Everyone can relate to that gut-wrenching feeling when you find out a network or streamer axed your favorite show. Netflix has launched a slew of popular original series in the past decade, but many of them don’t last past a few seasons no matter how popular they seem to be.
Sometimes, creators decide to end their show on their own terms. Or they know ahead of time that a cancellation is coming and have enough time to give fans a satisfactory ending (or at least some kind of planned conclusion). Other times, shows forever hang in unfinished limbo while fans wonder what the ending would have been if the showrunners had had a chance to pen an ending.
2023 was a big year for Netflix cancelations and endings — both planned and unplanned. Between animated adult shows like Disenchantment, dramas like Firefly Lane, and teen shows like Sex Education and Never Have I Ever, here are some of the best Netflix shows we’re saying goodbye to in 2023.
Sex Education
Sadly, Sex Education has graduated and moved on. Creator Laurie Nunn gave fans four seasons of drama, heart, and, well, sex education before its 2023 cancellation. While some kids might be traumatized knowing that their mom is a sex therapist, the main character Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) learns from his mom Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson), and puts her insights into practice at his own school.
Not every school has the best sex ed department, but teens need support, education, and advice when it comes to navigating relationships, consent, and sex in a safe and positive way. While Jean doesn’t have the best track record in her own life, Otis goes from being completely uninterested in her field to running a sex ed clinic in school. During the show’s final season, which received a planned ending, the series goes from a racy teen drama to tackling some heavy spiritual connotations that physically manifest. Who saw that coming?
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 32
Ended: Sept. 21
Watch on Netflix
Disenchantment
What could possibly be better than a talking demon voiced by Eric André? The 2018 animated adult series Disenchantment centers around comedy icon Abbie Jacobson’s character Bean: a tomboy princess tasked with saving her kingdom amidst family drama that gives Snow White a run for her money. For a raunchy satire sparked by fairy tales and fantasy, Disenchantment manages to tackle philosophical questions about life and the afterlife. But really, dark humor and chaos dipped in fantasy tropes is the name of the game with this show.
Matt Groening and Josh Weinstein created the series in 2018, and the show ran for five seasons. Luckily, Disenchantment got notice for their ending, which tied up the plotlines as best as the creators could.
Seasons: 3
Episodes: 50
Ended: Sept. 1
Watch on Netflix
Never Have I Ever
Sometimes, creators choose to end a series in its prime rather than risk it fizzling out down the line. That was the case for Never Have I Ever, which aired its fourth and final season in June of 2023.
Transitioning a young adult series from high school to college is often the kiss of death for a series — or, at least, a turning point in quality. Rather than figuring out a way to have a cohesive college-based series with all of its leads, Mindy Kaling opted to conclude Never Have I Ever at the end of Devi Vishwakumar’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) high school journey.
What may seem like a typical teen love triangle comedy on the surface is actually a deep show that tackles subjects like grief and culture — all while showcasing one of the best teen therapy arcs we’ve seen on TV (helmed by Niecy Nash’s character Dr. Ryan). Pooma Jagannathan plays Devi’s mom Nalani, while Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) fight for Devi’s wandering affections. Meanwhile, Tennis legend John McEnroe narrates the series.
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 40
Ended: June 8
Watch on Netflix
Firefly Lane
Many shows that toggle between the past and the present don’t work, but Firefly Lane is the exception. Rather than feeling like a quirky attempt to seem artistic, Firefly Lane’s somewhat disjointed storytelling perfectly emulates how memories unfold over time. The series centers around two relatively dysfunctional and co-dependent best friends whose childhoods, love lives, and careers intersect throughout the ups and downs of their coming-of-age and through adulthood.
Katherine Heigl plays the carefree news broadcaster Tully Heart while Sarah Chalke takes on the more level-headed and family-centric Kate Mularkey. The TV adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s book by the same name debuted in 2021, with the second half of the third and final season airing in 2023. Fans will be happy to know that showrunner Maggie Friedman had time to bring the story to its intended ending with a satisfying yet poignant conclusion.
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 26
Ended: April 27
Watch on Netflix
Sex/Life
It’s always rough when a show gets canceled a month after its latest season. Sex/Life met that fate directly following the release of its second second. Stacy Rukeyser adapted the show from B.B. Easton’s memoir, 44 Chapters About Men.
