“Cobra Kai” isn’t the only canceled TV show Netflix has resurrected. The “Karate Kid” sequel series began as an original production of the short-lived YouTube Red (now known as YouTube Premium), and it ran for two seasons on that streaming service. When YouTube decided to move away from original scripted content, though, Netflix swooped in and picked up “Cobra Kai.” Now, five years later, Netflix has released the last episodes of the series’ sixth and final season.
“Cobra Kai” is arguably the most successful and well-known example of Netflix saving a dead TV series, but the streaming service has been pulling that move for well over a decade (see: the anticlimactic return of “Arrested Development” first in 2013 and then again in 2019). Here are five other shows that were lucky enough to get a second life on Netflix.
“Manifest” (2018 – 2023)
“Manifest” premiered on NBC in 2018. The supernatural drama about the passengers of a commercial flight that goes missing only to miraculously reappear years later went on to air three seasons on NBC before it was canceled in June 2021. When it subsequently climbed to the top of Netflix’s TV charts, the streaming service decided to renew it for a 20-episode, fourth and final season, which premiered in two parts. The series ultimately dropped its finale on Netflix almost two years to the day that NBC originally axed it.
Every season of “Manifest” is streaming now on Netflix.
“You” (2018 – Present)
“You” has been such a staple of Netflix’s programming for so many years that viewers often forget it didn’t initially premiere on the streaming platform. The Penn Badgley-led series about a killer who serially stalks women, falls in love with them, and then inevitably tries to kill them, actually debuted in September 2018 on Lifetime. The cable channel chose at first to renew “You” for a second season, but then it went back on that decision.
Fortunately, Netflix entered the picture and guaranteed creators Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble the sophomore season that Lifetime wouldn’t give them. The series has since emerged as a major success for Netflix, and is currently expected to premiere its fifth and final season in April. Its second life on Netflix has, in other words, spanned a whopping seven years, which is longer than most TV shows get to last in our current streaming TV era.
Every season of “You” is streaming now on Netflix.
“Lucifer” (2016 – 2021)
“Lucifer,” a dramedy about a version of the devil (Tom Ellis) who decides to leave Hell behind in order to run a nightclub in Los Angeles, aired three seasons on Fox from January 2016 to May 2018 before it was unceremoniously canceled. The subsequent fan outcry was loud, and Netflix decided to give “Lucifer” a second chance a month later. The fan-favorite fantasy TV series then ran for an additional three seasons on Netflix before coming to an end with the release of its sixth and final season in September 2021.
Every season of “Lucifer” is streaming now on Netflix.
“Longmire” (2012 – 2017)
A neo-Western about a Wyoming sheriff (Robert Taylor) who investigates local crimes, “Longmire” was a big hit for A&E when it premiered in June 2012. Despite earning what were at the time the best debut numbers of any A&E scripted series in history and consistently performing well for the network, though, “Longmire” was canceled after three seasons. Several months later, Netflix stepped in, resurrected “Longmire,” and kept it going three seasons longer than A&E was willing to before bringing the series to an end in 2017.
Every season of “Longmire” is streaming now on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
“Girls5eva” (2021 – 2024)
Part of Peacock’s first wave of original programming, “Girls5eva” premiered on the NBCUniversal streaming service in May 2021. The series about the four adult female members of an early 2000s musical girl group that quickly faded into one-hit-wonder obscurity was welcomed with widespread critical acclaim and passionate applause from its early fans. However, that didn’t stop Peacock from canceling “Girls5eva” in 2022 after its second season, a move that prompted Netflix to quickly claim it for itself.
The latter streaming service renewed “Girls5eva” for a third season, which premiered in March 2024. Unfortunately, the series’ resurrection didn’t stick quite as well as some of the others mentioned on this list, and Netflix made the decision to cancel “Girls5eva” for the second time in December 2024.
Every season of “Girls5eva” is streaming now on Netflix. Its first two seasons are also streaming on Peacock.
