Netflix is no longer airing these animated series.
When it comes to the cancellation of shows, Netflix is no slouch. Even when well-known artists are involved, the streamer has no trouble letting go of promising ideas. A Netflix show generally has at least one season to prove itself, but four shows have just had their fates decided without ever having aired an episode.
Wings of Fire, Antiracist Baby, With Kind Regards From Kindergarten, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You have all been cancelled by Netflix, according to Variety. These shows were never released on Netflix. They were all cancelled before they had a chance to air a single episode.
Wings of Fire was based on Tui T. Sutherland’s successful children’s book series. This fantasy series revolves around the feuding dragon tribes of the world. So far, the mainstream series has a total of 15 books, as well as a few spin-offs. Executive producer Ava DuVernay was also on board.
Based on the book Antiracist Baby written by Ibram X. Kendi, it would have been a compilation of vignettes meant to teach children about racism from a child’s point of view. A second animated series based on a Kendi book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, has been cancelled. An adult-oriented show called Stamped From the Beginning, which will mix documentary material and written scenes and is now in post-production, was envisioned as a companion series.
Finally, Adam Kline’s book With Kind Regards from Kindergarten was made into a feature film. Friendships are torn apart when one of them loses their creativity in the tale. There were pirates, demons and eerie mechanical dolls in the film as well Interestingly, this initiative was never made public. This is the first time its cancellation has been officially announced.
With these four cancellations, Netflix follows up on last month’s decision to scrap its long-gestating animated adaptation of the Bone comic book series. Following this move, Jeff Smith, the creator of the series, took to social media to vent his displeasure with the streamer in the style of a comic strip.
Netflix has a history of cancelling projects while they are still in development, but it appears that the company’s animated series are taking a significant hit right now. Netflix’s Animated Kids & Family section may be to responsible for the lack of interest in their original programming. Recent reports by The Wrap indicate a major department shakeup has resulted in “many high-profile projects being summarily scrapped.” This is likely to have an impact on these four shows.
Netflix’s troubles are further being exacerbated by the growing list of titles it plans to eliminate in 2022. Subscriber numbers had dropped for the first time in a decade, according to a statement released by the service earlier this year. After announcing that it would be introducing an ad-supported tier and cracking down on password sharing before the end of the year, Netflix has also received criticism.
However, Netflix’s new No. 1 film appears to be engaging members, despite the fact that critics have been less than enthusiastic. Netflix is also conducting pre-release viewing for select subscribers of series and movies.