Netflix, once infamous for its tendency to greenlight just about everything, pulled a major comedy property before it had a chance to see the light of day.
Titled Bad Crimes, the show is described by Variety (opens in a new tab) as a "procedural black comedy that follows Kara (Nicole Byer) and Jennie (Lauren Lapkus), two FBI agents who travel across the country to solve macabre crimes while juggling their friendships, career ambitions, and as many men as possible."
Lauren Lapkus has previously appeared on The Big Bang Theory and Jurassic World, while Nicole Byer has appeared on Brooklyn 99 and presents Nailed It! baking show. The animated sitcom was reportedly in the middle of production when Netflix executives decided to pull the plug. The streaming giant confirmed a series order for the show in January 2022.
The outlet also reports that Netflix cited "creative" reasons behind the cancellation, suggesting that company executives were not confident in the show's chances, though it appears the Bad Crimes production team is looking for another streaming service. TV to complete the job.
There were certainly plenty of comedy royalties attached to the project, with Greg Daniels (The Office, Upload), Mike Judge (King of the Hill), and Erica Hayes (Big Mouth) all involved. And given Netflix's penchant for adult animated comedies: BoJack Horseman, The Midnight Gospel, Big Mouth, etc. – it's a shame to see a potential contestant abandoned before viewers have had a chance to see it.
closed for business
It has not been the most rosy year for Netflix. The streaming service laid off staff, grappled with declining subscriber numbers and saw investor confidence in the stock market plummet.
We're a long way from the early days of online streaming, when Netflix was synonymous with the industry, and it seemed impossible for challengers to catch up. Now, however, Disney Plus is moving on, eating up Netflix's business and home to the biggest franchises of the moment: Marvel, Star Wars, Disney-Pixar and now even the UK-exported classic Doctor Who.
The return of the mega-hit Stranger Things has helped stabilize Netflix's fortunes for the time being, as the service added 2,4 million subscribers after months of steady decline. But it's clear that between Netflix's crackdown on account sharing and the imminent introduction of an ad-supported subscription tier, the company needs to calculate a lot more where it spends its resources.
Either way, let's hope Bad Crimes finds a home elsewhere. I hear that Disney Plus has money to burn.