Netflix cancelling popular TV shows is nothing new. The streaming giant is known for cancelling shows with solid ratings, and the latest addition to the list is a sci-fi drama called The Boroughs.
The series didn’t just perform well – it excelled. Critics loved the show, and it currently holds a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Boroughs climbed to the number one spot on Netflix’s global rankings and held a place in the platform’s top ten for a full month.
Much of its appeal came down to who was behind the camera and in front of it: Ross and Matt Duffer, the minds behind Stranger Things, served as executive producers, and the show set itself apart by centering older characters a choice that drew in a broader, more varied audience than typical genre fare.
And yet, just weeks after its premiere, Netflix confirmed there wouldn’t be a second season.
The timing is pretty interesting. Around the same period, the Duffer Brothers had signed a deal with Paramount to develop new film and television projects, reportedly because they wanted the option of a theatrical release, something Netflix simply couldn’t offer. Some assumed the cancellation was fallout from that shift in loyalty, even as both sides maintained their working relationship was still amicable.
Netflix, for its part, points to something far less dramatic: the budget. Producing each episode reportedly cost around $10 million, and even with millions of viewers tuning in, the returns didn’t cover the costs. Jinny Howe, who oversees Netflix’s U.S. and Canada scripted programming, addressed the decision directly in a recent interview, describing it as the product of careful, deliberate consideration rather than a snap judgment.
Howe revealed that several factors played a role in the cancellation of the show, though she did not specify exactly what they were. She added that the team remained genuinely proud of the series and believed they had delivered a cinematic experience worth watching.
That audience, notably, was substantially more than 20 million viewers who watched within the show’s first month alone. For now, all eight episodes of The Boroughs’ lone season remain available to stream, a reminder of what could have been a much longer run.
