The talk of the town in the Netflix world this week had undeniably been the cancellations of five shows, four of which had only made it through one season before the streamer pulled the plug. The fifth, well, that’s Shadow and Bone, the latest in a too-long list of disgraced fantasy series, which seem to constantly have their hefty budgets used against them as justification for Netflix continuously cutting them off at the knees. Safe to say fans aren’t happy.
If there are fans who are happy this Thursday, it’s those who have been waiting anxiously for the sixth and final season of The Crown, which delivers an intimate look at Princess Diana’s final days and has just landed on the platform — and in the process, created a massive schism between critical reception and public opinion. Meanwhile, Selling Sunset and Sweet Home fans will be equally pleased with the news we are sharing this week, while Christmas movie enthusiasts will find a new addition to their Holiday watchlist below. Happy streaming (and our condolences, Shadow and Bone fans)!
Shadow and Bone and 4 more canceled, Netflix blames the strikes
Now that studios have finally agreed to better deals for writers and actors across Hollywood, the real impact of the over-three-month industry stand-by is beginning to be felt. Netflix is among the companies now taking stock of the situation and assessing the damages. As expected, the streamer has begun a wave of cancellations to alleviate its 2024/2025 release schedule, per Deadline.
Among the first casualties is the fantasy series Shadow and Bone, whose limbo status since the premiere of its second season in March had been continuously questioned. The delays in any kind of news spelled the worse for the beloved live-action adaptation and now its fate has been definitively confirmed. Fans aren’t the least bit surprised that a fantasy show was one of Netflix’s first cuts, given the platform’s fickle history with the genre, but are now wondering if the rights to the book series will be forever lost in an industry purgatory.
Much less impactful but disappointing nonetheless are the cancellations of the Kim Cattrall-led drama Glamorous, and three adult drama animated series. Netflix’s animation department has undergone major restructuring in the past year. According to Deadline, the canceled series Agent Elvis, Farzar, and Captain Fall had all been launched under the previous leadership in the adult section.
The critical and public reception of the first half of The Crown‘s last season could not be more disparate
Fans of The Crown have all been waiting for the season that finally deals with what is arguably the most famous episode in the British royal family’s modern history, Princess Diana’s tragic death. It’s finally here as the first half of the sixth and final season of the Emmy-winning sensation trails the beloved royal’s final days. However, as much as the crowds are loving it, resulting in a 98% audience score on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the professional opinion-makers aren’t so impressed.
The sixth season of The Crown is currently sporting a harrowing 42% critic score based on 12 reviews. While some, like Beyond The Trailer’s Grace Randolph and Awards Daily’s Joey Moser, compliment the “true crime” “somber” turn in the final stretch of the series, others reproach its slow descent into soap opera territory, like the scathing review from The Guardian‘s Lucy Mangan. For The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Feinberg describes the first batch of episodes as a remake of The Crown creator Peter Morgan’s other royal bio-pic 2006’s The Queen. Much like him, other critics also feel that the show is no longer pushing its medium forward, and has run its course. But does that matter, when the viewers are getting what they’ve always wanted?
Netflix tugs on the Holiday heartstrings with new seasonal release, Best. Christmas. Ever!
If you haven’t already, you can commence your Christmas celebrations by giving Netflix’s latest Holiday rom-com a watch. Best. Christmas. Ever! stars Heather Graham, Jason Biggs, Brandy, and Matt Cedeño, and has just landed on the streamer. The movie sees two old college classmates (Graham and Brandy) reunite as one tries to prove the other’s life is not as perfect as it seems. Of course, Holiday cheer and end-of-year hindsight eventually lead to emotional realizations about accepting the best parts of your life. Perfect cozy Christmas vibes!
Selling Sunset renewed for an 8 season on the heels of an explosive Season 7 reunion
The only thing that can make Selling Sunset fans happier than the season 7 reunion episode finally making its way to Netflix is the news that the real estate reality series is coming back for an 8th season. The fashionable look into the world of L.A.’s property market, which has originated the spin-off Selling the OC, has been a consistent hit for Netflix, which has found a profitable beat in the reality genre.
The reunion episode was filled with relationship drama between Oppenheim Group president Jason Oppenheim and ex-girlfriends, real estate agent Chrishell Stause and model Marie-Lou Nurk. As for the fate of Bre Tiesi, there are no new updates in the special episode, but The Hollywood Reporter confirms the agent and cast member remains unsure about her future in the brokerage. There’s no official date of release for the new season just yet, but Oppenheim tells THR that filming is just around the corner.
A South Korean hit that took three years to get a continuation finally has a trailer
Sweet Home fans, season 2 is so close, we can almost feel it. The trailer, which Netflix has just revealed, makes it seem like the grueling three-year wait was worth it. Song Kang returns as the well-intended protagonist Cha Hyun-Su, whose main objective in this new season will be finding a vaccine to stop the virus that is turning people into monsters.
“Mankind is a virus and the monsters are the vaccines,” Dr. Lim grimly warns in the opening minutes of the trailer, extending the show’s themes, recurrent in the dystopian genre, of what defines human nature in the most extreme of situations. Intense action, emotions, and a good dose of gore are this extended teaser’s big promises for the long-awaited second season of Netflix’s first big South Korean smash-shit.