The Rise and Fall of Shadow and Bone: A Tale of Netflix's Untimely Cancellation

The Rise of Shadow and Bone

Netflix's newly released engagement report will make disgruntled Shadow and Bone fans even more irritated about the show's untimely cancellation. The young adult fantasy series grew quite a dedicated following during its run on the streaming platform, attracting admirers of the written works of Leigh Bardugo that the series had been adopted from and engaging new fans intrigued by its mystical story line.

Ben Barnes' General Kirigan with dejected expression in Shadow & Bone

Guided by Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy and her Six of Crows duology, the Shadow and Bone series adapted the story of Alina Starkov, a young woman who discovered that she inherited the magical powers of a Grisha and was needed for the preservation of the universe. Shadow and Bone proved itself to be an exciting onscreen expansion of Bardugo's massive canon, dubbed the 'Grishaverse,' and has laid claim to high 'certified fresh' scores of 89% with critics and 87% with audiences, per Rotten Tomatoes.

Shadow and Bone's Genya Safin, Alina Starkov, and General Kirigan side-by-side

The series' critical reception was recently further substantiated by a comprehensive report released by Netflix, in which Shadow and Bone's viewership success appeared to have outpaced popular titles such as Bridgerton, Emily in Paris, and Sweet Tooth. Despite the favorable results of the data, Netflix's report won't come as any consolation to fans of the series who've been bowled over by news of Shadow and Bone's devastating cancellation this past November.

Popularity and Viewership Success

Shadow and Bone was confirmed for cancelation not long ago, the series has maintained a degree of popularity since its debut in 2021. In fact, in its first week on Netflix - April 19-25 - the series racked up 721 million minutes of viewing time and ranked second among original series in Nielson's National Streaming Report (via The Hollywood Reporter).

According to the newly launched report, Shadow and Bone ranked in the streaming platform's top 30 titles for hours viewed between January and June 2023. Shadow and Bone season 2 yielded a staggering 192.9 million hours of viewership, and placed 26th among other heavy-hitting titles like The Night Agent and Wednesday. The incredible achievement failed to entice the streaming platform into generating another season though, making Shadow and Bone yet another testament to how quickly Netflix will cancel a title, even if it's met with considerable reception and support.

The Harsh Reality of Cancellation

Fans condemned Netflix for dropping the ax so quickly on Shadow and Bone, but the response was nothing new for the platform, as it's often recognized for canceling titles, especially in their first or second seasons, when they're not performing to a certain standard.

This was the case for the popular series, as Shadow and Bone's viewing numbers failed to cover its filming budget. Netflix's consideration to cancel Shadow and Bone was unfortunately exacerbated by the impact of the months-long Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, which led Netflix to attempt to rectify work stoppages with a service-wide culling. As often proclaimed by Netflix, the streaming platform assesses viewing versus cost when evaluating whether it'll maintain a title in a process that became even more vigorous following the strikes.

Being a fantasy series, Shadow and Bone wasn't exactly economical to make, and reports have estimated that the show spent between $3 and $5 million per episode (via Yahoo). Because of viewing versus cost standards, Shadow and Bone simply couldn't carry on, which ultimately proved the harsh reality surrounding Netflix titles - Netflix titles can have substantial followings, but even still, there's the looming possibility they'll catch the ax.