10 Weirdest Reasons Popular TV Shows Were Cancelled

6. Ozark/Sabrina - Netflix Doesn't Make Money Off Old Shows

The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina
Netflix

Once over, Netflix was the safest place you could work on a show. As it was getting off the ground in terms of original programming, the streamer clung on to most of its content, giving even unpopular shows multiple chances of getting an audience invested and subscribed.

That was back in the early 2010s though, and now Netflix is an original programming powerhouse, with literally hundreds of shows under its belt. Now, creatives have the opposite problem, as Netflix cancels programmes left and right no matter how popular they seem to be.

Though it's never been openly discussed by the company, plenty of reports have highlighted the fact that shows which live beyond three or four seasons actually do nothing for the Netflix machine. The company succeeds when new subscribers come in, and the older shows get, the less of a chance they have at bringing in huge numbers of new payers.

Consequently, unless you're a Stranger Things mega-hit, you'll have a hard time convicing Netflix to give your well-liked and watched show a chance of making it to five seasons or beyond - as the likes of Sabrina and Ozark found out this year.

Deadline released a great breakdown of the Netflix model in 2019, but the general idea is it's new content people subscribe for, not the legacy material.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.