Ozark, Easy, Glow, Dark and 14 more series Netflix cancelled even though critics loved them – ranked
What is Netflix’s beef with long-running shows? Here we rank the 18 shows with the highest critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, that were cancelled in 4 seasons or less anyway
Netflix doesn't love long-running TV shows, and sometimes that means great shows get the axe early.
The streaming giant has cancelled plenty of shows that upset fans but were panned by TV critics, such as Everything Sucks! and Gypsy. But it's cancelled ones that were critically acclaimed, too.
Netflix often doesn't see the value in shows that exceed 30 episodes (usually two to three seasons) because they become too expensive and too difficult for new viewers to jump into, Deadline reported last year. That means shows like American Vandal, One Day at a Time, and more have been given the boot earlier than fans, and critics, would have hoped.
The latest Netflix critical darling to get the axe is Ozark. Season three was its best-reviewed season yet, but it will end with a 14-episode season four, Netflix announced this week.
BoJack Horseman is another beloved Netflix series that recently said goodbye. It managed to make it to six seasons before getting cut, which suggested it might have ended on its own terms. But creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg confirmed that it was Netflix's decision and he called out the streaming giant for cancelling shows too quickly.
We've rounded up 18 great TV shows that Netflix has cancelled. We highlighted shows that received an average score over 85 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes or whose final seasons were above 85 per cent, and ranked them based on the average scores. We broke ties with audience scores and if those were the same, with the final season score.
We limited the list to shows that ended with four seasons or fewer on Netflix, which didn't include BoJack Horseman. In the case of a show like Lucifer, which Netflix revived for a fourth season after Fox cancelled it, and has renewed for seasons five and six, we included it because it received just three new seasons on Netflix.
To fans' and critics' delight, though, a couple of these shows have been revived elsewhere.
One Day at a Time, which Netflix cancelled after three seasons, debuted its fourth season on the Pop network this year. Tuca and Bertie was revived for a second season by Adult Swim.
Without further ado, below are 18 cancelled Netflix shows that critics loved: