Netflix has canceled teen drama First Kill after just one season.
According to Deadline (opens in a new tab), the show, which premiered the second week of June, wasn't a total blowout with Netflix subscribers, but it didn't pull in the numbers needed to earn a second broadcast.
In Deadline's report, a source close to Netflix told the site that "the series, which did not have the runtime of most Netflix hits, did not meet episode completion and viewing thresholds."
This comes despite very respectable viewing figures in its first few weeks. The show racked up 30,3 million hours watched in its first three days and 48,8 million hours watched in its first full week, numbers that put it behind only Stranger Things and Peaky Blinders.
However, this quick start did not lead to continued viewing and the popularity of the show was not enough for Netflix to continue the show.
Based on the short story of the same name by author VE Schwab, First Kill is a reimagining of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Follow Juliette Fairmont, a vampire from a long line of vampires capable of living in plain sight in Savannah, Georgia.
As her 16th birthday approaches, Juliette, who has spent her life thus far living on blood pills, finds that the pills are losing their effectiveness and must face the prospect that it's time for her to do it. she doesn't want to do.
Things get complicated when a new girl arrives in town, Calliope Burns, with whom Juliette quickly falls in love. The problem is that Calliope's family history is just as complicated as Juliet's. She is a monster hunter raised by a family of monster hunters. And, as with the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare's original, there is plenty of drama.
Did critics like the show?
They didn't hate him, but they didn't love him either. The show has a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which isn't a beating, but not enough to give the show a certified new rating.
Critics who liked it framed their praise by stating that the drama did nothing original with its vampire or teen drama influences, and negative reviews were harsh for its clunky writing and general truism.
In the past, modern interpretations of Shakespeare's works have proven to be a rich source of teen drama, with movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, She's The Man, and Get Over It earning a place in the hearts of moviegoers. teens with their witty renditions of The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream. But it's hard to imagine First Kill having the same longevity.
Analysis: Has Netflix returned to its bad habits?
After the bloodshed earlier in the year, both in terms of shows being canceled and entire departments being scrapped, the ending of First Kill seems a lot more mundane to Netflix execs.
If there was enough of an appetite for another season of First Kill, production should have started in the fall for a release in the first half of 2023 and it didn't.
It will now join The Society, Chambers, Spinning Out, Grand Army, Tiny Pretty Things, and Zero Chill as teen dramas that only ran for one season on Netflix.
Netflix has second seasons of Outer Banks, Fate: The Winx Saga, Blood & Water, and Ginny & Georgia in the coming months, so streamers' execs still have some commitment to the teen-focused drama. First Kill just lacked, um, biting...
Want to keep track of everything Netflix canceled in 2022? We have collected all the shows here.