Netflix has decided not to move forward with its Resident Evil series, which will end with only one season that was made available back on July 14th. The series hasn’t had a strong following as the streamer hoped for, as it wasn’t dominating its Top 10 category and it seems that the viewing numbers just weren’t there either. To be fair, the idea of releasing anything after the monolith that is Stranger Things also didn’t help and undercut the project’s release which hit a decent 72.7M hours viewed at the #2 spot. It didn’t quite get the word-of-mouth they may have hoped as it dropped in its second weekend and was no longer in the Top 10 after three weeks.
Netflix’s model isn’t very friendly to new projects starting out, as their expectations are extremely high for any project, and the higher the budget, the more retention it needs to show. Even The Sandman which has had one of the slowest drops for any series may not get a renewal simply for how high the expectations are for this project. There is still quite a bit out there for those looking for their fill, but keep that in mind that binging the show and keeping it high is important to keep it going. Wednesday, One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more are good contenders for more IP-based offerings with growing potential.
Resident Evil was created by Andrew Dabb and takes place 14 years after the virus hit. We explore Jade’s story, the daughter of Albert Wesker, as she uncovers the connections between her father and the Umbrella Corporation. While the series had some creative elements, it didn’t quite go viral as The Sandman did with most people pointing out the random dancing sequence, which ended up getting shared on social media platforms like Tik Tok. It also shows that an IP name doesn’t ensure success for these projects.
Source: Deadline
