Netflix executive Peter Friedlander opens up about all the controversial cancelations in 2022. The past year has been one of turmoil for Netflix, which was once the undisputed king of streaming. With the pandemic increasing demand for content, Netflix has seen a lot more competition from Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO Max. This has resulted in Netflix losing subscribers in Q1 of 2022 for the first time in the company's history, which caused their stock to drop and forced them to rethink their strategy, which includes axing any original content that isn't seeing large viewing numbers. However, a lot of these cancelations have resulted in controversy and garnered criticism for being premature.
During a recent interview with Variety, Friedlander opened up about why so many of their shows are being canceled after just one or two seasons. The streaming service's head of scripted series said that while every cancellation has been a tough decision, each one has been strictly for business reasons. Friedlander also addressed why even shows that make multi-week appearances on Netflix’s Top 10 list have ended up being canceled. Read his response below:
I think you will hear this from many folks, but the cancelations are the hardest part of this job and when I think about the work that both the creators and all the people at Netflix put into them, we care passionately about them, and it’s not something that we take lightly. It’s just a frustrating part of the job that’s been a part of our business forever, so this isn’t a new experience to have cancelations, and hopefully we can continue to bring in shows that continue.
I think the Top 10 is a useful tool for people to find shows, discover shows, talk about shows and also helps you for viewing. The Top 10 really serves in that way, and I think that’s something that speaks to the popularity in that moment, and I think that’s what it’s really about in that moment. And then when we have to make our decisions, it’s about the long term and the longer term viewing. We always are looking at many variables, too. The Top 10 is just one variable in that.
Every Canceled Netflix Show In 2022
Early in the year, Archive 81 was one of the first casualties of Netflix's new strategy. Boasting an intriguing premise about an archivist who is hired to restore a collection of tapes and uncovers evidence of a dangerous cult, Archive 81 was released in January 2022 and was canceled just two months later. The move came as a considerable surprise since the show had racked up about 130 million viewing hours and even cracked Netflix's and Nielsen's Top 10 lists.
The Michael B. Jordan-starring series Raising Dion was also canceled after just two seasons despite it being one of Netflix's best comic book adaptations and landing among the streaming service's most-watched shows for four weeks in February. Similarly, The Baby-Sitters Club was praised for its adaptation of its source material and cultivated a large fan following but was also axed after two seasons. The Steve Carell-starring workplace comedy Space Force, which never quite caught on the way it was expected to, was not renewed after two seasons. Some other canceled Netflix shows which flew under the radar this year include On The Verge, Gentefied, Another Life, and Pretty Smart.
More recently, the anticipated video game adaptation Resident Evil was released on Netflix this summer and promptly canceled. Despite having tremendous success on Netflix with The Haunting anthology series and Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan's The Midnight Club was canceled after just one season. While each one of these cancelations has been difficult for Netflix, the show's creators, and the audiences who enjoy them, each one has been a business decision, which Friedlander explains, as each show's viewing hours just weren't enough to justify their individual production budgets.
Source: Variety