Another Series Gets Axed by Netflix After Just One Season

Summary

• On November 30, a new series from the creators of Cobra Kai, Obliterated, was released on Netflix.
• Despite mixed reviews from critics, the series spent six weeks in Netflix's Global Top 10.
• However, that didn't save the project, as Obliterated was recently canceled.

Netflix maintains its long-established practice of axing at least one project for every few it renews. While the sheer number of renewed shows and announcements of new projects is far greater, the effect of cancellations is equally significant, striking not only failed projects, but also those shows that were on the verge of becoming huge hits if they hadn't already established a loyal fan base.

Among all the high-profile releases on Netflix 2023, the streaming service's library was bolstered in late November by a series called Obliterated, which immediately created a buzz among Cobra Kai fans as it was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.

Unfortunately, neither the big names of its creators nor the relatively high ratings could save Obliterated from the unenviable fate of cancellation and the prospect of falling into the abyss of oblivion.

What Is This Show?

Obliterated is an absurdist action-comedy-drama from the creators of Cobra Kai that clearly tried to hit the action heights of Die Hard and the comedy heights of The Hangover at the same time. The plot follows an elite special ops unit tasked with defusing a nuclear bomb in Las Vegas. But it is Sin City, so when the mission is completed, the agents plunge into the wild world of sex, drugs and Las Vegas rock'n'roll.

Later, it's revealed that the bomb is a fake, and the agents, struggling to survive an unbearable hangover, must pull themselves together and save Las Vegas.

Why Was It Canceled?

For the week of November 27 through December 3, 2023, Obliterated took the third spot in the global Top 10, considering it only debuted on November 30. What's more, it stayed on Top 10 for another 5 weeks.

Despite those ratings, despite its big-name creators giving Netflix another flagship series for the platform, Obliterated still couldn't escape a bitter cancellation.

Deadline, which first reported the sad news, noted that the reason could be the fact that Netflix said the ratings were still not enough for the project to pay off. One of the factors could also be the fact that critics gave the show a very cold reception, with a score of only 45% on Rotten Tomatoes.

There's Still Hope, However

But maybe it's too early to get pissed off and run to smash up Netflix's offices (a valid thing to do, considering all of their other controversial decisions). According to Deadline, Hurwitz, Schlossberg and Heald have no intention of scrapping the project. Obliterated was originally conceived as a movie franchise like The Hangover, so perhaps the creators will revisit the idea at some point and bring it to fruition in some form.

However, fans should take any optimistic reports with a grain of salt. Even if the efforts of the fans succeed in getting the streaming service to revive Obliterated, or if it is picked up by another platform, or if the creators, as they said themselves, decide to realize the ideas and characters in subsequent projects, even then it is not a fact that we will get a sequel.

Warrior Nun is an unfortunate example of this. Netflix canceled the series after the second season, despite high ratings (Season 2 is one of the highest rated on various aggregators, including Rotten Tomatoes). In response, enraged fans launched the #SaveWarriorNun campaign, supported by showrunner himself, Simon Barry.

As a result, in June 2023, Barry happily announced that the fans' efforts had been recognized and the franchise would be renewed in the form of feature films. Only now the movies seem to be in production hell, as Barry and the core writers are not involved in their development.