Netflix Decides The Order’s Fate
Is The Order coming back for Season 3? Here's what we know.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Order had a solid two-season run on Netflix following the matriculation of Jack Morton into Belgrave University, but more importantly into the Order of the Blue Rose. The magical society had a number of intriguing plot arcs and twists that fans had wanted to see play out. But those hopes were cut short when, late last week, it was announced that The Order would not be returning for a third season on the platform. Show creator Dennis Heaton took to Twitter to *officially* announce the fate of the show.
In a subsequent tweet, Heaton did something we rarely see from show creators so quickly after a cancellation. He actually outlined his vision for Season 3 and what would happen with The Order characters. He mentions that Jack would raise Alyssa Drake from the dead though that ceremony was going to go way wrong. He likens it to Pet Sematary and that other undead would follow her out of hell. It’s a dark vision for the show and one that fans won’t get to see play out on screen.
The Order followed Morton and a number of other characters as they navigate the world of magic and other dark-horror elements as part of the first year of university for the main character. It set up a world in which magic not only exists but is being taught to a select few for both positive uses and others, well, not so much. Through the first two seasons, it established multiple groups in these underground worlds who’ve been vying for power in years’-long struggles.
Heaton, clearly bummed by Netflix’s decision to discontinue The Order, has worked on other productions in a similar vein including SyFy’s Ghost Wars and The Listener. Considering the positive critical reception for his latest, which received 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for each of the first two seasons, means we could see him showrunning something else not too far off in the future. The Order won’t be it, though we’ve seen stranger things happen with niche shows with strong core fanbases moving platforms in the past.
Netflix canceling The Order is just another in a long line of shows the streaming platform has chosen to not review going forward. Some of the more notable shows which are heading off the air include G.L.O.W, Altered Carbon and yours truly’s most devastating blow, no Season 2 of I’m Not Okay With This. It’s often hard to tell the rhyme or reason behind Netflix choosing to jettison shows from its programming lineup, but downloads and views are almost assuredly at the heart of the decision.
That being said, Netflix continues to crank out hit series that have found strong footholds with audiences. Ratched, the prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was 2020’s most-watched show on the platform with more than 45 million views. Meanwhile, Never Have I Ever, Space Force, and Too Hot to Handle also found strong audience support. In a world of counting views, we will likely continue to see good shows be ushered off the platform. That’s the nature of the streaming business. And The Order was just the most recent casualty.
