We're less than two weeks into 2023, but Netflix's cancellation spree is showing no signs of slowing down.
Just days after the news broke that Netflix had cancelled supernatural period horror show 1899 after one season, the streaming giant has brought the axe down on two more popular series.
Inside Job, an adult animated sci-fi comedy series, is the second casualty of Netflix's brutal 2023 cancellation session. The Netflix original show had actually been renewed for a second season in June 2022; however, taking to Twitter on January 9, showrunner Shion Takeuchi confirmed the news that Inside Job wouldn't be moving forward with its second instalment after all.
I’m sorry guys, it’s true.💔#insidejob pic.twitter.com/MQZJ3S7gRDJanuary 9, 2023
The dust hadn't settled on Inside Job's cancellation before more bad news emerged.
The Chair, which stars Killing Eve's Sandra Oh as the first chairwoman of Pembroke University's English Department, has also been canned by Netflix. Speaking at the 2023 Television Critics Associations (TCAs) event on January 10, Amanda Peet, who co-created the series with Annie Julia Wyman, confirmed that The Chair wasn't being picked up for a second season.
“We weren’t picked up,” Peet told TribLive (opens in new tab) (thanks to What's on Netflix (opens in new tab) for the find). “Sandra and I wish we had been.”
Understandably, fans of both TV shows have taken to social media to voice their displeasure at the cancellations. The hashtag #saveinsidejob trended on Twitter in the hours after it was dropped by the world's best streaming service (per The Cartoon News (opens in new tab)), while fans of The Chair – such as Twitter user Neenu (opens in new tab) – are exasperated over its cancellation.
What makes each show's cancellation all the more galling is how highly rated they were among fans and critics. Per review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Inside Job holds a 79% approval rating among critics (opens in new tab), while its audience score is even better, with Inside Job's one and only season earning a 90% certified fresh score. Meanwhile, The Chair was more popular among critics (opens in new tab) (86%) than general subscribers (79%), but its scores suggest it might have been worth sticking with the show for another season.
Unfortunately, Inside Job and The Chair's viewing figures are the main reason behind their cancellations. The Chair managed just 14 million hours viewed in its first week (opens in new tab) on Netflix. Inside Job fared slightly better – 21.2 million hours streamed (opens in new tab) following its debut – but both shows paled in comparison to the likes of Clickbait and You season 3, which aired around the same time.
If Netflix is to renew a show for another season, the streamer needs some form of guarantee that it's going to be successful. Despite their positive critical receptions – and, in Inside Job's case, that fact that it had actually been renewed ahead of season 1's launch – neither show was watched enough to make Netflix feel they were worth investing in further. That'll be of scant consolation to Inside Job and The Chair's fanbases, though.
The two shows are the latest in a long line of Netflix cancelled shows, which include other animated offerings like The Midnight Gospel, and expensive live-action series such as Resident Evil. Inside Job and The Chair are likely to be seen as some of the best Netflix shows around by some viewers but, ultimately, they weren't popular enough for Netflix's liking.
Still, there's been some good news on the Netflix series front in 2023. Netflix's megahit Addams Family show Wednesday will return for a second season, which isn't surprising. The coming-of-age comedy-horror drama is the third most-watched Netflix series of all-time, with Stranger Things season 4 and Squid Game season 1 being the only programs to be streamed more.
For more Netflix-based content, find out what the best Netflix movies and best Netflix documentaries are.
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