Why Netflix canceled Santa Clarita Diet
This weekend is one of the hardest and Netflix canceling Santa Clarita Diet is possibly the worst news of all. Why has Netflix canceled the dark zom-com?
This weekend was already going to be hard enough. Between Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones‘ Battle of Winterfell, we’re going to face some major losses. Now Netflix has added to it all by canceling Santa Clarita Diet.
While it’s sad news, it’s something I thought would happen a few weeks ago. In fact, the series made my list of Netflix shows in danger of being canceled for one reason and one reason only: cost. And this is likely the reason the series has been canceled by Netflix.
Recently, Deadline shared that Netflix show costs jump up exponentially from the third season. While costs of show production do increase with primetime TV, it’s not quite at the level of Netflix’s costs because of how Netflix pays for production. So, unless a show is critically acclaimed or watched by almost everyone one, there’s a danger of cancellation before or just after the third season.
Despite Santa Clarita Diet having a loyal following, it’s one of the most underrated programs on the streaming service. I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard about it until the second season debuted. I’m not a zombie show fan but I gave this one the benefit of the doubt — it’s a zom com, so offers something different to the typical zombie apocalypse trope.
I’m a self-confessed TV addict. I spend hours scrolling through Netflix’s (and Amazon’s) new releases looking for something new to watch. I love finding out about shows that are different. Yet, I still managed to overlook Santa Clarita Diet when its first season was released. Which suggests that it wasn’t well publicized and that has led to it becoming one of the most underrated shows on the streaming service.
We don’t get to see the Netflix ratings unless the company chooses to release them. All we can judge is the social media buzz. Sadly, like One Day at a Time, it doesn’t look like there’s been enough of a viewership for Netflix to justify the exponential cost increases to produce a fourth season.
What do you think about the decision to cancel Santa Clarita Diet? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
