Glamorous canceled at Netflix, no season 2 for comedy drama series

Glamorous premiered on Netflix in June 2023, and the comedy-drama series starring Miss Benny and Kim Cattrall could have been the next breakout hit Netflix series of the year. However, the lovable series didn’t seem to strike a major chord with audiences and Netflix has sadly confirmed its cancellation as of November 2023.

In Glamorous, Miss Benny stars as Marco Mejia, a gender non-conforming queer man who scores the opportunity of a lifetime when he begins working for super-famous makeup mogul Madolyn Addison (Kim Cattrall). The series is full of personal and professional ups and downs for Marco as he attempts to keep his head above water in his blossoming new life.

It’s easier said than done for Marco, and he still has quite a few lessons to learn. After binge-watching all 10 episodes of the first season, fans will be wondering if Glamorous season 2 is on the horizon.

Here’s what you need to know.

Glamorous canceled by Netflix

On November 15, Deadline revealed that Netflix had canceled Glamorous along with several other Netflix Original series. It sounds like viewership numbers and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes likely all played a part in Netflix’s decision.

Glamorous premiered on June 22. The streaming service typically tracks the viewership numbers and completion rate within the first few months of release. Unfortunately, the newbie series didn’t post numbers that were especially exceptional and made an excellent case for a renewal.

The series received middling reviews from critics and audiences, but beyond that, there was definitely a lot of love for the show from fans. That being said, What’s on Netflix shared viewership statistics for the series, and the bottom line is that Glamorous earned about 6.6 million views between its premiere on June 22 and July 8. That’s not good.

Glamorous fell far below other new 2023 series that were renewed, such as The Diplomat (which had a smaller opening weekend than other 2023 hits) and XO, Kitty (which shares a similar genre and tone with the romantic dramedy).

Of course, the writers’ and actor’s strike both hit in the months following the show’s premiere, and that could have changed things regarding the show’s future. We have seen other streamers reverse renewals and announce cancellations attributed to the strikes. If Netflix intends to cancel Glamorous, it’s a wonder the announcement hasn’t arrive yet. After all, the streamer renewed One Piece for season 2 two weeks after its premiere during the strikes.

Even though Netflix didn’t greenlight Glamorous season 2, the season finale wrapped up the storylines enough that viewers won’t be left on a major cliffhanger. The open-ended ending allows for the series to end on an uplifting note with enough closure to enjoy it as it is.

Personally, I wish Netflix would have ignored the ratings and renewed Glamorous. There’s nothing else like it or its main character on television. As mentioned, the ending wraps the story up well, but I want to see the next chapter of Marco’s life. There are far too many LBGTQ+ shows canceled because of low ratings, but studios and networks rarely put the same promotional force behind queer shows, so who’s to say why the ratings are low? Queer stories have so much good to do, if only they were given the proper platform to succeed.