Netflix Explains Cancellation of ‘Sense8’ and ‘The Get Down’
Not too long ago, Netflix announced the cancellation of two major original series that have been lauded for its representation. Both The Get Down and Sense8 were axed only after a brief period of time on the streaming site, the former after one season and the latter after two. Despite fan outrage and petitions to at least try and save Sense8, executives maintained the cancellation.
Initially, there was no official released reasoning for these shows’ cancellation; it seemed that both these series garnered quite a fan-base and had excellent representation of the LGBT as well as people of color. It was speculated that the costs were just too high to keep the show, but there was no definite answer.
However, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has offered some more insight as to why shows like The Get Down and Sense8 were cancelled. At the PGA press conference, Sarandos said, “Relative to what you spent, are people watching it? That is pretty traditional. […] When I say that, a big expensive show for a huge audience is great. A big, expensive show for a tiny audience is hard even in our model to make that work very long.”
So it seems it all does come down to cost. Variety had reported that Sense8 cost around $9 million per episode to create and The Get Down costs more than that, reaching about $12 million per episode. Certainly, Sarandos praised both shows, saying that the producers “made an incredible contribution to our culture with those shows.”
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Variety