The show follows Sarah Shahu (Billie Connelly): a mom with two kids who’s seduced by the memories of her past sexcapades in the wake of her suburban life. Sarah has to decide if her domestic life is what she wants or if she’d rather dig up her wild past and make it her present.
So, will it be her husband Cooper (Mike Vogel), or her ex, Brad (Adam Demos)? Due to the quick cancelation, the show’s Season 2 finale wasn’t meant to conclude the series, but it does offer more closure than many abrupt cancelations. If it wasn’t clear already, this is one of TV’s raunchiest recent shows that plays out much like a romance novel.
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 14
Ended: March 2
Watch on Netflix
Lockwood & Co.
Move over, zombies. Ghosts are the new deadly grave-escaping threats. It’s the biggest bummer when a show doesn’t even make it past its first season. Netflix’s 2023 show Lockwood & Co. faced that fate just four months after its January debut, reportedly due to a lack of viewers. The British series isn’t alone when it comes to short-lived fantasy-based teen shows on Netflix. Series like First Kill and The Imperfects can attest to that.
Ghost hunting is the name of the game in Lockwood & Co. Ruby Stokes stars as psychic Lucy Carlyle, who joins Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman) and George Karim (Ali Hadji-Heshmati) in their ghost-hunting endeavor called Lockwood & Co. So, why exactly are teens tasked with hunting down ghosts that kill with a single touch? Naturally, they’re the only ones who can see them.
Even if the show didn’t get canceled, the characters would eventually age out of the show’s premise. Yet because of the series’ surprise cancelation, creator Joe Cornish didn’t have a chance to pen a genuine ending for the show based on Jonathan Stroud’s books by the same name.
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
Ended: Jan. 27
Watch on Netflix
The Crown
Like the monarchy itself, The Crown has had a long life by Netflix standards. The Peter Morgan-created show premiered in 2016 and it’s debuting its sixth and final season later in 2023. The Crown centers around Queen Elizabeth II and follows the Royal from a young woman into her golden years. The Crown employs different actors for each of its two-season increments to naturally glide through the sands of time without unrealistic CGI or makeup to age an actor.
Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton have all played the queen herself. Meanwhile, the series has showcased an array of Hollywood talent — from Matt Smith (Prince Phillip) to Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret).
Seasons: 6
Episodes: 60
Ending: Late 2023
Watch on Netflix
1899
Netflix’s frequently-used cancelation axe was wielded for the first time in 2023 back in January, and the first victim claimed was sci-fi mystery series 1899. Set on a steamship crossing the Atlantic Ocean at the turn of the 20th century, the show follows a diverse group of passengers as they stumble upon a nightmarish riddle when a second ship is discovered adrift on the open seas.
The show enjoyed a solid, if not especially remarkable, critical and audience reception. But it did manage to claim the No. 1 spot in Netflix’s most-watched list and rack up more than 79 million viewing hours in its first week. However, that wasn’t enough to convince Netflix execs to greenlit a second season and the show is now over after just a single eight-episode season. It's been reported, but not confirmed, the show had a low completion rate which could explain its early end.
To make matters worse 1899’s first season ended on a massive cliffhanger that looks set never to be resolved. - Rory Mellon
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
Ended: Jan. 23
Watch on Netflix
Inside Job
It turns out that even getting renewed for a second season isn't enough to keep a show safe from a surprise Netflix cancelation. Workplace animated-comedy Inside Job was canned by the popular streamer after just a single season comprised of 18 episodes.
This one really stings because last year it was confirmed that Inside Job season 2 was given the green light, but clearly, Netflix rethought that decision and it's now been confirmed that the follow-up season won't see the light of day. We don't know why Netflix u-turned on the show, or how far into production its second season got before being axed. All we know for sure is that Inside Job has been canceled.
Inside Job wasn't the only adult animated show to receive its marching orders from Netflix this year. Dead End: Paranormal Park was also canceled after two seasons, even though it boasts a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and seemed well-liked. - Rory Mellon
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 20
Ended: Jan. 23
Watch on Netflix
More from Tom's Guide
