In late February Netflix cancelled a lot of popular shows due to Covid-19 or other unannounced reasons, but let other shows continue to film despite the virus. The shows cancelled included: Messiah, AJ and the Queen, Spinning out, Soundtrack, Marianne, Mortel, Osmosis, Altered Carbon, The Society, I Am Not Okay With This, Astronomy Club, Turn Up Charlie, V Wars, October Faction, and Insatiable. 

Other shows, such as Outer Banks, Riverdale, Stranger Things and many more, have continued despite production interruptions.

Although Netflix claimed the cancellations were due to low ratings and views or Covid-19 people can’t help but speculate other reasons these shows might have been cancelled as opposed to postponed. 

Many shows that were cancelled were said to be cancelled due to Covid-19 and the dangers of filming. Netflix stated the shows I Am Not Okay With This and The Society, both of which had already been picked up for a second season before the pandemic hit, were cancelled because of budget increases due to Covid-19, the dangers of filming with a large cast, the availability of a large cast, and uncertainty around production dates. Despite how well they were receipted by viewers. 

However, the hit Netflix show Stranger Things was picked up for its fifth season around the same time and is still scheduled to resume filming September 28. The new show Outer Banks, was so well-received not only did it get a second season, they have already begun filming. In addition, the After series already has a second movie lined up to premiere October 23 and has been renewed for not only a third movie but also a fourth.  

After seeing all the other shows and movies either postponing their production or just starting up anyway fans eliminate Covid-19 as a reason to cancel these shows. 

Another reason Netflix put out for cancelling many shows was low views and ratings. However if you compare views and ratings of cancelled shows to continuing shows you see this may not be a viable option. The show I Am Not Okay With This had received a 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, a ⅘ on Common Sense Media, and a 7.6 on IMDb; compared to the show Stranger Things which had a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, ⅘ on Common Sense Media, and a 8.8 on IMDb. Although Stranger Things scored slightly higher than I Am Not Okay With This, the difference is not so big it should deem the show cancel worthy. 

In another case if you compare the rating of The Society to the ratings on the After movie it is a very different story. The Society received a 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, a ⅗ on Common sense media, and a 7.1 on IMDb; whereas After received a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, a ⅗ on Common Sense Media, and a 5.4 on IMDb. It’s pretty obvious that The Society was far more well-receipted than After. However The Society was cancelled but After is continuing on to become a 4-5 movie series. 

Although some shows that were cancelled did receive lower ratings, some received very high ratings, so views and ratings can’t be the main factor in cancelling all of those shows. 

At this point fans have started speculating there is a deeper, behind the scenes, meaning to the cancellation of some of the shows. 

“I don’t think the shows were cancelled because of Covid-19 because other shows are still going to continue filming,” freshman Maria Faust said. “I think they were really cancelled because most of them include some type of minority that other shows don’t include.” 

Which is a fair point, many of these shows included people with disabilities, people of color, and people that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Although a few of the shows that are continuing do include some of those minorities, they don’t include near as many. In the past Netflix has had some scandals involving mental illness, race, disabilities, and many more. So it is no surprise to some viewers that they would cancel these shows over others because of the higher amount of minorities depicted. 

However other viewers are very skeptical about that being the reason. 

“I do think they were most likely canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” senior Praveen Chirumamilla said. “The plot of some shows may allow for social distancing to be possible. Their budget may also be higher, so it could be possible that they have the capacity to follow CDC guidelines while on set.” 

Which is a good point, maybe some of the kept shows brought in more money, resulting in a bigger budget. 

In the end it is still unclear why these shows got cancelled. Is Netflix being honest with its viewers or do fan theories hold some truth?