Another victim of Netflix's abrupt cancelation- The supernatural thriller series First Kill has been given the axe after just one season. When will the streamer snap out of this tailspin? But mostly, why does it cancel TV shows despite their popularity?
The hit teen vampire drama First Kill won't be proceeding with its second instalment. This comes as a shock, given that the show premiered less than two months ago- June 10 2022.
Netflix announced the tragic news on August 2, claiming they axed the series because of its low viewership, which didn't warrant a price tag for a second season production.
Felicia D. Henderson, First Kill's showrunner, said she was disappointed that the streaming company couldn't renew the show, given its completion rate wasn't high enough.
She further explained that Netflix's marketing of the series wasn't ideal and that the concept of monsters vs monster hunters, and the dispute between two powerful families wasn't promoted.
First Kill follows a teen lesbian romance between a vampire, Juliette and a vampire hunter Calliope. Juliette is initially set on killing Calliope to be initiated into her vampire matriarch. Ironically, Calliope targets Juliette for her vampire hunt.
The two eventually fall in love, but figure out their relationship won’t be easy to navigate because their families are arch nemesis.
Though Netflix bases its show cancelations on production versus viewership, First Kill was viewed by a relatively high number of fans, breaking into the top 10 list of English language shows in its first three premiere days, landing the seventh position.
In its first week, First Kill garnered 48 million viewership hours, trailing behind Stranger Things season 4 and Peaky Blinders season 6.
In ratings, First Kill scores 6.3/10 on IMDb, 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and 91% on Google Reviews. The show obviously showed much promise, but Netflix still chose to cancel it.
Outraged fans have taken to Twitter to express their frustration with First Kill's cancelation. One fan expressed, 'First Kill getting canceled after doing 100 million PLUS viewing hours. Netflix hates lesbians and it shows.”
'Renewing heartstopper for two more seasons and cancelling First Kill when it pulled in over 2.2 million more views than heartstopper in the first two weeks… I'm so unbelievably tired of this,' commented another angry fan.
Netflix booting shows has become commonplace recently, and we might have to brace ourselves for more cancelations. It's just a matter of time to see the next victim show.