Netflix cancels the zombie apocalypse series Daybreak after just one season. Daybreak is only the latest show to arrive at a quick and unexpected conclusion at the streaming service, with other originals meeting the same fate. Netflix has recently pulled the plug on Chambers, No Good Nick, and Tuca & Bertie. While Daybreak did not share the same level of acclaim that Tuca & Bertie received during its short run, it does serve as a reminder that fans are often left with only a partial rationale for why Netflix cancels its programs.
Created by Brad Peyton and Aron Eli Coleite, Daybreak is a dramedy based on the comic series of the same by Brian Ralph. The series followed Josh Wheeler (Colin Ford), a high school student who is searching for his missing girlfriend, Sam (Sophie Simnett), in a post-apocalyptic landscape. He is joined in his search by an eclectic group of characters, including a 10 year-old pyromaniac and Josh’s former bully turned pacifist. Josh and his gang of unlikely companions have to survive gangs and a horde of creatures, Ghoulies, in this new and unusual world. Matthew Broderick, also an executive producer for the show, played the principal.
This naturally invited comparisons to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, perhaps with a bit of Buffy thrown in. In his review of season 1, Screen Rant’s Kevin Yeoman noted the similarities. He also found that the series was charming but flawed. While Daybreak might have improved with another batch of 10 episodes, the show has been cancelled before fans can find out for sure. Deadline reported on the cancellation, with co-creator Aron Eli Coleite taking to Twitter to break the news. Read his message to fans below.
Fans have gotten used to Netflix cancelling shows, but the speed with which some shows aren’t being given a chance to find an audience has been the cause for concern and certainly disappointment among subscribers. It has also opened the streamer to criticism, with observers noting that eight of the shows that were cancelled in 2019 came from women creators. That includes Trinkets and The OA.
Releasing viewership data regularly would go some way to address criticisms and concerns. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Netflix, as much as it has fundamentally altered the entertainment industry, can still make decisions like a typical broadcast network. A show like Tuca & Bertie arrived fully formed, garnering quick praise. Daybreak struggled more, but showed potential. What the two shows have in common is that they were discontinued abruptly, in favor of looking for the next big hit. It’s a familiar practice in the world of TV. But, to many, it was precisely the kind of practice that Netflix was believed to disrupt.
More: 20 Great TV Shows Canceled After One Season
Source: Deadline, Aron Eli Coleite
