Netflix canceled its adaptation of Cowboy Bebop less than three weeks after the show's debut. While early reviews for the series were poor, some fans were hoping that Netflix would give its latest original a second chance to redeem itself.
The streaming service isn't known for keeping shows for more than a few seasons, however, and has a history of prematurely canceling much more popular originals.
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The adaptation of Cowboy Bebop is based on the 1998 hit anime series of the same name. John Cho stars as Spike Spiegel alongside Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine and Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, each a "cowboy" hunting dangerous criminals while fleeing their own past.
Netflix ordered the series in 2018, but several issues delayed the release, including the time Cho spent recovering from an on-set injury in 2019, followed by production disruptions related to pandemic. Despite these issues, Netflix moved forward with the show and finally released its first season on November 19th.
Unfortunately, early reviews of the show were not favourable, and although some fans thought the live-action adaptation may have potential in the future, Netflix has made the decision to scrap the series. Netflix allegedly crunched the numbers and determined that the cost of a second season would not be justifiable based on season one viewership.
The cost vs. view analysis is something every Netflix series must grapple with, and it's a relentless hurdle. Several past Netflix Originals have been canceled due to costs despite strong ratings, examples of which include The OA and Sense8.
The trend of canceling their originals after just two or three seasons has proved frustrating for some Netflix subscribers. Many seemingly popular and high-quality shows have fallen victim to the company's crunching numbers. Only a relatively small number of originals survived for four or more seasons, mostly older hits like Orange is the New Black and BoJack Horseman.
As for Cowboy Bebop, the first and only season remains available to watch on Netflix. The streaming platform is also home to the original anime for those looking to relive the cartoon or watch it for the first time.
