‘House Of Cards’ is back streaming on Netflix with its fifth series, but another Netflix Original created around the same time as the political blockbuster is being put out to pasture. ‘Sense8,’ which the streaming company announced with much fanfare in 2013, is not returning to the service after two seasons.
The title was the first TV production for the Wachowski siblings, whose past work includes The Matrix among other things, and it was heralded as one of the most progressive sci-fi dramas to date.
Netflix’s VP of original content, Cindy Holland, delivered the news on the company blog:
“After 23 episodes, 16 cities and 13 countries, the story of the Sense8 cluster is coming to an end. It is everything we and the fans dreamed it would be: bold, emotional, stunning, kick ass, and outright unforgettable. Never has there been a more truly global show with an equally diverse and international cast and crew, which is only mirrored by the connected community of deeply passionate fans all around the world. We thank Lana, Lilly, Joe and Grant for their vision, and the entire cast and crew for their craftsmanship and commitment.”
Already fans are staging a blacklash. The company isn’t giving any more details on why, but CEO Reid Hastings indicated in an interview with CNBC this week that it needs to take more risks with its content if it is to unearth future blockbusters.
“I’m always pushing the content team, we have to take more risk, you have to try more crazy things, because we should have a higher cancel rate overall,” he said. “Because then, what you get is you get some winners that are just unbelievable.”
Hastings said viral smash ’13 Reasons Why’ is one such risk-gone-good that justifies a more adventurous approach over caution.
‘Sense8’ isn’t the only recent high-profile cancellation. ‘The Get Down’ from Baz Luhrmann, was dropped after just a single series in a move made last week.