‘First Kill’ On Netflix Canceled After One Season
Looks like Netflix is back with a firm hand on the chopping block. Netflix canceled First Kill directly after its first season. First Kill is a teen romance starring a vampire and a vampire hunter as star-crossed lovers. Juliette, the vampire played by Sarah Catherine Hook, aims to make her first kill and sets her eyes on the new girl Caliope, played by Imani Lewis, without knowing she’s a vampire hunter. Despite being pushed to kill one another, they fall in love.
First Kill not only gave us a lesbian vampire romance but also a dark-skinned, Black woman as the lead. Netflix canceling a show with great representation for multiple communities is very upsetting, but according to Netflix First Kill didn’t meet the viewership and episode completion numbers in comparison to the cost of the show.
However, in the first three days since its release, the show ranked number seven on Netflix’s 10 English-language TV series, with 30.3 million views. In the first week, it jumped to number four with 48.8 million hours viewed. The show earned more than 97 million viewing hours whereas Heartstopper, another LGBTQ teen romance show on Netflix, got 53 million viewing hours. Even with fewer viewing hours, Heartstopper got renewed for two more seasons.
Many people are upset by the cancellation of the show. First Kill’s showrunner shared the promotion for the show might’ve played a part in its cancellation by not encompassing what the show is about outside of the lesbian vampire love story.
“The art for the initial marketing was beautiful. I think I expected that to be the beginning and that the other equally compelling and important elements of the show—monsters vs. monster hunters, the battle between two powerful matriarchs, etc.—would eventually be promoted, and that didn’t happen,” says Felicia Henderson, First Kill’s showrunner. Fans and viewers, despite their mixed feelings about the show, are so disappointed by losing another show with important representation that they’ve started a petition for a second season. Netflix has made space and budgets for transphobic comedy specials but is consistently stingy with its pockets when it comes to ground-breaking shows for LGBTQ and BIPOC viewers.
subscription canceled. @netflix ian even like y’all anyway🙄 at least hulu updates their shows… pic.twitter.com/BQ8IJD1QKn
— Sarah Catherine’s Finger nails (@BestOfFirstKil2) August 3, 2022
@captwinghead #greenscreen #firstkill Netflix is now my nemesis. I was a loyal subscriber for over 10 years but I don’t even intend on coming back
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Photo courtesy of Netflix on Instagram
