10 Canceled Netflix Series We Need to Bring Back

Netflix has become a titan in the streaming landscape, offering subscribers instant access to an ever-growing number of movies and shows. The service first gained mainstream attention in 2013, when it began releasing buzzworthy original series like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. Since then, Netflix‘s original TV shows have grown to an almost-absurd number — leading, unfortunately, to some shows falling through the cracks. Within the past year, Netflix users have gotten particularly vocal about certain shows getting canceled before their time, launching campaigns both on social media and in real life for the shows to get a second chance.

In some instances, those movements have worked out — the critically-acclaimed sitcom One Day at a Time was revived by Pop TV last year, and the beloved animated series Tuca & Bertie was just recently given a Season 2 order by Adult Swim. Both of those moves were unexpected and absolutely worth celebrating – and, depending on who you ask, there are multiple other shows that deserve similar treatment, as they were canceled before being able to do a “final season” or wrap-up movie. Here are just a few canceled Netflix original series we’d love to see brought back in some way.

Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher

If you’ve even tangentially paid attention to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’re probably somewhat familiar with the Defenders-verse of shows that debuted on Netflix. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist all debuted from 2015 to 2017, culminating in an eight-episode TV crossover miniseries called The Defenders, and an eventual spinoff of The Punisher. In October of 2018, a little over a year after Defenders debuted, Netflix began to cancel each of the individual shows, with former Marvel Television executive Jeph Loeb hinting that they were “blindsided” by the cancellations. 

It’s abundantly clear that each of the Marvel Netflix series still had stories to tell, which has caused fans to launch social media campaigns like #SaveDaredevil, in hopes of the iterations of the characters being revived through Disney+ or some other medium. At the moment, there’s no telling what the future will ultimately hold, but that hasn’t stopped fans from hoping.

The OA

Another controversial Netflix cancellation came in 2019, when the streamer canceled the cerebral sci-fi series The OA after two seasons. Seeing as the series had initially planned for a five-season storyline, the move struck a particular nerve with the show’s fandom, culminating in movements to cancel their Netflix subscriptions en mass, picket the service’s headquarters, and even participate in a hunger strike.

While it’s been less than a year since the cancellation was handed down, fans haven’t given up hope, with some even speculating that Netflix’s decision could really be part of a massive, incredibly-meta ARG. Regardless of whether or not that’s the case, one thing is clear — The OA should get a chance to continue its weird and wonderful story.

The Get Down

Odds are, you or someone you know is probably still disappointed that Netflix canceled The Get Down. The ’70s-set series, which is co-created and executive produced by Baz Luhrmann, followed a group of kids in the South Bronx, as they processed the rising popularity of hip-hop and disco music. The series also served as a launching pad for some fan-favorite actors, including Detective Pikachu‘s Justice Smith, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse‘s Shameik Moore, and Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

The series was canceled in 2017 after one eleven-episode season – which was technically split into two “parts” – and fans have wanted to see it continue its story in some capacity in the years since.

Everything Sucks!

Another coming-of-age series that has become a cult classic – despite being canceled after one season – is Everything Sucks!. The 1990s-set series follows the A/V Club and Drama Club of Boring High School, as they try to come to terms with various teen issues while making a movie together.

The series was canceled all the way back in 2018, but fans are still spamming Twitter to this day asking for it to potentially be saved. 

American Vandal

Over the years, Netflix’s original shows have brought some wildly different portrayals of high school to life — but none have been quite as bizarre and hilarious as American Vandal. The Peabody-nominated series, which ran for two seasons, parodied the true-crime culture of Making a Murder and Serial, following two high schoolers as they made documentaries about various crimes at high school.

While American Vandal has been canceled since October of 2018, reports have indicated that the producers have looked into finding a home for it elsewhere.

Anne With an E

If you’ve waded into the replies on Netflix’s Twitter within the past few months, you’ve probably seen very passionate pleas for the service to revive Anne with an E. And honestly, it’s easy to see why. The series, which was a co-production between Netflix and the CBC, introduced the iconic world of Anne of Green Gables to a whole new generation. The series ultimately ran for three seasons, only to be canceled this past November. 

While Season 3 is technically billed as the show’s “final season”, it’s abundantly clear that fans want to see more.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000

Mystery Science Theatre 3000 has been a fan-favorite cultural institution since the late 1990s, which made its jump over to Netflix in 2017 all the more fitting. The two seasons of the revival, which were subtitled The Return and The Gauntlet, applied the franchise’s movie-riffing concept to a whole new era, complete with a cast including Jonah Ray, Felicia Day, and Patton Oswalt.

After two seasons, a live tour, and a tie-in comic series, the Netflix iteration of the show was canceled in 2019. Luckily, the franchise and its fandom are absolutely still going strong, with franchise creator Joel Hodson hinting that they’re pursuing other ways to revive the series. Legions of movie fans – especially those who can’t look at films like Mac and Me and Starcrash the same way – will surely be thankful for that.

Daybreak

You might not have heard of Daybreak prior to its cancellation, as Netflix gave the series the ax less than two months before it officially premiered. The post-apocalyptic series followed Josh Wheeler, a high schooler who searches for his girlfriend in a California plagued by zombie-like creatures. The series lampooned both high school culture and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (complete with Matthew Broderick playing the school principal), to some hilarious and endearing results.

It’s pretty safe to say that Daybreak wasn’t able to find the audience it deserved in the month-or-so before its cancellation, which only makes the fact that it isn’t returning for Season 2 (yet) all the more disappointing.

Santa Clarita Diet

Another zombie-related series that was ended too soon is Santa Clarita Diet, which was canceled less than a month after its Season 3 debut in April of 2019. The irreverent horror-comedy series starred Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as a pair of real estate agents, whose lives are thrown into a state of disarray when Barrymore’s Sheila becomes a sort of flesh-eating zombie.

A full year after its cancellation, fans are still hoping to see more hilarious and truly weird hijinks from Santa Clarita Diet — and it remains to be seen if they will get the chance to.

October Faction

One of the newest – and already dearly-departed – Netflix originals to be canceled is October Faction, which debuted on the service in January of this year. The series follows a globetrotting family of monster hunters, which has to adjust to a new life after they move back to their hometown in upstate New York.

The series was canceled in March, a little over two months after its debut, and fans have been voicing their disappointment on social media ever since.