Yet another Netflix show has been killed off after just a single season, after it failed to light up the streaming service. Time to add a new entry to the list of Netflix canceled shows in 2022.
While it’s not exactly new for Netflix to abandon shows without giving fans anything approaching closure, this one was canceled with even less fanfare than usual, with viewers finding out via a comments thread on the show creator’s Instagram account.
The show in question is On The Verge, a dramedy series following four female friends in their late 40s in LA as they “dig into love and work, with a generous side of midlife crisis.” It was a co-production between Netflix and the French company StudioCanal and starred Julie Delpy, Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Jones, Alexia Landeau and Giovanni Ribisi, among others.
But the show’s arc has been cut short after one season and 12 episodes, for a total running time of six hours and 19 minutes. When asked when the second season would be on an unrelated Instagram post, Delpy — who also acted as executive producer, writer and director of the show — was pretty blunt: “cancelled, but they forgot to announce it was cancelled.” Maybe Netflix was too busy working on the hype campaign for the first full Stranger Things season 4 trailer.
Despite this confirmation being buried in Instagram’s comments section, a few fans have responded with sadness in response. “We needed this show so badly, you wrote such rich complex females over 40 characters,” wrote one, who went on to lament the lack of visibility of middle-age women in television. “And isn’t it ironic that the show wasn’t seen because the Canal and Netflix didn’t promote it?”
Death by algorithm?
That’s a charge that’s been leveled against Netflix before, although it isn't clear here whether the decision came from the U.S. streaming service or Canal+, the French channel which acted as co-producer.
Either way, the mysterious workings of the Netflix recommendations algorithm often decides whether shows live or die, as without sufficient promotion, programmes are relegated to the back pages, findable only if you know the exact terms to search for.
And if a show isn’t working out, then Netflix is brutal at wielding the axe, apparently not being a big believer in the slow-burn hit. We’re less than a third of the way through 2022, and already we’ve seen Gentefied, Archive 81 and The Baby-Sitters Club prematurely ended. But not all Netflix shows end at Netflix's own hands: when you watch Derry Girls season 3 online, you'll see the final season of a show that was only intended to last three seasons.
As I wrote at the time of the latter cancellation, there’s simply no way I’d take a chance on a new Netflix show right now, given the company’s itchy trigger finger — there’s simply too much chance that my time investment won’t be paid back with a satisfying resolution.
Does this apply to On The Verge? Perhaps less so. Not only were the critics generally less kind than with some other shows (“tediously bourgeois and unfathomably shallow,” wrote one), but for those that liked it, it did at least offer a decent resolution of sorts. “I loved the characters and the writing but the last episode could work as a fitting series end,” wrote one tribute on the Instagram comments thread.
Perhaps that’s the way production companies need to work with Netflix and other streaming services from now on? Treat every season finale as the last episode ever… because it might well be.
Still, there are plenty of great shows that are getting more than one season and you can read about the 3 HBO Max shows you need to binge-watch right now and the the 3 Netflix shows you need to binge-watch in April 2022 for a selection of our favorites.
Oh, and are you ready to watch Moon Knight episode 3 online? It only looks to get weirder. Also, check out our guide for how to watch The Kardashians online if you're looking for something a bit more saucy. Speaking of Kim K's family, don't expect to see Ye if you watch Coachella online.
Looking for more drama? The Hornets vs Hawks live stream is the next big NBA play-in tournament game.
In more positive Netflix news, the streamer has just got a useful upgrade to help it make better recommendations. Plus, it's got a new interactive quiz show to take on Wordle. In bad news, this talk show just got canceled after 8 seasons — creating yet another gap in the schedule.
