfactorily tied up, others feel that the personal stories of its survivors were where we were left hanging. So score a victory for canon, but a crushing defeat for character-driven story.
Daybreak
What good is a bonkers post-apocalypse where your girlfriend is the surprise big bad if it isn’t allowed to play out? Sure, that’s a very specific question, but it’s one that Daybreak put squarely into the minds of viewers who took its colorful, wacked-out ride. Maybe they should have spared Matthew Broderick after all.
Jupiter’s Legacy
Netflix’s acquisition of comic creator Mark Millar’s company Millarworld sparked the announcement of a rather ambitious slate of adaptations. However, the man who gave us the Kingsman comics has only yielded three Netflix series from that deal, with Jupiter’s Legacy being the potential explanation for why progress seems to have ground to a halt. The messy production of the first season led to this tale’s demise, with a lot of those other projects currently MIA.
Daredevil
While Disney+’s Echo and Daredevil: Born Again have continued the story laid out by Netflix’s initial three-season adventure, there’s still a bit of a gap to address. But if we’re really going to call this show out for a cliffhanger that wasn’t fully resolved, consider how that final round of episodes teased Bullseye, before fading away into the ether.
The Brothers Sun
What’s crazier than fighting for control of the family mafia? The answer: not knowing what happens next! As The Brothers Sun concluded, Charles (Justin Chien) and his mother Eileen (Michelle Yeoh) were set to assume control of the Jade Dragons, while brother Bruce (Sam Song Li) went back to being the silly, goofy person he was before learning all these secrets. Plot wise, it’s tied up! Otherwise, what kind of ending is that?!
Dead Boy Detectives
There were some plans being drafted for the future of Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives adaptation. Which would make total sense, seeing as it connects to the platform’s wildly successful Sandman universe. Alas, just as the second season of that other Neil Gaiman seems to be in jeopardy, these spirited sleuths have solved their last case.
Cursed
Could all of those arrows really have taken out Nimue (Katherine Langford), the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend? Well, considering Cursed was cancelled before it could even try to answer that query, we’re going to say…what do you think?
