Netflix has developed a reputation for both grabbing beloved cancelled series and giving them a new home (Arrested Development, anyone?) and being ruthless when it comes to canning their own content despite its popularity. For every You and Trailer Park Boys, there’s a Glow and The Get Down. But, as much as the streaming giant has picked up other shows and given them a new lease of life, there are some Netflix originals that have been rescued after the opaque tech company decided they weren’t worth funding anymore. Read ahead to find out what Netflix losses were other companies’ gains.
Star Wars: Clone Wars
This is probably the most famous show to air once it had been dropped by Netflix, although to an extent it’s a bit of a dodgy inclusion on this list as Netflix didn’t quite cancel it after one season, but instead didn’t make any more content as Disney had the IP rights. However, as it’s a great show, we’re including it anyway!
This animated series initially aired on Cartoon Network, but the sixth season was picked up by Netflix after Disney purchased LucasFilm. Clone Wars was one of the few parts of the Star Wars extended universe that was kept by the House of Mouse once they’d bought all the IP, and went on to have a sterling season on the competing streaming giant, as Disney+ was but a twinkle in a money-hungry producer’s eye. Despite the season — subtitled The Lost Missions — getting a lot of love, Netflix declined to produce more of it, and fans of the series only got a seventh and final season over half a decade later when it was released on Disney+. However, that season went on to achieve a lot of critical and commercial acclaim, so we’re counting this as a Netflix loss.
Tuca & Bertie
Tuca & Bertie follows the adventures of two anthropomorphic birds and best friends who live in the same apartment complex. Starring Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, the rest of the cast was also full of talent – with stars like Richard E. Grant and Reggie Watts among those who lent their voices to the show. Tuca (Haddish) is the impulsive one, although as the series begins she’s just become sober, whereas Bertie (Wong) is a lot more nervous and risk-averse. Although full of charming animation and bright colors, the show focuses on some heavy themes, including Tuca’s alcoholism, and issues around misogyny and sexual abuse.
Despite earning rave reviews when it first dropped on Netflix back in May 2019, the streaming giant cancelled Tuca & Bertie just two months after it first aired, disappointing fans and critics alike. However, in 2021, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim came to the rescue and gave eager fans a 2nd season, with a 3rd coming out the year after that. Sadly, the network then followed in Netflix’s footsteps and cancelled the show without giving any real reason. The 3rd season still has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so our best guess is that viewing figures weren’t great.
One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time has a special place on this list as it was the first-ever show to be cancelled by Netflix and picked up by another network (in this case, Pop). The series, a remake of a 1975 CBS show of the same name, reshapes the original show about a single mother to a more modern formula and follows a Cuban-American family who live in the infamous Echo Park neighbourhood in L.A. Led by a veteran single mother who is suffering from PTSD, the Netflix revival added several other dimensions to the series that weren’t there in the original, like themes of racism, gender identity, and mental illness. Featuring a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Justina Machado, Todd Grinnell, Isabella Gomez, and Marcel Ruiz, the series blends humor and drama perfectly, and delivers a set of characters you can’t help but love.
After three incredibly successful seasons from a critical standpoint, and with an outsized cultural impact, Netflix decided to shelve One Day at a Time, leading to a lot of protests and an online campaign to save the series. After some legal wrangling, the CBS outfit Pop picked it up, only for the show to be sadly cancelled once more as a result of the pandemic. Although the showrunners and producers were hopeful of it finding a third home, they finally admitted defeat in the winter of 2020.
Slasher
This horror anthology series didn’t begin life on Netflix, but its 2nd and 3rd seasons were picked up by the streaming giant before they cancelled it, only for the video on demand service Shudder to pick it up for a 4th and final season. Slasher — which premiered on Chiller in 2016 — follows a different masked serial killer each season, as well as their victims and occasionally law enforcement as they attempt to solve the murders. A 5th season recently premiered too, and fans can be hopeful there will be a 6th. Although Netflix stopped producing the show, seasons 1, 2, and 3 (titled “The Executioner,” “Guilty Party,” and “Solstice”) are all still available to watch on the service.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Another entry on this list with a long and storied history that goes beyond its Netflix roots, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was an 80s Canadian cult classic that was picked up by Comedy Central the next decade, before eventually being cancelled in 1996. However, in 2015, show creator Joel Hodgson crowdfunded for a new season, which aired on Netflix. This was followed by a 2nd, much shorter season of the show, before the streaming company canned the series. However, thanks to its resourceful, dedicated fandom, the show was once again revived in 2021 on a purpose-made network named Gizmoplex.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 has a simple but wacky premise: a janitor is trapped aboard a space ship by two mad scientists and forced to watch terrible films until one turns him insane. To get through the torture, he builds several robot companions, and they spend their time going through the B-movie back catalogue and riffing on the films. Weird, wonderful, and beloved.
Uncoupled
Neil Patrick Harris isn’t exactly the nicest man on Earth, but he’s a good sitcom actor, and as the star of Uncoupled he was pretty brilliant. The show was a smart, funny, and intriguing look at modern queer dating that was cancelled by Netflix after just one season, despite appearing in the company’s top-10 list for six weeks. Showtime picked it up for a second season which was due to air this year, but is being held back due to the Writers Guild of America strike.
Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya
This animated series, based on the manga Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada, chronicles the adventures of Seiya, a teen who becomes a fabled Bronze Knight. The Knights are on a warpath, fighting various other dangerous warriors and forces so that they can become Goddess Athena warriors, but Seiya has something else in mind: he’s looking for his missing sister, and thinks traveling with the Knights is the best way to find her.
Netflix produced and aired the 1st season of 12 episodes of this show (which is also somewhat based on a classic anime the streaming giant once had the rights to), split into batches of six which were released in 2019 and 2020. However, they declined to produce another season, and the show was acquired by Crunchyroll, who released a 2nd last year, with a 3rd one in the works.
DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders
As cruel as it can seem, kids’ shows get cancelled all the time too. This animated series, set in the How to Train Your Dragon universe, follows two human twins named Dak and Leyla who were raised by dragons. Because of their upbringing, they can communicate directly with the creatures, and use their power to help the dragon and human population of the small town of Huttsgalor.
Netflix produced two seasons and two specials before giving the show the axe in 2020, but it was soon picked up by Peacock, who made another four seasons of content for fans. The show ultimately ended in 2022 with a 6th and final season.