Netflix’s Sense8 Canceled After Two Seasons

Netflix pulled the plug on the sci-fi drama “Sense8” on June 1, a week after the streaming service also canceled “The Get Down.” Netflix’s vice president of original content, Cindy Holland, thanked the cast, creators, and fans for their support of the show. “After 23 episodes, 16 cities, and 13 countries, the story of the “Sense8” cluster is coming to an end,” Holland said in a Netflix Press Release.

Considering how rarely Netflix cancels shows, the news of “Sense8’s” cancellation comes as a blow to fans. In early May, there had been talks of Netflix renewing “Sense8” for a third season. On May 31, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings spoke of an aggressive push towards riskier, crazier programming – an ambitious direction that seemed to be in Sense8’s favor. The show’s cancellation went against expectation. However, rumors of a cancellation spread days before the official announcement, even prompting fans to trend #RenewSense8 on Twitter.

Did Sense8’s sizable budget lead to its cancellation?

Presumably, financial concerns contributed to the show’s cancellation. “Sense8” was always an ambitious project. The show featured fifteen regulars supplemented by a global cast and shot from over a dozen locations all around the world. Expenses like that add up over time. Some reports alleged that the show spent around $9 million per episode for its second season. Considering that Netflix also canceled “The Get Down,” another ambitious and expensive series, it makes sense that money matters played into Netflix’s decision.

Before news of the cancellation broke out, Deadline also reported that the cast of “Sense8” was experiencing contract issues as the second season wrapped up. The cast’s options expired due to the series’ lengthy production process and Netflix suffered talent-holding fees. It also risked the show losing cast members as actors joined new series. Which is what happened to Naveen Andrews, who was picked up for the pilot of CBS’ drama Instinct. While not one of the eight leads, Andrews was one of “Sense8’s” more high-profile actors and an integral cast member. His ill-timed departure could not have helped the show’s situation.

Sense8 and The Get Down canceled – huge losses to representation

Apart from featuring a racially diverse cast, “Sense8” also shone as an example of LGBT representation. Created by two transgender women (Lana and Lilly Wachowski) and starring a gay cisgender man (Miguel Ángel Silvestre as Lito) and transgender lesbian (Jamie Clayton as Nomi) among the core cast, Sense8 celebrated an inclusiveness not often found on television. The series even won the GLAAD award for outstanding drama in 2016. Its loss is a huge blow to representation and the LGBT community.

Netflix’s cancellation of The Get Down last week is also a big blow. Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama explored the Bronx’s hip-hop scene in the last 1970s. It featured a predominantly black cast and also explored LGBT themes by highlighting the relationship between two teenage boys. However, like “Sense8,” The Get Down was incredibly costly to make. In fact, reports state that it was Netflix’s most expensive original series and cost over $120 million to produce.

But regardless the reasons, the loss of two inclusive, daring, ambitious shows is a devastating one, especially to audiences whose stories resonated with the themes “Sense8” and “The Get Down” explored.