Netflix boss explains why Sense8 got cancelled
A Netflix boss has responded to protests against the cancellation of TV show, Sense8.
The acclaimed drama series from transgender sibling sci-fi directors, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, follows eight pansexual individuals around the globe with an apparent psychic connection.
Despite the show’s passionate fanbase, streaming giant Netflix pulled the plug on the show last month after its second season was launched, due to underwhelming ratings.
More than half a million people signed a petition calling on Netflix to revive the show, but the streaming service’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos spurned the calls during a Producers Guild of America conference.
Sarandos said: “[The creators] made an incredible contribution to our culture with those shows. They did a beautiful show… the audience was very passionate, but not large enough to support the economics of something that big, even on our platform.”
He added: “Relative to what you spent, are people watching it? That is pretty traditional. 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.”
Sense8 was rumoured to cost around $9 million per episode to produce, making it one of the most expensive shows on TV. It approaches the cost of Netflix’s flop series, Marco Polo, which lost a reported $200 million over two seasons.
Sarandos added: “It’s one of those things that you know you’re pushing the envelope if every once in a while you fall. And you go back and start over again.”
“After 23 episodes, 16 cities and 13 countries, the story of the Sense8 cluster is coming to an end,” Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix, said in a statement.
“It is everything we and the fans dreamed it would be: bold, emotional, stunning, kick ass, and outright unforgettable. Never has there been a more truly global show with an equally diverse and international cast and crew, which is only mirrored by the connected community of deeply passionate fans all around the world.”
The show’s co-creator Lilly Wachowski previously pulled out of the show’s second season, leaving her sister Lana to run the show alone.
Lilly came out as transgender last year, four years after her sister transitioned.
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12 Comments
Francis
June 13, 08:04In the end it always comes down to the financial aspect of the business. Sometimes I wonder if gays are not supporting of gay shows or if we are just enough to keep the viewership up. Maybe the networks need to start creating great shows on a budget. I wonder how Drag Race has managed to survive this long
ambivalentone
June 13, 08:56RuPaul doesn’t carry cast n crew round the world and is sponsored big time by dem beauty companies…and still prolly has more or less the same views as Sens8
Francis
June 13, 09:15No shade but the beauty brands on the show aren’t the major(popular) ones. Gay themed sitcoms no dey carry cast and crew up and down but they are still getting shutdown after a pilot, a season or 2 seasons
Colossus
June 13, 10:22That’s because those sitcoms were genuinely not funny. They relied on gay stereotypes and repulsive gags instead of actual laugh out loud jokes. Will and grace worked because it was genuinely funny, still is after how many years.
Francis
June 13, 10:55???? we are clearly watching different shows cause I find them funny. Laugh out loud sitcoms don’t really tackle important issues in my opinion.
Pink Panther
June 13, 10:58What shows are these biko? The only LGBT shows I know of, off the cuff, are Will and Grace, Sense8 and Looking. Anyone else out there?
Francis
June 13, 11:07There was the new normal, partners and recently the real oneals
Pink Panther
June 13, 11:10Oh right! The Real Oneals. That was a good show. I was really stunned by its cancellation
Colossus
June 13, 12:36The new normal and Partners were not particularly funny, those are the two shows I watched. I wasn’t surprised when they got cancelled. We don’t really have a lot of shows out there so we cling to the few ones that come along, watching even when they are shoddy. It shouldn’t be so. Want to make a good show, then make a good show. Not throw in gay stereotypes around hoping the gay population will tune in and keep the show alive.
Francis
June 13, 12:38Warreva. They were funny to me. All of you people with over refined sense of humor sef ???
Mandy
June 13, 08:36So Sense8 really isn’t coming back… 🙁
Colossus
June 13, 10:20It all boils down to the numbers, if the ratings and total number of viewers are low, show will get cancelled.