After eight episodes, Darren Star’s latest romantic-comedy venture Uncoupled, housed by Netflix, has been cancelled.
Starring Neil Patrick-Harris, the queer-catered series focused on the dissolving love life of middle-aged Michael Lawson, portrayed by Harris, as he navigates single life post-breakup. Critics hailed the project as refreshing and realistic, but that clearly wasn’t enough for the series that only premiered in July of 2022.
The discourse surrounding Netflix and their habit to cancel freshman shows with immediate effect has been buzzing around the internet as of recent, with other series 1899 and Inside Job also failing to generate enough buzz to warrant a second round of episodes.
Uncoupled was the second part of a deal struck between Star and the streaming service, with his first project proving to be an enormous success in the form of Emily In Paris. With a third season of the Francophile rom-com premiering this last December and skyrocketing to the top of Netflix’s viewing figures in its first week, it is becoming clearer than ever that the site is increasingly relying on initial numbers as opposed to projects that burn at a slower rate.
Shows such as Wednesday have proven to be a prime example of this, receiving confirmation of a second season less than two months after its premiere. Such decisions only intensify discussions surrounding the viability of new intellectual property in both television and film, as projects that don’t focus largely on pre-existing content, unlike Wednesday, continue to be seen as failures if they don’t deliver big out the gate.
Fans of Uncoupled, as well as Star’s other projects – most notably HBO’s Sex & The City – have flocked to Twitter to express their dismay at the cancellation. User Walter Ude stated: ‘You really can’t trust Netflix to commit to any show unless it does stratospheric numbers. #Uncoupled was really smart and funny, a good show. That cliffhanger had me gagging for season 2.’
Steve Dwayne expanded on the decision, citing its best parts: ‘Tisha Campbell, sex and the city vibes, and gay content that’s not corny. I hate getting invested in shows’
As Netflix continues to axe niche content, what other smaller-scale shows will be axed this coming year, despite audience investment? Only time will tell.
Words by Ben Carpenter
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.