20 Netflix Shows That Have Been Canceled – And 20 That Have Been Renewed

Halfway through a planned five-season run, The OA was unceremoniously shut down by Netflix. Mind you, the streaming service – which had started marketing the series just four days before its 2016 premiere – seemingly had little faith in the critically acclaimed psychological thriller from the outset. But fans were devastated and even started petitions for the show’s reinstatement.

Even though it’s all about suburban flesh-eating zombies, Drew Barrymore’s Santa Clarita Diet gained a rabid following upon its 2017 debut. One season even earned an incredible 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Sadly, for all its admirers, Santa Clarita Diet couldn’t come back from its cancellation in 2019.

Throughout its three-season run, Designated Survivor has overcome many hardships. The political thriller went through no fewer than four showrunners in half as many years and was also dropped from original network NBC in 2018. Alas, the Kiefer Sutherland-starring series couldn’t survive every hit, and it finally bit the dust in 2019 after one season on Netflix.

In November 2019 Netflix announced the cancellation of its literary adaptation Anne with an E – and fans were not pleased. Outraged followers of the series bombarded the streaming site and co-producers CBC with over 13 million tweets and even erected billboards calling for the show’s reinstatement. But their efforts proved fruitless, and Anne with an E remains shelved for now.

The last season of GLOW ended with many fans' questions unanswered. Would Carmen rejoin the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling? Would Sam get Justine’s movie made? And would Ruth reconsider Debbie’s directorial offer? Unfortunately, though, Netflix decided to cancel the show – which has won three Emmys – in 2020. That’s even though its mooted fourth season would have been its last!

This series about a clan of bankers was fittingly expensive to produce. And that may be one of the reasons why Netflix decided not to renew Medici – which featured costly location shooting in Italy – in 2020. Other factors could include falling ratings as well as the departure of Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden.

Despite helming arguably Netflix’s best reality series, RuPaul hasn’t been as successful when it comes to scripted content. The Drag Race host’s on-the-road drama AJ and the Queen met an unfortunate end just two months after its debut on the streaming service. “Netflix has decided not to extend our trip across America,” the star announced on Twitter in March 2020. “Thank you for all the love and support.”

Marianne may have received praise from horror icon Stephen King, but those plaudits sadly weren’t enough to save it. Yep, although it had its fair share of fans, the French chiller – which holds a 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes – got the ax in March 2020 following the release of its first season. But fans shouldn’t fret too much, as Marianne’s creator Samuel Bodin promised on Twitter, “We will see you in other stories.”

Revolving around a group of middle-aged Harvard alumni, Friends from College boasted a standout cast. Despite turns from Fred Savage and Cobie Smulders, though, the comedy was criticized for its lack of character development. And two years and two seasons after Friends from College’s 2017 debut, Netflix shelved these graduates for good.

A long-time fan of DJing, Idris Elba won the gig of his life when he played a down-on-his-luck mix master in 2019’s Turn Up Charlie. Critics didn’t plug in to the show, though, with IndieWire’s Ben Travers scathingly labeling the comedy “inconsequential and unkempt.” And in April 2020 Netflix unfortunately announced that it wouldn’t be dropping the needle on another season.

Featuring Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder, V Wars was poised to appeal to fans of bloodsucking fiction. And yet the series – which premiered in December 2019 – may have been too much of the same, with one critic noting its over-reliance on genre conventions. Four months after V Wars’ debut, then, Netflix hammered down the final nail in the coffin by declining to give it a second season.

Exotic locations can certainly add to a TV show’s appeal. However, in the case of Messiah – Netflix’s supernatural CIA thriller – it seems that such globetrotting led to its cancellation. According to Variety, the streaming platform may have cut the show – which was shot in the States and Jordan – owing to its wide range of filming locations. A dismal 44 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes couldn’t have helped, either.

Sports series are always a dependable way to bring in viewers. Just look at basketball documentary The Last Dance. But it appears that figure skating doesn’t break the ice with viewers, judging by the dismissal of Spinning Out. Newsweek has claimed that the Kaya Scodelario-led drama’s cancellation in February 2020 can be attributed to a cold reception from Netflix audiences.

