4 reasons Netflix was right to cancel 1899 (and 1 reason they were wrong)

Reason to cancel 1899: Numbers don’t lie

1899 was among Netflix’s top 5 most watched shows for an entire month before it began to slide down, per Television Stats. According to the viewership numbers released by Netflix itself, the show was watched for a total of 257.16 million hours between November 13 and December 18. Despite great numbers, the show likely met its fate because of the conversion rate.

What’s On Netflix reported that 1899 “averaged much lower than other Netflix shows” with huge drop-offs between the first two episodes. It was proof that viewers lost interest early on and jumped ship, pun intended. According to Digital i, a UK-based data analytics firm, only 32% of viewers stuck around till the last episode, yours truly being one of them.

In an article emphasizing how the completion rate heavily impacts Netflix cancelations, Forbes argued that anything with less than 50% was at risk of getting scrapped.

Reason NOT to cancel 1899: The fans deserved an ending

To be honest, it was difficult to come up with reasons why Netflix should have let 1899 run for another season. However, despite the show’s glaring flaws, the fans who stuck with it until the end expected an ending; perhaps not a great one, but some kind of ending to tie up the many, many loose ends. With the sudden emergence of Maura’s seemingly evil brother, it seemed like the show was setting itself up for another arc. The fans deserved answers to their questions as a reward for their time and energy spent.

Wrapping Up

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos once said that deciding to cancel shows came down to “70% gut and 30% data.” Whether canceling 1899 was entirely based on data or there were some instincts involved, we will probably never know.

Nevertheless, fans will hopefully remember the doomed show as one of the more confusing things they consumed on Netflix in 2022.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels