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Netflix scraps over 100 original shows - including some of its biggest titles

It's the biggest content cull we've seen since the streaming service launched

Netflix scraps over 100 original shows - including some of its biggest titles

By Danielle de Wolfe

09 January 2024

There's nothing we dread more than the words 'Netflix' and 'cuts' in the same sentence - particularly when news breaks that more than 100 hit shows face the axe.

The latest troublesome news emerging from Netflix, the streaming service is set to slash a host of original content, including some of its biggest shows.

A number of hit series had already faced the chop ahead of the announcement, with hit show Sex Education failing to be renewed for Season 5 as was announced in September.

However, it now appears the hit show is not alone, with numerous series, including raunchy romantic drama Sex/Life, Bling Empire, and hit newcomer Shadow and Bone, all facing the axe.

The platform has said the impact of the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes weren't entirely to blame for the cuts, with figures suggesting the service lost customers for the first time in the first half of 2022.

The impact of those cuts is likely to be felt in the coming years as the productions hit editing stages, with 2024 already looking sparse where original releases are concerned.

However, the news is set against a fairly grim backdrop, with the number of original programmes released last dipping for the first time in Netflix's history.

With the two major strikes shutting down production across the US, the service released around 130 fewer original programmes in 2023 than the year before - in part down to staggering releases and delays.

That equates to a dip of around 16%, according to What’s On Netflix.

It comes as data reveals that Netflix cancelled 10.2% of its original content between 2020 and August 2023, according to Variety Intelligence Platform and Luminate.

It doesn't bode well, given Netflix lead the market in 2023 where streaming content is concerned.

Other original content failing to be renewed includes Firefly Lane, Human Resources, Welcome to Eden and Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Netflix first began producing original content back in 2012, with crime comedy-drama Lilyhammer - a show that ran for three seasons - marking its first tentative steps into production.

It was the only platform not to undertake sweeping cuts last year amidst the ongoing writers strikes and an apparent lack of growth across the industry.

The cuts aren't the first announced by a major streaming service.

Just a matter of months ago Walt Disney announced it was cutting thousands of jobs in a belt-tightening bid to trim billions from its budget.

Warner Bros. Discovery has also implemented similar cuts in recent months.