Netflix's 2023 Cancellations Have Targeted Shows With LGBTQ+ Characters and Stories

Barely a big toe into 2023, and Netflix has already canceled several queer shows. Over 20 LGBTQ-inclusive television and streaming shows were canceled last year, including Saved by the Bell, Love, Victor, Queer as Folk, Los Espookys, Legendary and Warrior Nun, which deserved more seasons. Despite this, executives love to go on canceling sprees, and queer TV shows always seem the most vulnerable. There is Heartstopper and a few stray roles on mainstream TV, but besides that, LGBTQ+ characters are scarce. There have been many fantastic LGBTQ+ shows on Netflix, but unfortunately, they have all been canceled after only one or two seasons. Here's a list of the LGBTQ+ series that won't survive past 2023.

1899

This German show that follows a group of immigrants on a ship that encounters mysterious events was supposed to be the follow-up to Netflix's Dark, but it was canceled after just one season. The series also had a diverse international cast with actors that spoke more than a dozen languages. 1899's queer representation came in the form of a love triangle between gay characters Krester, Ángel and Ramiro. While Ángel and Ramiro are already a couple, Ángel later gets attracted to Krester. Unfortunately, Ángel dies before he can reconcile his feelings for either man. According to Wired, the show's demise is a decision that "comes down to the data"; how well it attracts and retains subscribers.

Dead End: Paranormal Park

Despite entertaining viewers for two seasons, Hamish Steele's cute and inclusive cartoon was canceled by Netflix. In this horror comedy, trans teen Barney Guttman and queer teen Norma Khan work at a theme park with demons and supernatural creatures.  Steele wrote on Twitter that, while he knew Netflix wouldn't renew Dead End, he was hopeful that "we could reverse it, change it, make something good out of it" and even had a writers room working on a third season."We have scripts and designs and outlines ready to go," Steele said. "It was always the plan to give these characters the proper ending they deserve. But sadly, the powers that be don't want any more. Honestly, we were lucky to make it through everything happening in the last few years." Although Steele indicated that the series is done for good, he also announced that he is working on the third, final DeadEndia graphic novel that inspired the show's third season. 

Uncoupled

Uncoupled is a light-hearted series created by Jeffrey Richman that stars Neil Patrick Harris as a newly single gay man in his late 40s who suddenly finds himself single after his partner of 17 years dumps him. Harris said of the project, "I'm very appreciative and grateful that we live in a time when this kind of content can be created and shown without much need to recognize its uniqueness," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "It really was a breakup show written by people who had been broken up with, and they were sharing their experiences. And that doesn't need to be only seen by people who have shared that exact same experience." Unfortunately, Netflix canceled Uncoupled after one season. Thankfully, this may not be the end for the show, as there have been talks of it moving over to a Paramount Global network.