Netflix Quietly Canceled One of Its Most-Watched Shows

Usually, when a show is canceled, it's the result of poor viewership. But one recent Netflix cancellation proves that's not always the case, as the streaming giant canceled a show that turned out to be one of its most-watched series of the season.

Earlier this year, Netflix quietly canceled its new western drama The Abandons after just one season. However, the recent viewership data for the 2025-26 season was just released, and it proves that despite the cancellation, the show was actually one of the network's most-watched shows.

'The Abandons'

Following the enormous success of Yellowstone, Netflix appeared to try to recreate the magic with a western drama of its own.

Set in 1850s Washington, The Abandons follows two families led by powerful matriarchs, one wealthy and one poor but deeply loyal, as they battle for supremacy on the frontier.

The show was a hit immediately, drawing 19.8 million views in 28 days following its release, according to Deadline. It spent two weeks among the streaming service's top 10 English-language shows. The viewership did drop off significantly after its strong start, and the show was ultimately canceled just one month after it premiered.

As usual, this was a quiet cancellation from the streamer as no formal announcement was made, but the show was not renewed for another season.

Showrunner Not Happy

Showrunner Kurt Sutter was not happy about the show's cancellation, and he took Netflix to task publicly, accusing the streaming giant of valuing "algorithms" over the "potentially beautiful project."

"Dear Netflix, Next time fear compels you to choose the algorithm over a creator's vision, remember how that choice unraveled a potentially beautiful project," he wrote after the show's cancellation.

According to Deadline, Sutter exited the project just three weeks before it was slated to wrap as a result of "creative differences." The original project was slated for 10 episodes, with the order eventually trimmed to seven episodes.

Deadline reports that Sutter clashed with leadership about the lengths of the episodes, as his first episode came in at 1 hour and 40 minutes and was trimmed to just 50 minutes after his exit, which could be what he was referring to when he accused Netflix of prioritizing "the algorithm." The show did not have a single episode that went longer than one hour.

Sutter went on to blame "leadership failures" and revealed an absolutely massive budget for the show.

"FYI: Shareholders hate it when they learn more than $150 million was wasted on a single show trying to fix unnecessary mistakes of leadership failures – a destructive trend for both Hollywood and Wall Street," he wrote.

The Show Actually 'Overperformed'

Despite the show's cancellation, the show actually had strong viewership numbers. In fact, it was one of Netflix's most-watched shows and one of the most-watched shows in America last year.

According to Variety's list of the 100 most-watched series of the 2025-26 season, The Abandons ranked No. 84, with the outlet writing that the show actually "overperformed" compared to other shows that were renewed for follow-up seasons.

"It's sometimes a mystery when high-performing shows get the ax, and that was the case again this season with Netflix's Boots (6.5 million), CBS' Watson (6.4 million), Netflix's The Abandons (5.8 million) and CBS' DMV (5.7 million)," Variety reported earlier this month.

"Those shows all made it to the end-of-year top 100 list, yet were canceled for a variety of stated reasons. Some were blamed for pricey budgets or declining viewership. And in the case of Boots, there was some concern there was a politics angle as well. No matter the reason, they all performed better than many shows that are getting another season," Variety continued.

The series Boots, as Variety mentioned, was another Netflix show that was quietly canceled despite strong viewership.

Regardless of the viewership numbers, however, the show was canceled and will not get a second season.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 9:11 PM.