“Successful series are not sold!”: Netflix boss defends himself against allegations by “Warrior Nun” fans

• Big hits like “Stranger Things” or “The Witcher” run forever on Netflix, all other series are never really safe.
• The streaming service keeps dropping series, which annoys and surprises fans.
• Netflix boss Ted Sarandos now blames the lack of success for the cancellations.

The pain is great when you discover a great new series in the Netflix program and shortly afterwards find out that this very series was suddenly canceled – usually after a cliffhanger finale that leaves many questions unanswered.

In such cases, the suspicion arises that the series was simply not successful enough for Netflix, because the viewing figures are not available to outsiders. But with productions like “Warrior Nun”, “Fate: The Winx Saga”, “1899” or “First Kill” the cancellation came as a surprise because the series all ended up in the Netflix Top 10, the charts of the streaming service – and internationally .

Fans of the discontinued series are therefore not only questioning Netflix’s motives, they are also actively campaigning for a continuation of their favorite series. In an interview with Bloomberg, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos commented on all the angry fans who can’t understand a cancellation.

We have never canceled a successful series. Many of these series were well-intentioned but appealed to very small audiences with very large budgets. The key is being able to target a small audience on a small budget and a large audience on a big budget. If you do it well, you can do it forever.

Ted Sarandos

Of course, only Netflix CEOs know how many times a series needs to be watched on a given budget to be considered a success. “1899” was expensive due to the complex production, but fans are still annoyed that the three-season series never gets a smooth conclusion.

With the other series, the question arises as to whether possibilities were sought behind the scenes before the cancellation to reduce the budget in order to be able to make another season possible. With “Mindhunter”, for example, Netflix was interested in another season, but only if the budget could be reduced. Director David Fincher didn’t agree with that, and the sequel has been on hold ever since.

At least one concluding film, like the one that was shot for “Sense8” after the cancellation, should also be made for “Warrior Nun” and the other series. Netflix would spend significantly less money and accommodate the fans. Of course, it would be even better if another streaming service saved the discontinued series, giving them a second chance.