Intriguing show 1899 has been cancelled by Netflix despite good audience figures and review — we consider the reasons

Coming to Netflix late 2022, 1899 was much anticipated given its pedigree — created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar who previously gave us the hit show Dark. According to Netflix own data for global viewing of English TV, it was the second most poplar series, behind The Crown. It continued to keep a place in the top 10 for several weeks, and on Rotten Tomatoes, reviews are broadly positive: a 76% critics score and a 74% audience score. This isn’t bad, so why is the show cancelled?

The cancellation announcement for 1899

From the Variety article on the cancellation, Odar an Friese made the statement on Instagram:

“With a heavy heart we have to tell you that ‘1899’ will not be renewed. We would have loved to finish this incredible journey with a second and third season as we did with ‘Dark.’ But sometimes things don’t turn out the way you planned. That’s life.

“We know this will disappoint millions of fans out there. But we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts that you were a part of this wonderful adventure,” the statement continues. “We love you. Never forget.”

So why cancel it?

We know the headline figures don’t tell the whole story. Many shows (eg Jupiter’s Legacy) seem well placed to make a second season but don’t. Even massive (but expensive) shows such as The Sandman take a long time to trigger an investment, and from this example we gained some insight. It’s not just about a big audience, but how many make it to the end of the season. This as well as demographics on who they are and has the show attracted new subscribers or retained others.

To explain further (it took us a few goes to grasp): a show might attract 10 million viewers to the first episode, but only 4 million make it to the end. Their average audience over the key first 28 days might be higher than a show starting at 6 million and ending at 5, but that show has (potentially) a larger audience for season 2. We’d like some real world examples, but this should help paint the picture.

It won’t help fans, but the show has made an impact due to the quality of the effects and its use of virtual stage technology.

What next?

Too many shows go through a cycle of complaint, disbelief, petition… and for every Lucifer or Manifest a large number don’t get taken up again. Sadly with the start of the new year, economic uncertainty and increased competition we’ve seen a lot of other examples already, and we expect more.