Another Show Bites the Dust

4th November 2019

Credit: IMDb

We’ve all been there, there’s a show that you simply can’t get enough of. You’ll be sat in bed binging hour after hour of it, investing time in the characters and storylines. So, it sucks when it ends but at least you are given some semblance of an ending in most cases. However, there are the times when there is a show that for one reason or another gets cancelled before its time and leaves us wondering what could have happened.

Daredevil (and other Marvel-Netflix shows)

One of the key selling points of the streaming service Netflix was the Marvel shows which showed a much darker side of the superhero genre through bloody well-written stories. The brilliant performances by Charlie Cox in Daredevil and Krysten Ritter in Jessica Jones portraying people who aren’t good or bad, just human and deals with serious issues like religion and substance abuse are some of my favourites in recent memory. The latest season of Daredevil, in my opinion, was the best yet improving on all fronts from previous seasons. So, when shows like Luke Cage and Iron Fist got cancelled, I was disappointed. I had no real worries about the other Marvel-Netflix properties due to how much more well-received they were. But as a result of viewership of season 3 of Daredevil dropping by 50%, Netflix then took the axe to Daredevil and shortly after airing latest seasons for Punisher and Jessica Jones, cancelled them too. So just like that all the characters we have known since 2015 we won’t be able to enjoy again. This is made all the harder as it's unlikely we’ll see them in this style in the MCU due to the darker tone that simply wouldn’t match.

Credit: IMDb

Firefly

Star Wars meets the Wild West. The much-beloved but short-running TV show Firefly took this premise and ran with it building up a universe in no time that was easy to wish you were part of. Made by pre-avengers Joss Whedon, the show had all the charisma and charm of the MCU and made the show feel like the fun uncle of Star Trek. Leading as Captain Malcolm Reynolds was Nathan Fillion in one of his most iconic roles to date and cemented the character as one of the greats in pop culture. But due to poor ratings, thanks to bad handling by Fox Network airing episodes in the wrong order the show was cancelled after only 14 episodes. It may have been given a spin-off movie Serenity in 2005 which was enjoyable and gave a decent conclusion, but that just left me wanting more.

Credit: IMDb

Sense8

Netflix has given us some great shows, but, like the Marvel properties, has also taken them away in a brutal way. Another example would have to be Sense8 which followed 8 individuals around the world who are connected due to a linked threat. The show is made all the authentic as for the most part it is filmed on sight around the world. This made Sense8 one of the most expensive shows on the streaming service. The show was well received and enjoyed by a large audience but apparently “not large enough” according to Netflix boss Ted Sarandos to substantiate the cost, so it was cancelled. The show did later receive another episode acting as a goodbye and tie up loose ends so to attempt to appease fan outcry.