The Resident season 7 won't happen (and we're honestly lucky to have gotten six seasons)

These days, there's more to watch on Netflix than ever. The hit Fox medical drama series The Resident landed on Netflix in March 2024 thanks to Netflix's current deal to stream a handful of Disney-owned shows. Like other acquired shows before it, the series entered the top 10 as more and more viewers either discover or rediscover the complete series.

Gilmore Girls and The Good Wife alum Matt Czuchry stars in The Resident as Dr. Conrad Hawkins, who begins the series as the senior resident internist at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. Beyond Czuchry's dynamic leading character, the medical drama also includes an ensemble cast, including Emily VanCamp and Manish Dayal, as it explores the personal and professional lives of the hospital's staff members.

As more and more Netflix viewers get deeper into the series, the natural question about the show's future will arise. When you reach the end of season 6, you will wonder why there isn't a seventh season and if the possibility of the series continuing still stands. Here's what fans new and old need to know about the reasons behind The Resident's cancellation.

Why The Resident ended after season 6

When it comes down to it, Fox canceled The Resident because ratings had steadily decreased throughout the show's run. As explained by Variety, demographic ratings for the sixth and final season fell 27% from the previous fifth season and viewership also dipped by 12% from season 5. To put it into perspective, the series dropped 69% in its demo since the first season.

Prior to Fox's official announcement of The Resident's cancellation in April 2023, rumors had been swirling among the show's fans. Word of the sets being taken down and props being sold hit the internet, instilling fear that the show wouldn't see season 7. TV Line published an article in March 2023 expressing the slim chances of a renewal, citing an insider confirmed the show was "essentially done."

The Hollywood Reporter also notes the changing of hands at Fox. The Resident first premiered on the network back in January 2018, when its producer 20th Television and the Fox network were both still under the Disney-owned 21st Century Fox. However, Fox and Disney closed a deal in 2019 that sold the studio and several networks to Disney, leading the Fox network on its own.

In the aftermath of that deal, Fox sought to have a stake in ownership in its programming, which would decrease costs with Disney. (That's part of the reason why 9-1-1 ended up moving to ABC for season 7.) Because the network no longer had a stake in The Resident and its ratings were continuing to slip, the decision to cancel the series after having produced over 100 episodes unfortunately made sense.

Sadly, the series had previously been consistently on the bubble in the latter half of its run as the decrease in ratings and revolving door of cast members began after its most successful second season. As much as we would have all loved the show to keep going with season 7 and beyond, we should also feel lucky to have gotten 107 episodes from its six seasons.

Personally, I would have loved for the show to somehow continue telling impactful stories and follow Conrad's continued adventures as a doctor with his friends and coworkers (and his daughter!), even after its subtle happy ending in the series finale. As we have seen with shows like Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Med, both medical dramas in their 20th and ninth season respectively, there's always some kind of drama to drum up.

And who knows, if it's popular enough on Netflix, maybe it could make a comeback like Suits and New Amsterdam. You never know what could happen in Hollywood these days and what series could have an unexpected resurgence leading to the birth of a franchise. More than anything though, its current success on Netflix perfectly sets the stage for the streamer's own upcoming medical drama series Pulse.

All six seasons of The Resident are currently available to watch on Netflix.