Netflix has always claimed that it bases its renewal strategy on engagement and completion, which led to much outrage when the company’s boss stated in no uncertain terms that he’d never canceled a show he believed to be popular. We’re nearly four months on from its most recent season dropping, though, and the jury still remains out on the future of Shadow and Bone.
Sometimes it can take the streaming service days or weeks to announce whether or not a series will sink or swim, but months is an all too regular occurrence that leaves fans on tenterhooks for way too long. Those with a soft spot have tried to game the system and artificially inflate the fantasy favorite’s numbers, but the sentiment is that it won’t work in hoodwinking the almighty algorithm.
Even if an answer on whether or not season 3 of Shadow and Bone will happen more than likely won’t be coming until after the strikes, What’s on Netflix has gathered some new data from Plum Research that doesn’t make for particularly encouraging reading based on the metrics Netflix uses to determine the fate of its in-house exclusives.
According to the numbers, only 36 percent of viewers finished season 2 within a week of starting it, while 52 percent of subscribers managed to get through it 28 days or less, with almost 57 percent powering through a hefty eight episodes in 90 days. That’s lower than The Night Agent, Ginny & Georgia, and Outer Banks – which will all return with new seasons – but higher than the also-renewed The Recruit, which is something at least.