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1899 was cancelled by Netflix after its first season.

According to the Wikipedia article on 1899,

Netflix announced a few days after release that 1899 was in 58 countries the most watched product of all the offerings available on Netflix at that time. Despite this, on 2 January 2023, the show was cancelled.

I haven't been able to find the reason for the cancellation of a highly anticipated and seemingly successful series, created by the creators of another similarly successful series.

Has the reason for the cancellation ever surfaced?

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    Were they the 58 smallest countries on Earth?
    – Organic Marble
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 12:37
  • Did the production hit choppy waters? Did the renewal process run aground? Did sunk costs drag the show below the waterline? Or did Netflix only realise once they got around to watching it that it was not, in fact, yet another prequel to Yellowstone?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 12:40
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    @OrganicMarble - Loads of people watched the first episode, then didn't bother watching the second. That's never a good sign
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 13:10
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    More episodic shows can market new seasons more-or-less independently from old ones. But for a heavily story-based show like 1899, the potential audience for season 2 is essentially limited to the people who watched the first season to completion, which is almost by definition smaller than the audience for the show when it was first released. (Of course that's short-run thinking; there are still shows from the 90s that I rewatch and recommend to friends because they tell a complete story. The ones that were cancelled simply lose all future interest)
    – Ben
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 23:15
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    It feels like the number of people that watch the show in the first few days after release is more a result of marketing success than the actual quality of the show. As someone who did watch the entire first season hoping the ending would make it worthwhile... well, I would not watch the second season if they made one.
    – MartianInvader
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 23:55

1 Answer 1

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According to this interview with the creators, it was too expensive and the audience reach didn't justify the expense.

..but it wasn't enough to guarantee a second season. Netflix chose to cancel production on the grounds that it was too expensive and had not reached a relevant audience enough to maintain itself. The creators do not hide their disappointment and are still trying to understand the impact of the decision.

"The cancellation of “1899” changed the way we think about our projects a lot. Things have changed a lot in the industry and in society, especially in the way people produce and consume content. We really believe that if “Dark” were released now, it wouldn’t have any chance — laments Odar. — We have so much content in the world today that people are always consuming things quickly and without dedication. With the cancellation, we had to think about whether our storytelling is something people still want and whether we should adjust it. Honestly, we don't have an answer yet."

Creators of 'Dark' and '1899' talk about new series and accusation of plagiarism: 'it was one of the most painful moments' (Google Translated from Portuguese)

As regards the audience figures, although it had good opening figures, the "completion rate" was appalling, with less than a third of Episode 1 viewers sticking with it until the final episode.

Netflix doesn’t share this info with the public, but according to data analytics company Digital i (via What’s On Netflix), 1899’s completion rate was just 32 percent.

The secret Netflix metric that got 1899 canceled — and could ruin TV forever

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  • 'the "completion rate" was appalling' - what a nonsensical measure ... I did watch the first episode, and given that it was both excellent and highly arc-based, I decided to watch the full series once it's been released, so I could fully enjoy it rather than forget about all the details every time while waiting for the next season to arrive. It seems the Netflix marketing people don't understand their own product.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented May 29 at 5:15
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    @O.R.Mapper: they understand their product. Their product is not viable if you wait three years for the show to be over, then subscribe for a month to binge-watch the show before moving to another platform.
    – Taladris
    Commented May 29 at 9:44
  • @Taladris - Exactly. The goal of these streaming services is services is to sell subs. That's why shows like Discovery continue season after season despite its appalling ratings.
    – Valorum
    Commented May 29 at 9:57
  • @Taladris: Wait, who said anything about subscribing just for a month? My Netflix subscription has been running uninterrupted for some five years now, because there was usually always some worthwhile content, or at least the expectation of some worthwhile content becoming available soon (such as further seasons of series). Granted, I have indeed staretd to contemplate moving to another platform, as a consequence of the apparent increase of aborting promising series after just a season or two (IOW, before I even started watching them). Ok, that and the fact that they appear to be moving ...
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented May 29 at 21:46
  • ... away from sci-fi-esque stuff in favour of genres I'm less interested in. Don't get me wrong, I know there are people who somehow find or take the time to cyclically sign up with and cancel different streaming services every month. My comment was a reaction to this answer presenting the "completion rate" as such a natural, undisputable metric that accurately measures how many viewers intend to watch the full series.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented May 29 at 21:58

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