Netflix has become a titan in the animation world, thanks to both its original films and television shows that are routinely released on the streaming service. Movies like Kpop Demon Hunters and Swapped are garnering enough views to put them in line with live-action entries, while animated television shows like Big Mouth, Bojack Horseman, Blue Eye Samurai, and Castlevania have received several seasons. Unfortunately, not every animated original was destined for a long history on the platform, with one series that premiered four years ago still holding the title as one of the most controversial that Netflix ever released.
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Dead End: Paranormal Park first premiered on Netflix on June 16th with its full first season, introducing a supernatural series that followed the likes of Barney and Norma as they work inside a haunted amusement park. Joined by Barney’s pug Pugsley, and a thousand-year-old demon known as Courtney, the series became a minefield for the streaming service when it debuted. Barney was a “gay transgender teenager” who was working at the park as a way to deal with his family issues. While the reasoning behind why the series never received a third season, many fans believed that the subject matter was behind the cancellation, especially when it came to the backlash from some big names that hit the internet.
A Dead End Indeed
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, shared a plea to netizens to “cancel Netflix for the health of your kids” in response to Dead End: Paranormal Park. The creator of the series, Hamish Steele, even shared that they had received “homophobic” and “antisemitic” emails online as a result of the backlash. While the show was cancelled on Netflix following the second season, it did receive a proper ending thanks to the graphic novel trilogy, DeadEndia. These stories most likely will never be animated, but they do give Dead End fans a proper conclusion to Barney’s story.
Following the announcement that Dead End: Paranormal Park had been cancelled in 2023, Hamish Steele took to social media to mourn the series, stating, ““Hello friends, I have held onto this news for a while now, hoping that we could reverse it, change it, make something good out of it. But sadly I don’t think that’s possible right now. It’s with a heavy heart that I tell you Dead End is over. Obviously, we never wanted this to be the case. In fact, we did a writers room for Season 3. We have scripts, designs and outlines ready to go. It was always the plan to give these characters the proper ending they deserve. But sadly, the powers that be don’t want any more.”
Steele continued, “Honestly, we were lucky to make it through everything happening in the last few years. And I want to emphasise my gratitude to Netflix for commissioning the show and for giving us the freedom to tell this story. We made history together, and I couldn’t be prouder of those twenty episodes and every single member of our crew. I want to give a huge thank you to the fans. Your art, cosplay, fic, reactions, TikToks and every interaction with me have been a delight.”
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