On January 4, 2024, Netflix premiered the action-comedy series “The Brothers Sun,” headlined by Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh. The series tells the story of a Taiwanese family deeply involved in crime.
Upon its release, the series received positive reviews from both audiences and critics. It earned an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, a 91% audience score, and a 7.6 rating on IMBD. “The Brothers Sun” also made it to Netflix’s Top 10 list.
Given its success, many fans expected the show to be renewed for a second season. However, on March 1st, Netflix announced that it was canceled. This decision surprised many fans, who wondered why the show was canceled. According to Deadline, “The Brothers Sun” failed to attract a large audience, with its weekly views staying below seven million and dropping to under two million for its last two weeks in the Top 10.”
Despite the high ratings, Netflix canceled the series because in their eyes it was a failure.
Netflix’s latest victim is “The Brothers Sun” Netflix’s pattern of canceling shows that are well-received, for more popular stories. But why is that? According to The Daily Star, this is due to the completion rate and there is an unbalanced ratio between viewership and the financial threshold.
The completion rate represents how many Netflix subscribers finish a series. This helps the streaming service predict how many viewers a show will have if it gets renewed for another season.
This was confirmed by Neil Gaiman when he urged fans to watch the second season of “Sandman” within 30 days. The streaming giant strictly follows a binge-worthy model to the detriment of slow-paced shows with cliffhangers.
If there is an unbalanced ratio between viewership and the financial threshold this can cause a series’ cancellation. If a show has a small audience, even if it is an ardent fanbase, the show can still be canceled. This is especially true if Netflix is spending its budget on a show with a particular genre it can use it in a more popular niche.
Netflix has many projects on their plate. From starting new shows and movies to determining what shows should be canceled and get another season, Netflix has a history of cancelling well-written shows in favor of more popular, but badly-written shows.
Netflix’s way of determining which project to renew and cancel can have detrimental effects on the company, such as losing subscribers. Besides the other factors as to why someone might cancel their Netflix subscription, such as competition and rising prices, it is undeniable that Netflix’s canceling their projects is a big factor. Many people will not be willing to subscribe to the streaming service if they know their favorite program will be canceled. It doesn’t help that Netflix cancels many well-written programs in favor of projects that are not as well-made. For example, “Emily in Paris” has four seasons, even though it has received negative reviews from critics and audiences. But beloved and well-written shows like “Anne With An E” have been canceled.
With more streaming services entering the market, Netflix should find a way on determining which tv series get renewed. Netflix should focus on quality over quantity, this would help their subscriber rate, since viewers would know that the shows will be well written.
