You know the drill by now; Netflix drops a popular new series that survives for several seasons if its lucky, and then either gets the rare opportunity to draw to a close on its own terms or ends up placed on the chopping block ahead of time in order to infuriate audiences everywhere. Clearly, though, neither the streaming service nor the team behind Elite have gotten the memo.
The Spanish-language teen drama debuted back in October 2018, and has been going from strength to strength ever since. With 49 episodes under its belt already, Netflix has done the unthinkable and renewed it once more for an eighth season, which in turn sees it surpass Grace and Frankie and Orange is the New Black as the longest-running live-action Netflix original, after the dramatic comedies were tied for first on seven stints apiece.
Given the platform’s reputation for wielding the axe with ruthless and reckless abandon, any project being awarded an eight-season run is nothing short of remarkable given the facts, evidence, and history that have seen the odds increasingly stacked against anything lasting more than a couple of years.
Elite being able to knock out another eight installments most likely before the end of 2024 is surely a benefit, too, seeing as it provides an annual source of guaranteed viewership that not many on-demand exclusives can lay claim to given the exorbitant waiting times between new runs of any major outfit’s biggest hits.
Dozens upon dozens of shows have been canned after one or two, so we can only applaud Elite for managing to fly its flag for so long.