Netflix has decided to cancel its series adaptation of Cowboy Bebop after one season. Despite its strong cast, stylish flair, and beloved source material, the series was unable to capture the audience’s attention, and those who did tune in were invariably disappointed. The cancellation comes just three weeks after last month’s series premiere, and writers were already working on season two.
Our own Briana Lawrence described the series, writing, “There’s a lot to live up to with Cowboy Bebop, and I feel like, at the end of the day, we got something from a group of creatives who adore the property, but waffled between ‘staying true’ and ‘doing our own thing’ and ‘staying true AND doing our own thing at the same time.’” Fellow critics also noted that the series struggled between paying homage to the iconic anime and doing its own thing.
Cowboy Bebop had a 46 percent positive critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a fan rating of 56 percent positive. And while the series opened to high viewership numbers, those views quickly dropped off. And given Netflix’s secrecy around viewership numbers, we’ll never know how big the show’s audience ended up being. Either way, Cowboy Bebop did not hit the mark critically or, it seems, commercially, so Netflix pulled the plug.
Netflix has struggled with their live-action anime adaptations, as has Hollywood in general. (Ghost in the Shell, anyone?) So much of the issue lies in both the expense of adapting these futuristic, tech-heavy worlds and in capturing the tone of these fan-favorite anime series. You can’t help but lose things in the translation from animation to live action.
It’s a shame, because the series had so much going for it, but ultimately, it just didn’t find its audience. At least our imaginary boyfriend John Cho is taking the news well.
— John Cho (@JohnTheCho) December 10, 2021
What did you think of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop?
(via THR, image: Netflix)
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