Netflix Canceled ‘Ratched,’ Sarah Paulson Says

Netflix will not be heading back to Lucia State Hospital. More than three years after Ryan Murphy’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest prequel debuted on the streamer, series star Sarah Paulson confirmed that Ratched has been canceled.

Paulson, who starred on the hit show as Nurse Ratched, confirmed the news in a recent interaction with a fan, shared to social media by THE AHS zone X (formerly Twitter) account. Asked by a fan, “Are we getting Ratched Season 2,” the actress offered a disappointing update on the status of the show, saying, “No.” At this time, Netflix has not made any official announcements about Ratched.

Acting as a prequel to Ken Kensey’s classic novel, Ratched debuted on Netflix back in September 2020. The series centers around Nurse Ratched and begins in 1947, just as Nurse Ratched hopes to get a job at a Northern California psychiatric hospital. The show follows Ratched’s journey and evolution from nurse to monster. Along with Paulson, the show also stars Finn Wittrock as Edmund Tolleson, Cynthia Nixon as Gwendolyn Briggs, Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Richard Hanover/Dr. Manuel Bañaga, Charlie Carver as Huck Finnigan, Judy Davis as Nurse Betsy Bucket, and Sharon Stone as Lenore Osgood. Also featured were Corey Stoll, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alice Englert, Amanda Plummer, Jermaine Williams, Annie Starke, Brandon Flynn, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Sophie Okonedo.

Paulson’s confirmation that Season 2 will not be happening comes despite Netflix’s initial multi-season commitment to the project. When the streamer acquired Ratched in 2017 following a competitive bidding process with Apple and Hulu, Netflix committed to two seasons and 18 episodes. Not long after, in February 2018, it was confirmed that Murphy signed a $300 million deal with Netflix to produce content for the streamer, among those titles being Ratched. The series went on to debut in September 2020, immediately finding success and soaring to the top of the streaming charts.

Despite that success and Netflix’s initial two-season commitment, Ratched seemed doomed to just a single season, with Netflix remaining mum on the status of the show. In 2022, Paulson even shared with Variety that she was unsure if a second season was still happening. Ratched Season 1, the first and seemingly only season, is available to stream on Netflix. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest streaming news and updates!