Netflix recently announced that they will not be renewing First Kill for a second season. However, the lesbian vampire drama had already accumulated a big fan base since it portrays LGBTQ+ and Black characters, a representation that can't be often found in media.
Still, Netflix believes that the show wasn't being watched by a significant amount of viewers and it doesn't warrant the amount of money they spend on it (via Variety). The fans are outraged at this decision, and they're addressing very important truths on Twitter.
Viewers Are Done With Their Favorite Shows Being Canceled
Even though First Kill had a significant amount of viewers, Netflix canceled the show, and fans couldn't be more disappointed. First Kill had everything its audience always wanted: a lesbian couple leading the show, black people representation, and, of course, an impossible romance between a vampire and a vampire hunter.
This Twitter user shared this hilarious image from the show to express their indignation. Fans are done being nice, and they want their show back. LGBTQ+ and POC representation is rare to be found on TV, mostly because a lot of the shows keep being canceled, and the viewers can't take it anymore.
People Wants Netflix To Sell The Show
Fans of the show are still hoping First Kill will be bought by another network which has happened already with other shows. Although it's more common for Netflix to buy canceled shows from other networks, like Lucifer or Arrested Development, the streaming site has also sold some of their shows, such as One Day At A Time.
Hopefully, another network will realize First Kill's big following and they will invest in this great show which has already created a big impact among its viewers since First Kill it's one of the best shows with an LGBTQ+ lead.
Netflix Is Not Making Good Decisions
Not only did First Kill have great on-screen representation, but the show managed to accumulate a great number of viewers in the short time it has been on the streaming platform. For this reason, it's disconcerting for fans to find out that Netflix decided to not give the show at least one more season.
Netflix has already canceled a lot of LGBTQ+ shows during their first few seasons and this platform is also known for not giving their TV shows a proper conclusion, often leaving cliffhangers on its season finales, and not renewing the show. This kind of disrespect to the viewers may cost Netflix a big chunk of its audience.
Netflix Didn't Even Give The Fans A Happy Ending
As it has become a Netflix trademark, First Kill's season finale ended with tons of unanswered questions about the future of the characters. Mainly, after Juliette turned Theo into a vampire, Cal swore to do everything in her power to destroy her, and fans of the show will never know what will happen with the main couple in the series.
On top of that, both main families, the Burns and the Fairmonts had their share of conflict, with most of the Burns trying to kill Theo and his mother helping him escape, while the Fairmonts turned Elinor into the police. There are a lot of unresolved issues in this show, and it's upsetting for the audience to never get a proper conclusion.
Other Shows Were Renewed Even Though They Didn't Perform As Well
Viewers are especially upset about First Kill being another of their favorite TV shows canceled on 2022 when other shows that are poorly received by the public get another season. 365 Days is an erotic TV show that Netflix renewed for a second and third part (via Deadline) in spite of having a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes and 3.3 in IMDB.
Maybe 365 Days has a better budget or maybe it pleases a specific target audience, but whatever the reason for Netflix's decision to renew one show and not the other, it's hard to not notice the unfairness of the situation.
Fans Loved First Kill In Spite Of Its Flaws
First Kill has received a lot of negative opinions for its poorly done visual effects, editing, and fighting scenes. However, the show still had a compelling plot, with a Romeo and Juliet sort of romance between a vampire and vampire hunter. On top of that, the Fairmont and the Burns families portray different approaches to the vampire conflict and bring interesting takes to the discussion of whether or not vampires deserve to live.
Furthermore, the show had tremendous representation that involved a wlw couple and several important and complex Black characters. This kind of representation allows many viewers to relate to the show and feel seen, which is why the show had such a big following. As this Twitter user states, everyone deserves shows that are simply entertaining, and not every show has to display great "quality" to be considered for a second season, as other content in TV has already proved.
First Kill Was Widely Watched
The First Kill fandom is especially upset about the show being canceled when it had become incredibly popular. According to What's On Netflix, this TV series accumulated a total of 97,660,000 million hours during the time it was in Netflix's top ten, so it's hard for fans to understand Netflix's motivation to cancel it.
However, Forbes speculates that maybe Netflix had other reasons to cancel the show, such as budget or critical reception. Still, Netflix has shows with way better budgets such as The Sandman, which just came out, and critical reception has never stopped Netflix from renewing TV shows. In fact, Emily in Paris was renewed for a third and fourth season (via The Hollywood Reporter), which currently holds a 62% score average on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 47% audience score, while First Kill holds an 89% audience score.
First Kill Was Successful In Spite Of Low Budget
Netflix said that they canceled First Kill because the show's viewership wasn't big enough to cover the expenses of making it (via Variety). However, judging by the CGI only, it doesn't look like the show was that expensive. On top of that, it didn't have any famous actors whose payment could have inflated the budget.
However, in spite of First Kill's low budget, it had a compelling plot that attracted a significant amount of viewers. The show became so successful that it got almost 100 million viewing hours during the time it was on Netflix's top ten. So, it makes no sense that this is Netflix's main reason to cancel it.
Netflix Keeps Canceling WLW Shows
In the last few years, Netflix has developed the habit of canceling shows with wlw representation, and viewers are starting to notice. On top of the shows this Twitter user mentions, there's also One Day At a Time, which had a relatable wlw relationship on top of having Latin representation, and Sense8, which was an amazing LGBTQ+ show.
What's more, most of these shows were canceled without giving the viewers a proper resolution. Most Netflix audiences are starting to become reluctant to even start watching Netflix LGBTQ+ shows because odds are the network is not going to give them a proper ending.
Black Representation On TV Is Scarce
Not only did First Kill portray a Black family with a significant amount of screen time, but Cal was a lesbian Black woman, which is a very needed representation in media. Very few TV shows depict Black LGTQ+ characters, and viewers are outraged at finally receiving this representation for it to be canceled after only one season.
Other TV shows with Black LGBTQ+ characters have been canceled lately, one of the most important ones being Batwoman. In spite of these terrible turn of events, hopefully, First Kill will set the ground for more Black people on TV, especially LGBTQ+ characters.