Netflix Axes Two Fan-Favorite Series, Sparking Outcry

Netflix is apparently in a bit of a cancel-happy phase this week. If you got attached to one of their new shows, well, there’s a chance it’s about to join that ever-growing TV graveyard. And this time, they've axed both a big-budget Western and a comedy with an oddly strong critical following. So, let's break down exactly what happened, and why it's honestly kind of surprising (or, hey, maybe not, if you've watched Netflix long enough).

‘The Abandons’ Gets...Abandoned

First up, Netflix has decided to pull the plug on The Abandons, that rugged Western drama led by Gillian Anderson. The show hit the platform a little over a month ago and actually made some noise at first – landing in Netflix’s Top 10 for English-language series in its first couple of weeks. But turns out, being briefly popular isn’t enough to guarantee a future.

You’d think a cast like this would give the show a longer leash: along with Anderson, there’s Lena Headey, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson, Natalia del Riego, Lucas Till, Aisling Franciosi, Toby Hemingway, Michael Greyeyes, and Ryan Hurst. On paper, that’s a stacked lineup for a Western.

There’s also some TV pedigree behind the scenes – Kurt Sutter (the guy who created Sons of Anarchy, Mayans M.C., and worked on The Shield) was the brains behind this one.

So...what went wrong? Well, in classic Netflix fashion, the heat fizzled out fast. After its decent debut, The Abandons dropped off the streamer’s viewership charts, and critics were honestly not having it: a brutal 30% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 reviews. Ouch. So maybe those cancellations stings a bit less when you look at that number.

‘The Vince Staples Show’ Cancelled After Two Seasons — Despite Critics Kind of Loving It

Now here’s the real eyebrow-raiser: The Vince Staples Show is done after just two seasons. What makes this weird? It actually did really well with critics – season one scored a whopping 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. You don’t see that every day for a rapper-turned-TV-lead satirical comedy, especially not on Netflix.

The series starred Vince Staples himself (yep, the rapper), who co-created the show along with Ian Edelman and Maurice Williams. It’s loosely based on Vince's real life, blurring the line between absurd and autobiographical as "Vince" deals with the (often ridiculous) challenges of daily life back in his hometown, The Beach.

The show pulled in some pretty great guest stars, too. Somewhere along the way you’d see faces like Arturo Castro, Bryan Greenberg, Rick Ross, Franz Drameh, and Beau Billingslea pop up. Still – all that wasn't enough to, apparently, get it to break through with a wider audience.

"Despite failing to catch the attention of a wider audience, The Vince Staples Show still became a hit among critics."

That quote sums up a lot about how Netflix decides what lives and what dies. Sometimes, even if the critics love you, if the algorithms don’t, you don’t get to stick around.

So, Which Show Bit the Dust and Why?

• The Abandons: Starry Western drama from an A-list creator, looked great on a press release, actual show got panned by critics (30% on Rotten Tomatoes), and quickly lost its spot on the Top 10. No official Season 2.
• The Vince Staples Show: Satirical comedy with an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes for Season 1 and decent guest roster, but didn’t find a huge audience. Netflix still nixed it after two seasons.

Bottom line: Netflix giveth and Netflix taketh away. If you got hooked on either of these, sorry—you’re stuck on that cliffhanger forever. (If you made it to the end of The Abandons after reading those reviews, you deserve a medal.)