Netflix Cancels Another Hit Series After Just One Season
Bad news for fans of the Netflix series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, as the streaming giant has canceled it after just one season. The series based on the YA novel Half Bad by Sally Green released eight episodes in October but will not be moving forward with more. The production company Imaginarium and the show’s creator Joe Barton both tweeted about the cancelation to confirm the news. (via TV Line).
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself starred Jay Lycurgo as Nathan Byrne, the son of a deadly witch (David Gyasi). The show received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. Undoubtedly, the show didn’t get enough viewers for Netflix to greenlight another season.
This is far from the first time that fans have been disappointed by a critically acclaimed series getting canceled before its time on Netflix. The streaming giant produces a lot of content, but not every show gets to stick around for the long run. Shows like The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Archive 81, Tuca & Bertie, and many more have all experienced an early demise.
While some shows, like the aforementioned Tuca & Bertie, end up finding a home somewhere else, that isn’t always a guarantee. With Netflix, you can never get too attached to a new show, as you never know if it’s going to be gone before the story can end in a satisfactory manner. Of course, that’s not always the case.
Occasionally Netflix has a massive hit that goes in their Top 10 and stays there long enough for the streamer to renew the show just as quickly as they cancel others. A recent example is the Tim Burton series Wednesday, which has become a smash hit and pop culture phenomenon. While a second season hasn’t been officially confirmed, this is the type of success where you can almost guarantee another season will be in the cards.
Of course, all this original content is expensive for Netflix to produce, so you can’t expect every show to get the multi-season treatment. The Netflix model is definitely a case of seeing what sticks and then capitalizing on it. Netflix spends billions on content and makes hundreds of original titles on a yearly basis, so it’s no surprise that we see some cancellations — even if fans aren’t happy about it.
In fact, Netflix’s library is officially made up of 50% original titles. As of August, the streamer had over 6,200 original titles including movies, shows, documentaries, stand-up specials, and more. They also have a surprising number of games that are playable on their platform.
Netflix is likely to continue its push to have more quality original content, especially after introducing its new cheaper ad-supported tier this year. With the platform now allowing advertisers to buy ad space on the platform, they have a brand-new source of revenue other than subscriptions. This is in line with other platforms like Disney+, but Netflix definitely has longevity on its side.
While The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is the latest cancellation from Netflix, it surely won’t be the last. If you like to watch shows that don’t have a definitive ending, you can stream the first and only season now. Otherwise, you can always read the books if you want to find out what happens.
