American television is wild! There you are, enjoying a television show, either halfway through a season or with an end-of-season cliffhanger awaiting a resolution, and suddenly “Bang!” – the show is taken around the back of the barn like Old Yeller and put out of its misery, leaving you thinking “Hold up! I was watching that!” The itchy trigger finger of a studio exec remains constant. So it is with The Boroughs.
Outposters were watching it. They reported great things. The reviews elsewhere were high. None of this was enough to save it. Netflix has cancelled the all-star sci-fi series after just one season.
The Boroughs was executive produced by Stranger Things duo The Duffer Brothers from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. While the reviews were strong, the numbers were weak. 5.6 million views for the opening weekend, up to 9.5 million for the first full week, but then falling back to 3.7 million views after this.
Netflix had been talking about renewing the series and had opened the writers’ room for season 2. Now those writers will have to find a new project.
The Boroughs starred Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, Jena Malone, Carlos Miranda, and Bill Pullman. All that star power couldn’t save it. That may have been part of the problem, as it wasn’t cheap, especially with the special effects budget.
I hear good things about Widows Bay from a number of Outposters. So if they touch that, we riot!
