Netflix pulls the plug on the Duffer brothers' new sci-fi horror after just one season

Here we go again. Netflix has chopped the head off another of its expensive new sci-fi shows — this time, 'The Boroughs', the one with all the hype because the Duffer Brothers of 'Stranger Things' fame were executive producers. The whole thing barely made it to six weeks before getting the axe, which probably gives you a clue about how things went behind the scenes.

What actually happened to 'The Boroughs'?

Right, so at first glance, this looked like Netflix's next big thing in the spooky-sci-fi department. The series, dreamed up by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, launched into a pretty competitive landscape — not least because everyone was still talking about 'Stranger Things' winding down.

But, and here’s the rub, the numbers just weren’t there. According to Deadline, the show pulled in 5.6 million views over its first weekend. Then it got a bump up to 9.5 million for the full first week, which sounds grand on paper but, by the second week, things had tanked to just 3.7 million. That’s a proper nosedive.

Why didn’t Netflix stick with it?

• Viewership wasn’t enough: Netflix has its own behind-the-curtain targets, and 'The Boroughs' fell short. Not a small miss, either — especially awkward given the Duffer connection and all the upfront fanfare.
• It cost a fortune: The show had a big budget, partly thanks to the CGI needed for its 'retirement community versus sci-fi monsters' story, and partly because the cast list was packed with proper heavyweights — you’ve got Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, and Bill Pullman. None of them come cheap.
• Backroom wheels were already turning: They’d actually started planning a writers room for a second series, with some chat about filming parts of season two and three together, hoping for a big franchise play. All of that's now on ice.

Critically, it actually did well

This bit’s honestly a bit of a shock because the show did seriously well with critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a whopping 97% on their Tomatometer, and even audiences offered up a solid 79%. Loads of people praised the quirky premise, with pensioners trying to fend off a supernatural entity draining their remaining time.

But this is Netflix, and glowing reviews only get you so far. If the audience numbers aren’t stacking up, especially for something that expensive, it’s curtains.

'Netflix weighs such high price tags against raw viewership data when making renewal decisions.'

So yes, all critical love aside, the streaming giant's pulled the plug with barely a backward glance.