Another critically acclaimed show has been taken down by Netflix after just eight episodes. Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil itself will not return for a second season, after we highlighted it as one of the seven best new Netflix shows this month.
“Unfortunately, yes, Netflix has canceled this,” Joe Barton, creator of the series, wrote in response to a tweet from the show’s UK producer, Imaginarium. “Very proud of him and really love the people I was able to make him up with. Sorry for not being able to finish the story…”
Sadly, yes, Netflix has canceled this one. Very proud of him and really love the people I’ve been able to form him with. Sorry I couldn’t finish the story… https://t.co/HUGi13R6OwDecember 9, 2022
This story was based on Sally Green’s YA fantasy novel Half Bad. The Netflix version tells the story of Nathan Byrne, the illegitimate son of “the world’s most dangerous blood witch” who befriends his new classmate, Annalize. It turned out that Annalize was the daughter of the rival Fairborn Witchers’ leader, putting him at the center of a supernatural war.
In its tweet, Imaginarium highlighted the critical acclaim the show had received in its short run. In fact, at the time of writing, Half Bad has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% fresh and only one negative review in 14 collected.
David Obi wrote from digital spy (Opens in a new tab).
in den geek (Opens in a new tab)Exclaim!, Rosie Fletcher was also very positive, calling the show “a clever adaptation that takes the bones of the beloved book and adds its own flavor.” Like others, the review expressed enthusiasm for a second series, and indeed others were optimistic that The Bastard Son & The Devil itself could avoid the same fate that befell the 16 shows that Netflix canceled this year alone.
in Cut ready and firm (Opens in a new tab)Jonathan Wellstone described the show as “a guaranteed hit as the platform has been for some time.” Andrew Murray in Next (Opens in a new tab) He argued that it had the “style, personality, and ideas” to “avoid becoming another victim of cancellation, as was the case with so many other similar shows.”
Neither of them has been proven correct.
shortsighted strategy
This shows again that there really is no magic formula for a successful show, no matter how much streaming platforms and writers wish there was one. By all accounts, Half Bad did everything right, but it clearly didn’t do the numbers to justify a second season.
I haven’t seen the show, but this still strikes me as a disturbing trend. When I think of all the great shows that had a popular start but were given enough time to get back on their feet and become true classics (Seinfeld, for example, or The Office), it’s sad to see that even shows that dazzle from the get-go go to be left out.
It’s not just bad for the viewers; It’s ultimately bad for stream creators, because it makes failure more likely. A new show can only be recommissioned if it gets good viewing numbers, but why would viewers bother investing in something that might get canceled without a satisfactory resolution? I know I won’t.
If Netflix is notorious for canceling promising shows before the story is completed, the hits will be harder and harder to come by. This is a bad result for everyone.
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