Netflix cancels ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ after three seasons
Netflix is keeping up its habit of canceling shows after three seasons, no matter what the level of interest. The service has dropped Santa Clarita Diet just weeks after its third season premiered on March 29th. It’s not clear what prompted the decision, although it’s fairly unusual for Netflix in that the zombie romcom not only had star power (most notably Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant) and its fair share of fans, but was strictly an in-house production. Other shows receiving the axe in recent months have come from external studios, such as the Marvel shows and One Day at a Time.
The company has let some of its comedies run for longer, such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (four seasons), Fuller House (ending after five seasons) and Grace and Frankie (renewed for a sixth season).
Whatever the reasons, the cancellation fits a pattern of Netflix aggressively trimming shows as of late. It hasn’t really explained why, but the company is well-known for using data to determine its programming. However strong Santa Clarita Diet‘s viewership might have been, Netflix might have decided that running past three seasons might not have been financially justifiable. The streaming giant spends several billion per year on original content — it might not want to fund the mounting costs of a long-running show if it doesn’t think it’ll get a similar increase in subscribers.
And unfortunately, you’re not likely to see a revival on another platform. Netflix’s control of the show gives it the final say over distribution, and it’s unlikely to share a series that could still attract customers as a back catalog item. Unless Netflix decides to revive the series on its own, you’ll have to be satisfied with what’s on offer.
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