Netflix Customers up in Arms After Thrilling Show's Cancellation

By Michael Hein

Another Netflix original series has been canceled after just one season, and fans are getting fed up. The new thriller Archive 81 premiered on Jan. 14, 2022, and was canceled just two months later. This, on top of other negative press for Netflix, had some customers at their wits' end.

Archive 81 is a TV adaptation of a popular podcast that tells the story of an archivist hired to restore some home videotapes damaged in a fire. Along the way, he uncovers a dark secret including violent crime and perhaps even a cult with real supernatural power. It stars Mamoudou Athie as the archivist, Dan Turner, and it was developed for TV by Rebecca Sonnenshine. The original podcast was created by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger.

Archive 81 was definitely a critical success. At the time of this writing it has 85 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus: "An intriguing blend of horror and noir, Archive 81 offers addictive supernatural thrills that are haunting in the best way." It also hit some promising benchmarks as far as ratings when it was first released, but it must not have looked quite as good on Netflix's end since it was canceled.

Netflix has become infamous for canceling shows too soon as far as fans are concerned. The service has also raised its prices lately and is cracking down on users who share their passwords with one another, so public opinion is not with the streamer. Here's a look at how the Archive 81 cancellation pushed some subscribers over the edge.

Investment

Even though good shows are still coming out on Netflix, fans noted that it is difficult to keep getting invested in them when they know the shows might be canceled at any moment.

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Petition

As always, some fans directly begged Netflix to reconsider this cancellation, hoping that a large outpouring of support from fans online would sway the company. Some even started an online petition to un-cancel the series.

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Criteria

Fans were deeply confused about why Archive 81 was canceled after its apparently good performance on Netflix's self-reported Top 10 list. Many felt like they no longer knew how to judge when Netflix would cancel a series.

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Athie

Fans hoped that this would not be the last leading role for Mamoudou Athie. The actor has definitely been on the rise lately, and many hoped this would be the part that would make him a household name.

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Sonnenshine

Series creator Rebecca Sonnenshine tweeted about the cancellation and got an outpouring of condolences and support from fans.

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Revival

Many fans jumped straight to planning the revival for this series on another platform. Some suggested the streamer that they thought could handle the story better than Netflix.

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Podcast

Finally, some fans recommended the original Archive 81 podcast to each other to ease the heartbreak of this cancellation. Some even felt like the story was better in its original medium.

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