Yeah, there’s some things I appreciate about Netflix’s model but there are a lot of downsides too. I’m pretty glad, for example, that after dropping the whole of The Expanse s4 at once when it first moved to Prime, this year they’ll do it weekly. Some shows you want to sit and absorb.
And again, I do like that we at least get a full season before they decide not to continue with something, like I’d rather have the first seasons of Desenfrenadas, TBH, and Away than just as pilots hidden away. And I think this is the way to approach them going forward, a season at a time, both for us and writers, I don’t think they can force Netflix to renew by ending on cliffhangers. But of course ideally I wish they’d give these more of a chance than often one badly promoted season. And maybe more of…an even chance, considering what seems to be promoted and successful.
And another anon:
Apparently 17 of Netflix’s most recent cancellations are Female led or have queer characters or people of color
That’s…not a good look. Like, fine, part of it is because they’re including more of that in general, it’s just how proportion works, but still. And if you dive in deeper into which of the shows with that did get renewed and which didn’t, the showrunner and target audience, it still feels like there’s some content that’s acceptable and some that isn’t. Emily in Paris vs TBH, you know? Or even TBH vs Ratched. The latter two can both compare queer female white leads but eesh, the target audience of Ratched is quite different from TBH’s.
And another anon:
What I don’t understand is why so quickly? Away only premiered six weeks ago?
I think from previous decisions (like G*psy’s cancellation) it’s become clear that Netflix looks at the streaming results in the month and a half or so after release to make up its mind, that they can extrapolate interest in their shows from that time. Which isn’t entirely wrong, unless something goes unexpectedly viral, which is extremely rare, you’re not going to see a significant increase in interest months after, right. Even when people continue to watch, it’ll be at a steady rate much lower than right after release. In Away’s case, I think they looked at the budget and covid and were like, yeah, we’re done with that one. :/