Netflix Has Canceled 3 of its Most-Watched Shows This Year
While shows can be canceled for a number of reasons from poor viewership to high production costs, it's not often that a network cancels one of its most-watched shows after just one season. However, that's exactly what has happened at Netflix three times already this year.
In 2026 alone, Netflix has already canceled three of its most-watched shows after just one season, ending The Abandons, Boots, and The Boroughs after their first seasons with the streaming giant.
The Abandons
While The Abandons seemed poised to ride renewed interest in Westerns created by the enormously popular series Yellowstone, it won't even get a second season, even despite the first season's popularity.
The show was an immediate hit, drawing 19.8 million views in 28 days following its release and spent two weeks among the streaming service's top 10 English-language shows, and was even ranked on Variety's list of the 100 most-watched series of 2025-26. But that was not enough to save the show as it was ultimately canceled about a month after it premiered.
Showrunner Kurt Sutter was clearly not happy about the show's cancellation, and he took to social media to call out the streaming giant for valuing "algorithms" over the "potentially beautiful project."
"Dear Netflix, Next time fear compels you to choose the algorithm over a creator's vision, remember how that choice unraveled a potentially beautiful project," he wrote after the show's cancellation.
Boots
Based on the memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White, Boots follows a teenager named Cameron Cope as joins the Marines with his friend Ray at the same time that he's struggling to figure out his own identity and sexuality.
The show received universal high reviews with both audiences and critics giving it a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, it was so well-received by audiences that it ranked No. 7 amongst all shows in terms of audience score in 2025. It was also ranked amongst Variety's 100 most-watched series, outperforming other successful Netflix comedies like Nobody Wants This and Emily in Paris.
Despite the strong reviews and viewership, the show will not get a second season as it was quietly canceled by Netflix after just one season.
While the Pentagon voiced strong criticism to the show, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos insisted that the cancellation was a "business decision" that was "based on audience relative to the cost of the show."
The Boroughs
A project from Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, The Boroughs is a supernatural sci-fi series that follows a group of retirees living in what appears to be a perfect, desert retirement community in New Mexico who discover a terrifying, otherworldly threat is feeding on their community.
The show was, by all accounts, a massive success, both in terms of critical reviews and viewership. It scored a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was rated 91% with "Top Critics" on the rating service, and was the most-streamed show in the country across all streaming services for its second week.
Despite the success, the show will not get a second season as it was quietly canceled.
While Netflix did not offer any sort of explanation as to why the show was canceled, The Hollywood Reporterreported that the decision was due to the show's high budget as well as the Duffer Brothers' recent departure to Paramount+.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 10:51 PM.