‘The Boroughs,’ ‘Too Much,’ ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ & More Netflix Shows Canceled After Just One Season
Every TV platform has to make hard choices, even Netflix, the streaming juggernaut that seems to have an endless supply of new shows.
Sure enough, the streaming service hasn’t shied away from canceling its low performers or even moderate hits, especially in recent years. And while some cancellations come as no surprise, others have left fans scratching their heads, particularly when critically acclaimed series or shows with devoted followings get the ax after just one season.
For example, Netflix axed shows such as Mike Flanagan‘s The Midnight Club, Lena Dunham‘s Too Much starring Megan Stalter, and the Duffer Brothers’ The Boroughs starring Alfred Molina and Geena Davis after only a year despite a lot of fanfare, and they aren’t the only Netflix originals that never streamed a sophomore season. Scroll down to see which other shows the platform canceled after Season 1.
– Additional reporting by Erin Maxwell
The Get Down
Netflix likely took a big loss with this musical drama set in the Bronx in the late 1970s. The series, co-created by Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann, was reported to be the company’s most expensive show ever, costing $120 million.
Girlboss
Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon created this comedy, which starred Britt Robertson as a young woman who falls into a career as a fashion entrepreneur.
Disjointed
Two and a Half Men’s Chuck Lorre co-created this stoner comedy, but alas, neither his bona fides nor the appeal of Kathy Bates as a cannabis dispensary owner could save the show from cancellation.
Everything Sucks!
This coming-of-age dramedy revolved around an A/V club and a drama club at a high school in Boring, Oregon, circa 1996.
Seven Seconds
Netflix chose not to grant a second season to this crime drama — which centered on a white police officer’s coverup of his accidentally killing a black teen — five months before Regina King won an Emmy for her performance.
The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale
After hosting The Soup for many years, McHale brought his wit to Netflix to host this weekly series, a “sharp, absurdist look at pop culture and news from across the globe.”
The Break With Michelle Wolf
This weekly series, meanwhile, featured Wolf “[making] fun of everything and everybody” without preaching or political agenda … “unless it’s funny.”
All About the Washingtons
This sitcom starred Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons (of Run-DMC fame) as a rap retiree who mans the house and watches over the kids when his wife follows her entrepreneurial dreams.
The Good Cop
Half dramedy, half murder mystery, this show featured Tony Danza as an ex-con ex-cop and Josh Groban as his by-the-books NYPD lieutenant son.
Chambers
This supernatural horror series focused on a woman spooked by the spirit of the late teen whose heart she receives via transplant, with Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn playing the girl’s mourning parents.
V Wars
The Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder returned to bloodsucker fare with this sci-fi horror series, playing a doctor trying to save the world from an ancient virus that turns humans into vampires.
October Faction
This horror series, meanwhile, starred Tamara Taylor and J.C. Mackenzie as a married monster hunters who unsuccessfully try to retire from the biz by moving to upstate New York with their teen kids.
The Society
This series featuring a large ensemble of young adu actors focused on teens who wake up in a place almost identical to their own New England town but discover they’ve been transported elsewhere. As they struggle to survive and find a way back home, their bonds are tested. The Society had been renewed for Season 2 but was canned due to budget constraints surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
I Am Not Okay With This
Based on Charles Forsman’s graphic novel, this coming of age story followed Sydney (Sophia Lillis), a teen dealing with family tragedy while coming to terms with her own identity and newly acquired powers. While it wasn’t publicly renewed, the coronavirus pandemic caused it to be canceled despite plans for a second season.
The Big Show Show
This family sitcom featured WWE star The Big Show (a.k.a. Paul Wight) in a fictionalized version of his life. In the series, his teenage daughter comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters. Debuting back in April 2020, the show was canceled later that sum
The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia
Created by Mario Lopez and Seth Kurland, this series followed Ashley, a 15-year-old genius engineer and rocket scientist who moves across the country to live with her uncle when given a job opportunity at a prestigious company.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
The series served as a prequel to Jim Henson‘s 1982 film and followed three young Gelfling who discover that the ruling Skeksis overlords are draining the life essence of other Gelflings to prolong their own existence.