A teen drama set in the middle of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles sounds like a recipe for success, right? Well, despite having a premise that fell squarely between Mad Max and The O.C., Daybreak was still denied a second season in December 2019. And while displeased fans appealed to Netflix to change its mind, a petition calling for a second season earned only 33,000 signatures.

After two seasons on Netflix, fan favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 was dropped by the streaming site in November 2019. Yet this isn’t the first time that the B-movie-bashing comedy has been canned; in the past, it’s also survived cancellation by both Comedy Central and SyFy. And host Jonah Ray has tweeted of his hope that the show will be picked up by another service in the future.

Originally set for broadcast by Fox, Soundtrack was instead selected by Netflix after its pilot failed to impress the U.S. TV network. It seems, though, that Fox’s initial fears weren’t entirely unfounded. That’s right: following one critically panned season of Soundtrack, Netflix announced in January 2020 that it wouldn’t be interested in continuing the musical drama.

It’s common to find shows canceled by regular TV networks earning a new home on Netflix. But to see a revival happening the other way around is a rarer thing indeed. This is exactly what happened with sitcom One Day at a Time, which – after getting the boot by Netflix over dwindling viewers – was picked up by Pop TV in 2019.

The finale of Traveler’s 2019 third season appeared to set up a new storyline for its next run. Unfortunately – as star Eric McCormack revealed via Twitter soon afterwards – Netflix pulled its plans for new episodes, meaning this fresh direction will be left unexplored. Owing to the sci-fi series’ prior cancellation by original broadcasters Showcase, though, this decision shouldn’t come as a shock to many.

Although its 2018 first season started strongly, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina began to lose its charm with viewers. And as ratings slowly decreased, the show – which follows Kiernan Shipka’s eponymous teenage witch – was finally cut from Netflix in July 2020. As there’s a fourth season set to air, though, Sabrina’s story should hopefully be resolved – fingers crossed...

Now this truly was a surprise. Since its launch in 2014, BoJack Horseman had become one of Netflix’s most beloved original series. In 2019, however, the platform announced that the show’s sixth season would be its last, with star Aaron Paul later tweeting that the decision had come from the company itself. The real reason for the cancellation remains a mystery, but some have said that the unionization of the show’s animators may have played a part.

Was anyone really shocked that Stranger Things was renewed for a fourth season? Since its debut in 2016, the sci-fi thriller has become one of Netflix’s most valuable shows – with a third season that attracted almost 41 million viewers less than a week after its release. But with Eleven and the Byers having left Hawkins – and Hopper apparently in a Russian gulag – the next set of episodes may have a few surprises in store.

With its first season reportedly attracting 40 million viewers within weeks of its debut, Sex Education hit the ground running. And the second run of this dramedy – which focuses on the sex-obsessed students of Moordale Secondary School – fared even better, achieving a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on this success, a third season was ordered, and this is currently set to hit Netflix in 2021.

One of the most disturbing shows in Netflix’s roster, You centers around the dark and obsessive romantic pursuits of Penn Badgley’s sociopathic Joe. Despite its creepy content, however, the series remains one of the streaming site’s most popular. And thanks partly to its social media following, You will be returning for a third season in 2021.

Following its debut in 2020, Never Have I Ever quickly won over critics. So much so, in fact, that IndieWire’s Kristen Lopez warned Netflix that it would be “foolish” to ax the show – which follows themes of diversity and discrimination – after only one season. Thankfully, the company listened, and a second season was announced shortly after the first’s release.

First broadcast by the BBC, The Last Kingdom jumped ship to Netflix at the season three mark. And backed by strong word of mouth, the historical drama continued to flourish on the streaming service. In July 2020, in fact, it was revealed that a fifth batch of episodes is in the works.

Few recent shows can boast the same level of support from Netflix as The Witcher. In 2019 the streaming site even ordered a second season of the show before its first had even aired. Adapted from the popular Polish book and video game series, this Henry Cavill-led fantasy is part of 2021’s renewal roster.

