Netflix Cancels Fan Favorite Series, Season 3 Not Happening

For those unfamiliar with Black Summer, we’re discussing the Netflix Original horror series prequel to Syfy’s Z-Nation. The news about the show’s cancellation comes after a lengthy period following the conclusion of Season 2, which indicates that the series might not continue. Now, one of the show’s co-creators has confirmed that Black Summer won’t return to Netflix and that the show is canceled.

Black Summer premiered on Netflix in 2019 as an intense, raw, and gritty portrayal of the early days of a zombie apocalypse; as with any other zombie release, it garnered a significant following due to its realistic and visceral survival decisions. However, unlike many contemporary zombie releases, Black Summer stood out like a sore thumb, and in a good way. Most of that was due to the show’s minimalistic dialogue, intense pacing, immersive atmosphere, and the fact that survivors had to make life-or-death decisions at every turn.

At the same time, Black Summer strips away all the usual over-the-top elements often seen in other zombie releases and swaps them for more realistic depictions of a civilizational collapse. This narrative approach resonated well with the audiences as it also focused heavily on human emotions, survival instincts, and moral dilemmas occurring in extreme circumstances associated with fighting for survival. These depictions, paired with powerful performances by the cast, earned the show a relatively strong reception.

Season 1 of Black Summer was well-received, with Tomatometer sitting at 75 percent, which is rather surprising for a zombie apocalypse series. It had enough undead carnage, guts, sinew, and decaying connective tissues to appease fans of zombie horror. And the show’s Season 2 is even better; there were significant improvements, and while its development took two years, the resulting 16 episodes which dropped in 2021 were an absolute blast. It earned a 100 percent critical response rating on Tomatometer, which says something, particularly for a zombie horror series.

Unfortunately, more than two years have passed since the debut and subsequent conclusion of Black Summer Season 2, and the lack of renewal for Season 3 indicated bad news, which eventually came to be. The series is now officially canceled, and everyone’s asking the same question: why? Well, as it turns out, a fantastic critical response doesn’t warrant success, and Season 2 didn’t gain enough global viewership to justify further production of the show, so Netflix decided to cut its losses and move on.

With that said, Black Summer Season 2 left the audiences with plenty of questions that should be answered in Season 3. Perhaps one day, zombie horror fans will rally and petition for the continuation of this fantastic show. For those interested, Black Summer is available on Netflix.