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Here’s Why Fans Are Outraged Netflix Cancelled First Kill

Netflix has canceled the supernatural teen drama series First Kill—Unabashedly funny, this show follows the star-crossed lovebirds Juliette (a teenager vampire) and Calliope (“a teenage monster hunter”) and completely leans into it Romeo and Juliet-esque extravagance—less than two months since it premiered on June 10. According to DeadlineOn Tuesday, the incident sparked an immediate protest from supporters.

First KillAlthough it was not a huge success, the show found an audience that was interested in a story featuring a queer vampire and starring Black characters. So why was it cancelled after just one season—and why is the internet up in arms about it?

Netflix’s views First Kill’s cancellation

Deadline, citing unnamed sources, reported that Netflix cancelled the fan favorite after one season because it “did not have the staying power of most Netflix hits.”

Historically, viewership to cost ratio has driven Netflix’s decisions about cancellation versus renewal. First Kill picked up a sizable fan base: although Netflix doesn’t share many of its metrics, First KillFor three weeks, it was on the global Top 10 TV List. It racked up 97.66 millions hours of viewing in this time.

First KillNetflix is being criticized for cancelling shows featuring queer actors.

Netflix was immediately criticised by its fans for banning them. First KillThe streamer noted that this isn’t the first series to feature romantic relationships between females. The fate of other titles has been the same: Everything is a Sucking Problem,This is unacceptable, Teenage Bounty Hunters, A Day at a TimesSense8.

First Kill‘s cancellation led to the hashtag #CancelNetflix, which was trending on Wednesday morning.

First KillMany fans pointed out the renewed status of HeartstopperAlso on Netflix: a British gay coming-of age rom-com called. Heartstopper, which amassed 53.46 million hours watched while it was on the global Top 10 TV list—almost half that of First Kill—was renewed for two more seasons. A fan put it, “we’re not comparing First KillWith Heartstopper we’re comparing how Netflix treats mlm-centric shows to how they treat their wlw shows.”

How First Kill‘s creators have responded

Victoria Schwab (show creator) posted on Instagram that the day she discovered her first TV show would be picked for a full season was one of the most memorable days in her life.

“But that doesn’t mean this—the day it got cancelled—is the worst,” Schwab wrote. “Because the lack of a second season doesn’t erase the first. It happened, I got to see a great group of writers spin the thread, got to see an amazingly talented group of actors bring my characters to life.”

Hook and Lewis shared their affections on Instagram, as well.

“So many of you connecting with Juliette means more to me than words can say,” Hook wrote. “Thank you to all who loved & supported our special show. Love you forever, Jules.”

“Forever honored. Forever grateful,” Lewis wrote. “To know that this show has touched so many of you is all I could ever ask for. Thank you for letting me portray so many of your beautiful truths through Cal.”

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