Netflix used to have a reputation for being the place that would save your favorite show. If a series was cancelled unfairly at another TV network or streamer, Netflix would perhaps consider being its savior. They obviously didn’t do it for everything, but saved enough shows from complete cancellation (like Lucifer, Longmire, and Cobra Kai) that subscribers started to think about them that way. The screw turned eventually, though, and Netflix has since become known as the place that unfairly scraps its own shows before they can even find an audience. It’s an albatross that still lingers around their neck.
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Oftentimes, Netflix subscribers will hear that a show they were planning to watch has been cancelled, and with it lose all their enthusiasm for even starting. The trouble, of course, is that some of the shows that Netflix gives the axe are still incredibly entertaining, and even if you know that there won’t be more, it’s not like investing the time in the story and the characters is somehow a fool’s errand. It’s not true! Some Netflix shows get canned after one season for good reasons, but some really great shows have also suffered the same fate.
7) Crazyhead
Playing with the idea of monsters hiding in plain sight, and perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Crazyhead was a horror-comedy about two women (Cara Theobold as Amy and Susan Wokoma as Raquel) who are seers, meaning they can see demons for who they really are despite their human disguises. Given their abilities, they have the task of taking these demons out before they can cause too much harm, and luckily teamwork makes it easier. Theobold and Wokoma are what make Crazyhead so fun, as their two characters are hilarious and charming, with chemistry that shows which lasted even longer failed to achieve. To make it more appealing, Crazyhead even boasts an impressive 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Crazyhead does end in a way that sets up what the next adventures would have been if the series hadn’t been cancelled, but it’s also tied together well enough that the investment of a show that will never get more episodes won’t be for naught, especially for fans of the genre.
6) The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Given how Netflix now operates, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance feels like a series that is a relic of a forgotten time, when the streamer was eager to spend money on big projects that no one else would greenlight. That alone makes it worth at least trying out, because it’s the kind of show they just don’t make at all now. On top of that, Age of Resistance is a clear labor of love with incredible practical effects and a massive ensemble cast. Even if you’ve never seen the original The Dark Crystal movie, the series is inviting and can be enjoyed; it’s a prequel after all. By the end, Age of Resistance does leave some plot threads open as there was hope the series could continue and flesh out the world even more, but in truth, the series does end in a way that bridges it toward Jim Henson’s original film. It’s disappointing that there’s not more, but having it at all is still a good thing.
5) Dash & Lily
For Netflix subscribers who need another romance to binge while waiting on more Bridgerton, going back to this 2020 release with Austin Abrams as Dash and Midori Francis as Lily, two young teenagers whose love story encompasses not only their own feelings but the fallout of their romance across friendships, their family, and their exes. Dash & Lily also holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (with an impressive 35 total reviews) and was also nominated for twelve Daytime Emmy Awards, winning three (including Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Fiction Program).
A criticism levied at the first season of Dash & Lily is that the two characters only have so much screentime together, something that future seasons would have addressed head-on as the pair enter their romantic relationship. As a result, the eight episodes that we got might leave this hanging thread as a major bummer, but it does end in a satisfying way despite its future being cut short.
4) I Am Not Okay With This
This dark comedy with some commentary on superhero stories (or Stephen King’s Carrie, if you want to think about it another way) is a perfect afternoon binge with seven episodes that clock in at around 20 minutes apiece. Sophia Lillis grounds the series with a pitch-perfect performance, finding the balance in the humor and the drama that define the coming-of-age elements of the narrative but also elevating its take on superpowers with a realism that most superhero movies can’t grasp. Unlike most of the other shows here, the ending of I Am Not Okay With This will make the fact that it was cancelled sting incredibly. The series ends on a massive cliffhanger, and to make it even more maddening, the show was initially renewed, only for Netflix to change its mind post-COVID.
3) The Midnight Club
Unlike Mike Flanagan’s other original shows for Netflix, The Midnight Club wasn’t designed to be a one-and-done affair, but it has the same number of seasons as all his others. Another element of the show that sets it apart is the somewhat anthology-like nature. Though there is a wraparound narrative across each episode, they also give us standalone stories that cross all manner of subgenres, which will satisfy horror fans no matter their preferences.
The one thing that takes the sting out of The Midnight Club‘s cancellation is that Mike Flanagan himself has revealed major details about what the second batch of episodes would have been and what the overarching narrative would have been. It’s not as fun as watching these things play out, but it does bring some closure.
2) The Society
As trite as a “modern reimagining” of Lord of the Flies might sound, The Society defies these expectations by truly adhering to the “modern” side of the descriptor. Starring the incredible Kathryn Newton, just one piece of its larger ensemble that has a diverse cast of characters, The Society truly explores the landscape of modern culture and community while also adhering to the fact that its main characters are teenagers. The result of this is a teen drama that doesn’t talk down to its target audience but its just as entertaining for adults to dive into.
Once again, this one’s ending and lack of a second season will be a bummer, not because of a major dangling cliffhanger, but because the series WAS renewed, which was scrapped amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
1) 1899
Fresh off the success of Dark‘s three-season run, creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese delivered another mystery series to Netflix that was built on mysterious layers of plot and even more mysterious characters with distinct motivations. Like Dark, 1899 frequently zigs when the audience is expecting it to zag, which makes it a binge that will always keep you on your toes. To that end, the series does wrap up in on a cliffhanger, with an ending that clearly sets up a second season that would have perhaps changed the title of the series, which may very well make it a maddening conclusion for some audiences. Others may see the layers of mystery and captivating performances for what they are: fun storytelling that runs laps around most streaming originals, even if the ending raises more questions than it answers.
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