Perhaps thanks to both its Emmy nominations and consistent viewer ratings, Dead to Me was renewed for a third run in July 2020. The upcoming season will also be its finale, as star Christina Applegate revealed that the show will soon reach its natural conclusion. Still, fans shouldn’t be too sad, as creator Liz Feldman has inked a deal to create more content for the platform.

Atypical’s February 2020 renewal received a mixed response from fans. On one hand, many were glad that they’d get to see a conclusion to autistic teen Sam’s story. Others, by contrast, were appalled that the show’s next run would be its last. Whichever side of the fence you fall on, though, Atypical’s fourth season is sure to be binged upon its 2021 release.

Ricky Gervais may be most famous for his opinion-dividing Golden Globes gigs, but his scripted work has its fair share of fans, too. The first series of his dark comedy After Life is a case in point, as it was apparently Netflix’s second-highest viewed show of 2019. And after a similarly successful follow-up season in 2020, a third run was announced in May of that year.

A Golden Globe-winning comedy from The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre, The Kominsky Method is a warmhearted story about growing old. Considering its award success, then, a third season – as announced in July 2020 – was more than likely. But the news of The Kominsky Method’s renewal is somewhat bittersweet. You see, the upcoming season will mark the last outing for Sandy and Norman, who will be retiring along with the show following its next batch of episodes.

Despite premiering to some harsh reviews in 2020, #blackAF still earned a strong number of followers on Netflix. The streaming site even announced a second season of the sitcom just two months after its debut. Judging by the reported $100 million deal that Netflix made with creator Kenya Barris, though, it seems the company is banking on repeated returns.

If you have more daring tastes in TV, then you probably watched Bonding in 2019. Centered around the world of sadomasochism, the comedy was fittingly bawdy but earned plaudits for depicting its subject – according to Metro’s Tilly Pearce – in “a bold and unjudgmental way.” Going forward, fans can expect a second helping of the series to drop in 2020.

Matt Groening has a history of creating game-changing animation – from The Simpsons to Futurama. And yet it took fans a while to come around to his latest series Disenchantment. After a lukewarm debut in 2018, the funny fantasy made a bigger impression on audiences with its second outing. So, hopefully Disenchantment’s next run – which will come in 2021 – will cement its status as a slow-burning success.

While it may be a guilty pleasure to some, high school series Elite has its fair share of critical acclaim. The Spanish-language drama’s first season even has a rare 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And if you haven’t watched this European gem yet, you still have time to binge it before season four hits some time in the near future.

Created by Narcos’ producer Jason George, Into the Night satisfied its audience’s thirst for thrillers in 2020. It’s estimated, in fact, that the apocalyptic drama was seen by up to seven million viewers – not bad for Netflix’s first TV commission from Belgium. With that in mind, the platform made the right decision in renewing the series shortly after its first season.

Season four of Dear White People will be dropping at some point in 2021... but there’s a catch. Netflix has announced that this will actually be the final season of Justin Simien’s show. But that kind of makes sense, considering that the season will tackle the characters’ senior year at Winchester University. No doubt there will still be plenty of drama, though!

Much like its predecessor – which originally ran for three seasons in the 1960s – the rebooted Lost in Space will finish after its third set of episodes. But this won’t be the end for showrunner Zack Estrin. After seeing his show through to its natural conclusion in 2021, the creator is set to helm a host of original series for Netflix.

It seems that Lucifer doesn’t know when to stay dead. Following its cancellation by Fox in 2018, the comic book adaptation was picked up by Netflix before being dropped once again the following year. Yet the streaming service clearly had a change of heart, as in June 2020 it was announced that a sixth season would eventually enter production.

If anyone is a fan of Top Boy, then they have rapper Drake to thank for the show’s success. Originally seen only on U.K. TV, the British crime drama was discovered by the musician, who helped the series switch over to Netflix in 2017. And perhaps owing to Drizzy, the show will return for a fourth season some time in the near future.

A hit with audiences and critics alike, Ozark has brought critical kudos to Netflix since its 2017 debut. So far, in fact, this tale of a white-collar family turned cartel associates has racked up 14 Emmy nominations. But all good things must come to an end, and in June 2020 Netflix announced that Ozark’s upcoming fourth season will be its last.