But, some of the cancelations from the streaming giant have baffled audiences when shows develop strong fanbases and receive rave reviews. While this appears to be a problem across the platform, with some shows appearing to be canceled for no clear reason, superhero shows have suffered an unusually high turnover. Aside from the clear success of The Umbrella Academy, Netflix has canceled most superhero shows after just one or two seasons.
Despite Positive Reception, Netflix Usually Cancels Superhero Shows
Netflix Struggles With Superhero Shows
Even in the case of The Umbrella Academy, the show has only received four seasons, with the fourth season set to conclude the series. And despite its success, the planned spin-off series which would follow the alternate universe heroes, The Sparrow Academy, was canceled before it ever began (via What’s On Netflix). However, these are far from the only casualties of the superhero genre to be caught up in Netflix’s cancelations. Shows like I Am Not Okay With This, Jupiter’s Legacy and Lockwood & Co. were all canceled after their first season, despite largely positive reviews from audiences.
In addition, Warrior Nun and Raising Dion were abruptly canceled after the shows second season, resulting in these popular titles coming to a sudden stop. These shows were all based on comics and graphic novels, just like popular adaptations on other streaming platforms, but for whatever reason, Netflix closed the book before the show took off, even when these shows scored high on review sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
Show
RT Critic Score
RT Audience Score
I Am Not Okay With This
86%
85%
Jupiter’s Legacy
41%
72%
Lockwood & Co.
94%
Warrior Nun
84%
97%
Raising Dion
91%
52%
Why Netflix Struggles With Superhero Shows
Netflix’s Premature Cancelation Problems
When it comes to canceling new shows, Netflix frequently cites metrics such as the total views for a specific show, but there is another metric that could be even more closely tied to the cancelations; completion rate (via Forbes). While superhero shows demand a larger budget than most shows that have less need for special effects shots, the real reason many of these shows end up canceled prematurely could be down to whether they hook viewers to the very end. Which could explain why some of these shows appear to be popular, get rave reviews, and rack up streaming hours, but they still get cut.
Many of the most popular superhero shows appear on platforms, like Disney+ for Marvel, Max for DC, and there’s further stiff competition for Netflix from Amazon Prime Video with The Boys and Invincible. The competition is strong in this niche, and despite Netflix pulling ideas from comics and graphic novels, it hasn’t landed a series about superheroes that has turned the tides and brought viewers to the platform and away from the competition. But with the latest superhero show on Netflix sitting at 100% on RT, this could be about to change.
Will Supacell Be The Show To Break Netflix’s Superhero Curse?
Supacell Could Finally Break The Curse
Supacell has recently made a big splash on Netflix, rising to the number two spot on the Global Top 10 for English language TV shows in its second week of release. In addition, the show has received 100% positive reviews on RT from critics, and a total of 80% positive scores from audiences. However, the show’s biggest advantage is just how gripping it is. In the short six-episode season, Supacell is a show that actively pulls the viewer into the next episode with bated breath for what happens next.
Whatever the metric, it appears that Supacell has a good shot at breaking tradition and getting renewed by Netflix, hopefully to at least finish out the three-season plan which the creator, Rapman, has made abundantly clear to Netflix officials he has prepared for the future of Supacell on Netflix. However, Netflix has the final say in the fate of the heroes featured in Supacell, and it remains to be seen if the series will break the curse and get a substantial run.
