Netflix boss “optimistic” about Wednesday…but still no season 2 announcement

Once upon a time, Netflix was known as the streaming service that would greenlight basically anything. These days, it’s better known for cancelling shows left and right, even ones that seem like sure bets. For instance, the recent cancellation of Warrior Nun left fans upset, especially given its excellent reviews.

That said, Warrior Nun cost a lot to produce and didn’t bring in huge numbers, so I can at least wrap my head around why Netflix might not want to continue making it. But the same can’t be said for the new show Wednesday, a riff on The Addams Family that quickly became one of the most successful shows in the history of the streamer.

You’d think that the show was a shoo-in for a renewal, right? If not a spinoff? Yet Netflix executive  Peter Friedlander only said that he was “optimistic” about the show’s future when talking with Variety.

"[W]e’re just two weeks into the launch of Wednesday. So we’re still really at the beginning of this cultural phenomenon. And there’s a lot to absorb and learn about it. It’s striking how quick something like this can explode on Netflix, and there is a lot you want to hear back from fans and audiences. It’s not just the dance, it’s people dressing up and buying makeup and wanting to look like Wednesday Addams. The resurgence, for me, it’s something that’s been in the culture for a long time — but never this pronounced. It’s something that we want to study and understand why this is such a phenomenon. And I think so much of it is Jenna’s extraordinary performance at the center. But that supporting cast, across the board, are legends: Gwendoline Christie, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán and Christina Ricci!"

Okay, I get wanting to understand why a show did well. But surely you can analyze that while prepping more episodes of a show that people clearly want to see more of?

Why does Netflix cancel shows that have made it into the Top 10?

I think Wednesday will get another season. But given Netflix’s history of cancellations — just lately they’ve let go of Archive 81, Raising Dion, First Kill, Resident Evil, Fate: The Winx Saga and The Midnight Club — I wouldn’t blame fans for feeling nervous after going this long without hearing good news, especially about a series as successful as Wednesday.

“I think you will hear this from many folks, but the cancellations are the hardest part of this job and when I think about the work that both the creators and all the people at Netflix put into them, we care passionately about them, and it’s not something that we take lightly,” Friedlander said. “It’s just a frustrating part of the job that’s been a part of our business forever, so this isn’t a new experience to have cancellations, and hopefully we can continue to bring in shows that continue.”

The cancellations can be especially confusing for fans who see the shows performing well in Netflix’s daily list of Top 10 series. But of course, the decision-makers are looking at more than that. “I think the Top 10 is a useful tool for people to find shows, discover shows, talk about shows and also helps you for viewing,” Friedlander said. “The Top 10 really serves in that way, and I think that’s something that speaks to the popularity in that moment, and I think that’s what it’s really about in that moment. And then when we have to make our decisions, it’s about the long term and the longer term viewing. We always are looking at many variables, too. The Top 10 is just one variable in that.”

Wednesday season 1 is streaming on Netflix now. As for season 2, the wait continues.

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