Netflix shocked everyone by cancelling Jeff Goldblum's new show, Kaos, just one month after its release! Even with a 76% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, the show was abruptly cancelled. This leaves fans wondering what went wrong and also is a testament to what's happening today in the television world!
Kaos: The Netflix Series
Created by Charlie Covell (The End of the Fing World), Kaos gave audiences a dark comedic look at Greek mythology. Jeff Goldblum starred as Zeus, the head god with all his comedic shenanigans!
The show starts with Zeus in a tricky situation. Zeus thinks a wrinkle in his forehead is going to destroy him! The story features an epic power struggle. In an event that fans will get hooked on. The main hero, Prometheus (played by Stephen Dillane) steps in and is more than willing to take him down! The eight-episode season featured a whole host of other stars, including David Thewlis as Hades, Cliff Curtis as Poseidon, Janet McTeer as Hera, and Aurora Perrineau as Eurydice (also known as Riddy).
A Quick Look at the Numbers
The show debuted on August 29th and charted on Netflix's top 10 list for four weeks. Even though the series didn't last very long and peaked at number three for English language TV, earning 5.9 million views in its second week. Netflix ultimately decided to pull the plug.
Aurora Perrineau, who played Riddy, shared an emotional message on Instagram before it was deleted. It shows just how much this project meant to her and highlights how many talented people were part of this show!
Why Did Netflix Cancel Kaos?
Though critics gave Kaos a pretty good score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience rated it even higher at 83%. It appears the viewing numbers weren't high enough to keep the series going. Netflix bases these cancellations on multiple things including what is going on behind the scenes, but viewers' interests were lower than anticipated.
It's very uncommon for shows to be cancelled right after being released on the service, especially because Netflix streaming means shows can gain more and more viewers over time!
What makes it even more interesting, Netflix will use all sorts of data to decide about renewals and the Kaos series may never gain enough fans to come back. Even if there were some viewers who never had a chance to reach the final episodes, that also added up when Netflix came up with its decisions.
The Impact of Cancellation
Though there's always that small chance that a show could come back because the fans want it back! This did happen recently with Warrior Nun and may help fans give Netflix some reasons to think hard about these kinds of big decisions, but it seems, based on past patterns, the outlook for Kaos coming back doesn't look good!
Other platforms might look to cut their spending. So as audiences watch the news about television programs. The pressure on television shows will become bigger than ever. Cancellations might continue as people grow used to these changes.
Jeff Goldblum, as Zeus was amazing, but it appears it's unlikely we are going to see Kaos returning for a second season, sadly. Even if Kaos finds a niche group of fans. It may not be a revival big enough to give a reason for bringing it back.
