Netflix has made the no good, very bad decision to cancel One Day at a Time.
In a relatively long Twitter thread, the streaming giant announced the "tough choice" to stop making more of this inclusive, empathetic, hilarious comedy centering on the Alvarezes, a Cuban-American immigrant family led by Rita Moreno and Justina Machado.
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The news isn't necessarily a huge shocker but it's still heartbreaking. Throughout its run, One Day at a Time maintained a vocal fanbase and was the recipient of glowing critical acclaim.
The folks at Netflix are, of course, fully aware of this. It's why they were compelled to explain a cancellation online -- something they don't often do.
Netflix doesn't reveal viewership numbers and how much they factor into their decision-making concerning renewals and cancellations.
In the case of ODAAT, we were made aware of the fact that the show needed more eyeballs by co-creator Gloria Calderón Kellett a few days after the third and now final season dropped in February.
Kellett tweeted that it was in danger of being canceled. This prompted the #RenewODAAT campaign, which began trending right away.
None of this was a total surprise for fans because something similar happened in 2018 and it led to another season.
This year, the campaign was amplified by celebrities like Brooklyn 99 stars Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz, who guest starred in Season 3, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Natasha Rothwell, and Busy Phillips, who chimed in to voice their support. Phillips even hired a freaking plane to fly over Netflix's LA headquarters with the banner "Renew One Day at a Time." Now that's commitment to a cause!
Alas, it doesn't matter because the show is done for at Netflix. One Day at a Time is owned by Sony, which means Netflix also had to pay for its licensing fees. It's an understandable business decision but by tweeting about their "reasons," they've pretty much dug a hole for themselves.
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Netflix insists on the whole "oh, look, we're your new best friend" approach when it comes to social media. They break that charade to get business-like for a minute to talk about this cancellation Unfortunately, it doesn't work in their favor.
They say they want to find ways to tell important stories -- like ODAAT did so well -- but then by cancelling it, they're essentially kicking down their own brilliant idea because this show isn't watched by whatever they consider to be "enough people."
They also have the budget to promote the show but each year rely on the creators, actors, and fans to do it themselves. It's frustrating.
The bright spot here is that Sony will be shopping ODAAT elsewhere, hopefully to positive results.
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In the meantime, Seasons 1-3 are still on Netflix and it's always a good idea to watch them.
Topics Netflix