Fan-Favorite Netflix Show Just Canceled After 2 Seasons
Once again, the cold calculating formula Netflix employs to determine which shows live or die has angered a fan base, this time it’s the cancellation of Warrior Nun that has caused mobs to brandish the pitchforks. Deadline reports on the cancellation as coming about through the usual strict cost-analysis, weighing hours viewed against the production cost. As has happened before to shows like Santa Clarita Diet and The Getdown, a passionate fanbase is not enough to keep a show from the streaming service going.
The first season on Netflix was a hit, prompting an easy renewal for Warrior Nun, with the second season setting a new record. Season 2 of the series, according to Rotten Tomatoes scores, is the highest-rated season of any Netflix series, ever, with a 99% fresh audience rating. This beats the audience rating for every season of Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and Squid Game.
Netflix took a gamble greenlighting Warrior Nun in the first place, as not only is the title similar to Battle Pope and Cougar Town in how odd it is, but it is based off of a short-lived 90’s comic. Only published from 1994 to 1995, Warrior Nun Arealea managed to earn a reputation, bood and bad, for its use of Catholic imagery in a relatively mainstream comic. Over the years different authors have written spin-offs and further adventures in the same universe, though none have had the impact of the original series run, which formed the basis for the Netflix show.
By cancelling another YA show, aimed primarily at a teen audience, Netflix is continuing another trend by finishing off Warrior Nun, teen shows just don’t last on the service. Recently, The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself was cancelled, The Imperfects, a show about teen superheroes, was also cancelled early, and one of the most glaring early dismissals was the early exit of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This streak regarding shows for teens has one large exception, in Wednesday, currently one of the top shows in the history of Netflix.
Wednesday,a Netflix original like Warrior Nun, has a few advantages, namely that is part of a larger franchise, The Addams Family. The Tim burton show also has a cast of bigger name stars, 90s Wednesday actress Christina Ricci and rising Hollywood star Jenna Ortega, also a part of Netflix’s You. Finally, the budget is closer to Stranger Things than it is Warrior Nun.
Netflix may have wanted Warrior Nun to be a Buffy-like hit with the YA crowd, and the numbers for the first season showed that it had the potential, but season 2 did not expand the audience enough to warrant another chance. Compare Netflix’s approach to that of HBO, which carefully nurtured The White Lotus to the point that season 2 was such a success it caused season 1 to retroactively gain impressive viewer numbers. For now, the entire series of Warrior Nun is available to view on Netflix, unresolved cliffhangers and all.
