5 cancelled Netflix shows fans demand should return | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

Netflix viewers are spoilt for choice with the streaming giant constantly offering new content from dark thrillers to sitcoms and period dramas. Still, fans tend to have their favourites which they go back to regularly, and often question why they came to an end despite being hits.

Streamer Netflix recently cancelled The Duffer Brothers’ latest series, The Boroughs, after just one season and it prompted subscribers to take to Reddit to discuss the axed shows they are desperate to see return. From star-studded comedy dramas to bingeable psychological thrillers, a whole host of titles were discussed by raging fans. Here are just a few of the top shows Netflix users would love to see make a comeback.

The most-referenced series in the discussion was Mindhunter, with one fan saying: “100% no question about it.”

“When is the answer not Mindhunter?” another fan penned, while a third said: “MINDHUNTER 100% One of the greatest shows of all time.”

The psychological thriller, based on the 1995 true crime book, debuted in 2017 and ran for two seasons.

A potential third season was put on indefinite hold in 2020, but in 2023, executive producer David Fincher said the series was definitely over.

“I’m very proud of the first two seasons. But it’s a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment,” Fincher said during an interview with Forbes.

“I don’t blame them, they took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer. It’s a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.

“The day our desires are not the same, we have to be honest about parting ways.”

Kaos was a dark comedy series based on Greek mythology and it boasted a star-studded cast led by Jeff Goldblum as Zeus and Janet McTeer as Hera.

The eight-part series was released on Netflix in August 2024 and just two months later, it was cancelled after one season.

The show spent four weeks in the Netflix top 10 charts but failed to garner significant viewership numbers, and cast members were devastated.

One Reddit user said: “I loved how it ended, but they left it just open enough for so much more. SO creative and different.”

Another fumed: “They cancelled Kaos, and I cancelled Netflix. It was the last draw, they kill everything I love and I will not give them one more penny of my money.”

GLOW was a comedy-drama series based on the 1980s syndicated women’s professional wrestling circuit, Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), founded by David McLane.

In 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, but Netflix cancelled it in October 2020 due to financial and production issues caused by the Covid pandemic.

“COVID has killed actual humans. It’s a national tragedy and should be our focus. COVID also apparently took down our show,” series creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch told Deadline.

“Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of GLOW. We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that’s gone.”

One fan echoed on Reddit: “They ended it on the worst note. I think about it all the time.” While another added: “I can’t believe they did us dirty. I’ll never forgive Netflix for this.”

Santa Clarita Diet was a comedy horror series starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, and it followed a husband and wife real estate team.

The couple’s lives were turned upside down when wife Sheila (Barrymore) started showing signs of becoming a zombie.

The series was cancelled after three seasons in April 2019 and it sparked a #SaveSantaClaritaDiet Twitter campaign, rallying for a Season 4 renewal.

On the day they found out about the cancellation, the show’s creator Victor Fresco said in a cheeky statement: “Netflix took a chance on this odd show and for that we will always be grateful.

“They were supportive, ever positive, and appreciative of our work. Until about noon today. Still, they were just one phone call away from being a perfect studio. Not bad.”

Netflix said in a statement shared by Variety: “The world had never known a ‘zom-com’ until Santa Clarita Diet, and we’re indebted to creator Victor Fresco for bringing this idea to Netflix.”

One Reddit fan named it as the show they would love to see return, saying: “SANTA CLARITA DIET! Craziest show with a nutty premise. The chemistry between the family was great. It was the first time I was shocked that a show was cancelled.”

Another added: “I wish they could have squeaked out a short Season 4 just to wrap things up. It will never happen now.”

Archive 81 was a supernatural horror series that was cancelled after just one season.

Based on the podcast of the same name that began in 2016, the series followed Dan Turner (played by Mamoudou Athie), who examined videotapes recorded back in 1994.

Dan found himself in the middle of a dangerous mystery involving a disappearance and a secret cult.

The cancellation was surprising as the show had broken into Nielsen and Netflix’s weekly Top 10 ratings when it debuted.

Deadline reported: “With the streamer laser-focused on analysing viewing versus cost in its renewal decisions, the number of eyeballs Archive 81 drew possibly did not meet the threshold Netflix had set for the series based on its budget.”

One Reddit fan said: “How it wasn’t renewed for a second season is beyond me.” While another added: “Archive 81 was so damn good and left on such a massive cliff hanger. The writers had to think they would get picked up for a second season. Such a shame. I stopped subbing to Netflix because of the cancelling shows early.”