Cancel Culture: A Slew of One-Season Streamer Cancellations Ushers in a New Normal

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“This shotgun approach of doing dozens, if not hundreds, of shows is unsustainable,” a former TV executive tells TheWrap

streaming cancellations
Emily Bader as Lady Jane Gray from "My Lady Jane", Amandla Stenberg as Osha from "The Acolyte" and George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne from "Dead Boy Detectives" (Chris Smith/TheWrap)

The explosion of content from Netflix, Disney+ and other streamers has resulted in more TV shows than any human can possibly watch. And while the glut of content created something for everyone, the era of peak TV is over, with contraction in Hollywood bringing several shows to an end — many after just one season.

Single-season streaming cancellations in 2024 have included the surprise axing of Disney’s “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” — a show whose premiere performed well according to Disney+’s own metrics — and Netflix series such as “The Brothers Sun,” “Obliterated” and “Dead Boy Detectives,” which once reigned in the streamer’s Top 10 lists and top 100 most-watched TV titles for the first half of 2024.

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