Teenage Bounty Hunters
The series followed 16-year-old fraternal twin sisters Sterling (Maddie Phillips) and Blair (Anjelica Bette Fellini) Wesley as they teamed up with veteran bounty hunter Bowser Jenkins (Kadeem Hardison) while also navigating high school drama.
Away
Created by Andrew Hinderaker and from executive producer Jason Katims (Parenthood), the drama followed American astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) as she led an international crew on the first mission to Mars, leaving behind her husband (Josh Charles) and daughter (Talitha Bateman).
Hoops
The animated comedy followed a hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach (Jake Johnson) with hopes of making to the “big leagues” and change his miserable life if he could just turn around his god awful team.
Hit & Run
First Kill
The series about teen vampire Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) and the vampire slayer Calliope (Imani Lewis), whom she falls for, hit with viewers, but didn’t seem to hit with the streamer who canceled it soon after Season 1 dropped.
Resident Evil
Set in the year 2036, Netflix’s Resident Evil was set 14 years after the spread of Joy, and followed Jade Wesker’s fight for survival in a world overrun by blood-thirsty infected and mind-shattering creatures. Based on the popular video game series, the show didn’t appear to pull in the franchise’s existing fanbase in a way that earned a Season 2 renewal.
1899
From the creators of Dark, this multilingual mystery starred Emily Beecham, Andreas Pietschmann, and Aneurin Barnard as passengers aboard an ocean liner who encounter a mysterious abandoned ship. Despite 1899‘s ambitious storytelling and cliffhanger ending, Netflix canceled the series in January 2023, just two months after its premiere.
Archive 81
Based on the popular horror podcast, Archive 81 starred Mamoudou Athie as an archivist restoring mysterious videotapes connected to a deadly apartment fire. Despite reaching No. 1 on Netflix’s U.S. charts and earning strong reviews, Archive 81 was canceled in March 2022, just two months after its premiere.
The Midnight Club
Mike Flanagan’s YA horror series The Midnight Club followed terminally ill teenagers who gather at midnight to exchange terrifying stories. Starring Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, and Heather Langenkamp, the Christopher Pike adaptation was canceled in December 2022, shortly after Flanagan and producing partner Trevor Macy announced their move to Amazon Studios.
Blockbuster
Randall Park and Melissa Fumero starred in Blockbuster, a workplace comedy about employees struggling to keep America’s last Blockbuster Video store alive. Created by Vanessa Ramos, the series attempted to capitalize on video rental nostalgia, but poor reviews and disappointing viewership led Netflix to cancel it in December 2022, just six weeks after its premiere.
Lockwood & Co.
Based on Jonathan Stroud’s novels, this British supernatural detective series starred Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman, and Ali Hadji-Heshmati as teenage ghost hunters in London. Despite earning a high critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix canceled the series in May 2023, reportedly because its viewership didn’t justify the production costs.
The Brothers Sun
Michelle Yeoh starred alongside Justin Chien and Sam Song Li in this action-comedy about a Taiwanese crime family whose violent past catches up with them in Los Angeles. Despite strong reviews and several weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10, the streamer canceled The Brothers Sun in March 2024.
Dead Boy Detectives
Based on DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, this supernatural mystery starred George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri as teenage ghosts solving paranormal cases. Set in the same universe as The Sandman, Dead Boy Detectives earned positive reviews but struggled to attract a large audience. Netflix canceled it in August 2024.
Kaos
Jeff Goldblum starred as a paranoid Zeus in this dark comedy that reimagined Greek mythology through a modern lens. Featuring Janet McTeer, Cliff Curtis, and David Thewlis, the series spent four weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10. However, the streamer canceled Kaos in October 2024, reportedly because viewership wasn’t strong enough to justify another season.
Too Much
Created by Lena Dunham and starring Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe, this London-set romantic comedy followed an American woman starting over after a breakup. Despite its recognizable cast and creator, Too Much did not return for a second season.
