Netflix Just Canceled Another Big 91%-Rated Hit, But... It Deserved It
How often do we agree with Netflix cancellations? Almost never, but this time we do.
Netflix has released a large number of shows in recent years, but despite good reviews, they were canceled right after the first season, while the directors left the endings open in the hope of working on continuation.
Company executives claimed they never canceled successful shows because it was not financially justified. According to them, some high-quality series attract very small audiences at very high production costs.
The Brothers Sun Canceled After One Season
The new Netflix show, which debuted in January 2024, had it all: it could become an instant action classic, increase the representation of the Asian community on screens, and captivate with an extraordinary plot.
The Brothers Sun creators impressed viewers with a high-quality debut episode, only to stretch the material and bore viewers with poorly written characters.
What Was The Brothers Sun About?
Professional assassin Charles Sun is about to spend a quiet evening in his apartment when he is attacked by armed mercenaries. And when his father, the head of the Taiwanese mafia, arrives, someone from a nearby high-rise shoots the old man into a coma.
Now Charles rushes from Taiwan to Los Angeles to warn and protect his mother, Eileen, who fled the mafia in the US 15 years ago, taking her youngest son, Bruce, with her.
Even Oscar-Winning Michelle Yeoh Couldn’t Save the Show
At first glance, the comedy mini-series about the reunion of a criminal family looks like the younger brother of the hit movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, even though they have nothing in common except for brilliant Michelle Yeoh.
Associations with the recent Oscar triumph are prompted by the growing fashion for projects that combine romance, melodrama, action and comedy under one roof.
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" is becoming the creative motto of directors forced by big budgets and high stakes to do whatever it takes to please the widest possible audience.
The Brothers Sun Mixes Many Genres But Fails to Deliver
The Brothers Sun is one of those projects: there is a fresh look at family conflicts and assassins in full-length dinosaur suits, as well as expensive cars, a struggle for power, and Asian wisdom mixed with the silliest teenage jokes. As exciting as all this may sound, such an explosive mixture simply does not work on screen.
The intensity of the passions only increases in the last two episodes, thanks to Michelle Yeoh. Suddenly, Eileen decides to take back what she rightfully deserves – the status of matriarch of a mafia family.
Despite the spectacular combat scenes and witty jokes, The Brothers Sun didn’t deserve a second season, and no matter how painful it is to admit it, in this case Netflix turned out to be completely right.