Hulu Pulls a Netflix, Axes Another Great Show After Just 1 Season

Summary

• While Hulu has produced many great series in recent years, it has canceled just as many.
• Another victim is a mystery drama inspired by Agatha Christie stories.
• Although the show did not have the highest ratings, its cancellation once again demonstrates the unfair practices of streaming services.

In 2023 alone, Hulu released the fifth season of What We Do in the Shadows, the third seasons of Reservation Dogs and Only Murders in the Building, the second season of The Bear, and kicked off 2024 with the release of Shōgun, the acclaimed adaptation of James Clavell's famous novel. In general, the streaming service is gaining momentum, offering subscribers high-quality scripted shows that can easily compete with hits on Netflix, Max, Apple TV+, Disney+, and even traditional TV broadcasters.

But unfortunately, these shows are not the only reason Hulu is on par with Netflix and other platforms. What they have in common is an insane quest for ratings that leads to unfair cancellations. For example, a great mystery drama starring Mandy Patinkin and Violett Beane was recently axed.

What Was This Show

2024 began not only with the release of Shōgun, but also with the arrival of the crime drama Death and Other Details. The plot can be described as follows: Once brilliant, now disgraced detective Rufus Coteworth (Patinkin) finds himself on a luxury cruise ship filled with the world's rich and powerful.

However, a typical locked-room murder occurs on the liner, and the victim turns out to be an influential businessman who was an investor in the Collier family. The Colliers are also on the ship, and they have invited Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), the daughter of an employee of the Collier Mills Company who died 18 years ago. The investigation of the death, which eventually turned out to be a cold case, was handled by Coteworth, so Imogene is furious when she sees him. However, she agrees to become his new protégé to investigate not only the crime, but also her mother's mysterious death.

Although the finale was fairly straightforward and resolved the storyline regarding both the cruise and Imogene herself, the ending provided a cliffhanger of sorts, hinting at a possible continuation of the series. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation, this turned out to be the first and only investigation of Coteworth and Scott.

News of the show's cancellation came just three weeks after the final episode aired on March 5. While Hulu gave no official explanation, the reason was almost certainly ratings, as the series received less than enthusiastic reviews and also failed to break into Nielsen's top 10 streaming rankings.

Viewers Are Getting Tired

Incidentally, Death and Other Details is not the only show that Hulu has canceled in recent years in favor of bigger-budget projects with much bigger marketing: The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, was canceled after three seasons, as was How I Met Your Father, the How I Met Your Mother spinoff, after two seasons. Even more shows were canceled after only one season, including High Fidelity, Kindred, Reboot, and M.O.D.O.K.

In other words, Hulu has become the new Netflix, as even the latter, despite its regular cancellation decisions, has become a bit more modest in this regard in recent years. Unfortunately, this approach is increasingly turning audiences away from new shows, as viewers are reluctant to watch something that could be canceled at any moment after one season.

But here we get into a Catch-22, because it is this very practice that prevents new projects from getting enough ratings to keep going. In other words, it's high time for streaming services to rethink their policies.