The Boroughs
Produced by Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, this sci-fi mystery followed residents of a retirement community confronting a supernatural threat. Starring Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, and Bill Pullman, The Boroughs combined horror with an older ensemble cast. Its reported cancellation and budget-related explanation require confirmation before publication.
Conversation36 Comments
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B
I'm also through October Faction, was looking fwd to a second season
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G
V WARS WAS ACTUALLY A GREAT SHOW, IT WASNT JUST THE NORMAL “VAMPIRE “ SHOW .. IM SAD NOW 🥺
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P
I was really looking forward to season 2 of October Faction.
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B
They just put too many shows out there. I didn't even know about half of these, and they have some really big names. I go in through a Firestick and I have a Recast for OTA, so the only shows I'm going to see plugged are Amazon shows. Netflix needs to do a better job of advertising, like upcoming movie commercials.
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O
I enjoyed October Faction. I was looking forward to seeing the second season. Sad to see you go.
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B
Wow I loved V Wars... this is crazy. It is a great show with phenomenal actors!
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B
V Wars was a great show! I’m sad to see it go. They always cancel the good shows! I think they should let us (the viewers) vote before they cancel shows.
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G
I like V war was looking forward to another season so sad it won’t be on. Some shows are great people just don’t know about them and before they do the cancel Seven seconds was great and the cops where not caught for killing that young man shame on it be drop
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O
Im very sad about the v wars.
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O
Both V WARS and OCTOBER FACTION were in my opinion good entertaining shows. Real fiction. I am shock that October Faction was cancelled since it had a lot of the government pushed agendas on us.
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O
Less shows better quality, but I agree with some viewers I hadn’t even heard of some of these they need to advertise more, and bring new seasons to some of the better shows sooner. 18 months is a long time to wait between seasons
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B
I'm so tired of them canceling good shows . V Wars , Santa Clarita diet too many to list .
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G
I love Vwars... Netflix sucked at advertising the show though. They released it and about two day afterwards I had to search for the movie. Who wants to search for a new release that should have been front and center advertised. 🤷♀️
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G
Not V wars! I loved that show. I was wanting a second season.
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O
V wars and October faction was 2 I liked
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G
Not having seen even one of them; I guess I didn’t miss anything!
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W
Soon to be joined by whatever Shondaland finally produces for them. That deal may be the one that forces a merger of Netflix with another company.
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G
I love V Wars and October Fraction. Pissed me off that they are cancelled. This just makes me to not want to start any new shows in fear there won't be a second season or more. Probably should just cancel Netflix!
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G
WHAT ABOUT NORTHERN RESCUE??
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P
I was so looking forward to season two of October factions. So sorry they have chosen to not grant a season two.
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B
Can’t believe that axed October faction. Smh. I just gave Netflix 15 bucks for the month getting a refund.
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B
We cancelled Netflix, nothing good on anymore. No good original programming and the old stuff we can watch for a lot less
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B
really liked October Faction an V Wars......bummer
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G
I agree, it seems like they should focus on quality not quantity and stop wasting money and horrible plots
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R
i am pretty sure that some of these show had a second season
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G
Political Correctness is destroying creativity!
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O
Lol
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O
Where I want to know?
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G
I was bummed when they ended “Good Cops!” I liked that show.
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R
girlboss was everything
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G
October faction, chambers and Good cop were the shows I was hoping for a second season 😭
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B
Very disappointed in what Netflix has been creating lately. Bring back some new episodes of some of the older shows.
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G
Disjointed has two seasons. Not a very reputable article.
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R
Just like with the comic book series, the Walking Dead story concluded.
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B
What happened to The Walking Dead?
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W
Some of these makes one shake their head, like the Michelle Wolf series. What were they thinking?!? Netflix is taking on WAY too much debt trying to produce too much original content the majority of which isn't performing. They delivered truckloads of money to Shonda Rhimes and have yet, AFAIK, to have aired anything from that deal. And hiring Channing Dungey who had only what charitably could be called a mediocre tenure at ABC was a poor decision. With ever more streaming competition, an independent Netflix likely isn't long for the world with poor business decisions like these.