Last November, Netflix premiered Cowboy Bebop, a live-action series based on the anime of the same name. After a single season, the streaming platform has canceled production.
As The Hollywood Reporter points out, the series has racked up nearly 74 million viewing hours worldwide since its launch, but plummeted 59% during the week of November 29 to December 5.
Sources cited by the US publication point out that Netflix’s renewal rate for scripted series that have two or more seasons is 60%, in line with industry averages and, like all Netflix renewal decisions, are took when comparing the audience and the cost of fiction. Notably, the 10-episode series did not have a very enthusiastic reception, scoring 46% on Rotten Tomatoes by critics, while the audience gave it only 56%.
“Cowboy Bebop tells the story of an anarchic group of bounty hunters fleeing their past as they hunt down the most dangerous criminals throughout the solar system. They could even save the world at a good price,” reads the synopsis of the series, starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell.
The original Cowboy Bebop anime initially aired on TV Tokyo from April to June 1998. The production consists of 26 episodes. Already in 2001, Cowboy Bebop, the movie: Knocking on Heaven’s Door, was released. Both the original fiction and the film are directed by Shinichiro Watanabe.
