With the rapid rise of streaming services and the constant demand for new shows and movies to watch on them, it's no surprise that some of them get left behind. Even favourites with high-rankings on the likes of Rotten Tomatoes can be casualties of this insatiable hunger.
Netflix is certainly no stranger to sacrifice, regularly making the decision to cut a series loose for one reason or another. And that means it still hosts top-notch programming that was cut short before its prime.
Here are three shows that it cancelled that really shouldn't have been.
The OA
There are many out there who believe that the cancellation of Brit Marling’s The OA is the greatest injustice given to an audience by a network. A show that is considered a modern great, dropped after two short seasons and ending on a cliffhanger that is currently never to be answered.
The OA was seemingly the first high profile victim of Netflix’s brutal profit and loss algorithm, and is the show that many believe marked a major shift in Netflix’s strategy.
A sprawling horror-suspense story that pulled no punches, the show was a victim of its own production and success. Put flatly, it cost a lot to make and Netflix allegedly realised it could make four or five other basic shows for the same amount. So it did.
The saddest thing about all this was the fact that it ended with the story incomplete – a story that it now seems we will never know the ending of.
Cheers Netflix... uncool.
Mindhunter
With a star director in David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club), a great cast, and a massive budget Mindhunter was a major launch for Netflix back in 2017.
It followed the early days of the FBI Behavioral Sciences department, and delved into the darker side of police work, focusing on the lives of those forced to deal with human nature at its worst. So far so good.
A serial killer exploration directed by the legendary Fincher was always going to be great, but Mindhunter surpassed expectations. Gritty and dark, it was also absolutely gripping.
We got two amazing seasons before its cancellation, which came as a big surprise to its legions of fans. Why would such a successful show be dumped?
The answer is simple – finance. The show cost too much money to make and the director was unwilling to lower production values. He therefore walked – a case of a director being true to his art no matter what.
Thankfully though, there are new rumours that a third season could be picked up, so who knows...
Glow
Now and again a production team manages to do achieve something original. It finds a new and interesting idea, does it well and makes it look great. Glow does that and as such deserved more than it got.
Based on the real life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion that launched in the mid 80s, the show follows the lives of the women involved in female professional wrestling, and the dark side of their world at that time. From then highs of prime time television to the seedy underbelly of the emerging scene at the time.
Crazy characters, decent drama and well developed plots, the show was cancelled after its third season despite a huge outcry from fans. The reason was sadly no-one's fault – it came down to Covid-19 and timing.
With a huge cast and every scene involving close physical contact, it was deemed unsafe to continue filming during the pandemic and when the all clear was eventually sounded, people had simply moved on.
It's a case of pure bad luck for this one.
