Netflix's new co-CEO Ted Sarandos has delivered a blunt response toward a recent string of outcries over multiple original TV series cancelations in recent months. A multitude of Netflix original series with dedicated audiences, such as animated sitcom Inside Job, fantasy drama Warrior Nun, and supernatural horror The Midnight Club—among othershave been canceled by the streaming service since December 2022. This has resulted in fans of these canceled shows crafting online campaigns in an attempt to save them and have their stories properly completed.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Sarandos stated that the TV series Netflix decides to cancel are never successful shows. He elaborated that budgetary issues were a major factor in series getting canceled, indicating Netflix will need to strategize more when it comes to how much they spend making certain original series. Check out Bloomberg's question and Sarandos' response below:

Bloomberg: How has the evolution of the business affected your relationship with the creative community? Online there are constantly people outraged about shows getting canceled.

Sarandos: We have never canceled a successful show. A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget. The key to it is you have to be able to talk to a small audience on a small budget and a large audience at a large budget. If you do that well, you can do that forever.

Related: 1899 Cancelation Proves No Show Can Be The New Lost

The Recent Netflix Show Cancellations Explained

Reagan sits frustrated at her desk in Inside Job

Sarandos' response to outcry over recently canceled Netflix series indicates the streaming platform has no intention of going back on their decision to shelve canceled shows. His statement about shows with niche audiences having budgets that are too large to sustain them underscores how Netflix was not making enough revenue to justify the production of series that have been axed. Despite this, fans of canceled shows have been vocal about their unhappiness that such series weren't able to complete their stories. One of these shows, Warrior Nun, has been a centerpiece of the conversation, with fans of the female-led, queer-focused action series recently putting up Warrion Nun billboards outside Netflix's headquarters in an attempt to get the streamer to reverse their cancelation decision.

Despite the number of canceled shows that have garnered online conversation, Sarandos still sounds like he wants Netflix to produce series that are aimed at smaller audiences alongside larger ones. His mention of series that would draw in more niche viewers needing a smaller budget shows how, with enough monetary awareness, Netflix can continue producing shows aimed at more specific audiences while still profiting from them. It's possible that Netflix already has plans for more budget-friendly shows that can still encapsulate the genre, themes, and representation found in their shelved series. However, the production of new shows with smaller budgets may not be enough for fans of series like Inside Job or sci-fi mystery 1899 who are unsatisfied with the lack of conclusion canceled shows now have.

The recent uptick in series that were canceled despite having vocal, dedicated audiences also calls into question how much time viewers can reliably invest in future Netflix series if the threat of cancelation always looms on the horizon. 1899 is a major example of this, with series creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar having planned the series out as a 3-season story, as announced prior to the show's release. The cancelation of the series despite the promise of a definitively finished tale could make some viewers question if any future Netflix series promised for multiple seasons will be fully produced. Sarandos' statement about working out budgets for niche shows sound promising for future Netflix productions, but it may not be enough for fans of canceled shows that want to see them properly end.

More: Netflix Set Warrior Nun Up To Fail

Source: Bloomberg