Netflix churns out an order of magnitude more content than its closest streaming rival, a volume that’s cemented its status as the biggest and most important streamer globally. However, the downside of having to pay for so much content is that the service has gotten increasingly aggressive with its cancellation decisions.
As we look ahead to 2025, there are reasons to suspect that at least three Netflix series might already be vulnerable to the streaming giant’s notorious cancellation axe. Below, I’m going to lay out my reasons for why I think fans of Supacell, Fubar, and The Recruit might want to brace themselves for bad news. Also, keep in mind: This is just my assessment, born out of covering Netflix extensively and not the result of inside knowledge. So make of that what you will.
Let’s start with Rapman’s British superhero drama Supacell, which debuted this summer.
The show’s all-Black ensemble cast playing characters from South London who discover they have superpowers certainly made for a unique and engaging premise. But while critics gave the show a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes (which the show still maintains today), Supacell didn’t seem to explode on social media so much as get an initial boom and then kind of fizzle out slowly in terms of online buzz.
And make no mistake: Online traction matters when it comes to renewal decisions, because it’s a proxy for a show’s engagement — the latter being a huge consideration when it comes to renewing or cancelling a show. Supacell already got a Season 2 renewal, but given that Netflix doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to supporting shows in the sci-fi and fantasy genres, Supacell is probably a prime candidate for cancellation if the new season doesn’t excite viewers in a major way.
These next two shows are both in the spy realm.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Fubar — in which a father and daughter both discover they secretly work for the CIA — is a blend of family drama and unserious spy antics, with a formulaic plot that was kind of all over the place tone-wise.
Obviously, having Mr. Terminator himself as part of the cast raised the profile considerably for this show, which debuted back in mid-2023. The show is getting a second season (with a date TBA), but the growing gap between Seasons 1 and 2 suggests it will be hard to bring the same audience back. If Season 2 does indeed land in 2025, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the show cancelled not long thereafter — especially with Netflix taking a closer look than ever at its big-budget productions.
Finally, we come to another somewhat dumb Netflix spy series, starring Noah Centineo as a young CIA lawyer who gets caught up in high-stakes international intrigue.
If you’re into spy shows that aim for realism and well-written drama, and which avoid the many silly tropes of the espionage genre, The Recruit is not the show for you. Yes, the show certainly has its moments and offers a mix of charm and action, but in my opinion, this genre has way too much fierce competition on Netflix for an overall weak show to really succeed and endure. Unlike Netflix spy gems like Black Doves, The Night Agent, and Kleo, The Recruit is filled with under-developed characters and a plot that strains credulity — preferring to rely on style over substance.
Season 2 is coming on Jan. 30. And as is the case with Fubar, there will have been quite a long wait between Seasons 1 and 2, long enough that I’m not sure the audience for The Recruit is going to return en masse. That could lead to an underwhelming performance, and then a likely cancellation for The Recruit sometime next year. But, again, these are just my guesses — we’ll see what happens!
