Listen to Kelly Clarkson. The Voice coach, talk show host, and new Lucifer fan just perfectly explained the problem with Netflix being so quick to cancel shows. As you probably know, Lucifer Season 5 will be the final season on Netflix. The show started in 2016 on Fox and was cancelled after three seasons. Netflix saved it for 2019's Season 4, but announced the series would end with the upcoming Season 5. Five seasons is a godsend compared to many other streaming shows, but Lucifans still want more.
Enter Kelly Clarkson.
Kelly Clarkson has been famous since she won the first season of American Idol, but her story represents so many viewers out there. She is a busy mom of four -- two with husband Brandon Blackstock, and two she's helping to raise from his previous marriage. Like many fans, she got into a Netflix show after it was recommended by someone close to her. It took her a long time to finally watch, and she just learned that she won't be getting more seasons after the new one.
So she posted a two-part Instagram video plea to Netflix to un-cancel Lucifer:
OK, I'm upset, because it took me forever to catch on to this show because I have four children and a lot of jobs and a lot going on. But I cannot believe -- my sister was like, 'You need to watch this show, you're going to love this show.' And I kept trying, and every time I did there was a kid, there was something that was happening. So I never got to, and then I started watching it and I obsessively watched three seasons in like four days. My husband is so over it, probably. But I love it. The show is called Lucifer and I'm so mad because I just found out [it's cancelled after Season 5].
She continued by asking Netflix to continue the show, explaining how she -- like so many fans -- sometimes takes a while to watch a show instead of binging it in one weekend or on a regular cable/network TV schedule of one episode a week:
Here's what I need, Netflix, what do we need to do to make sure there's more seasons than just Season 5? Because, here's what happens. I get on a show late in the game, and it's amazing, and then people end up going, 'Oh, it's over, and it's cancelled,' and I'm like, 'Why?' and I'm mad about it. Anyway, if you haven't watched Lucifer you should watch it, it's awesome. The end of Season 4? Let's talk about it. It's so good and sad. I'm obsessed, it's fun. ... Netflix, how 'bout y'all go ahead and re-up that? And you just do me a solid and continue this greatness.
Lucifer fans were thrilled with Kelly Clarkson's video. She also gave a specific shoutout to Lucifer star Aimee Garcia as Ella Lopez, wanting Aimee on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Garcia was ecstatic:
DEAD [crying and heart emojis] THANK YOU again for your video this morn! It seriously MADE. MY. YEAR.
Watch Kelly Clarkson's Instagram video message:
It's probably too late to help revive Lucifer for Season 6 on Netflix -- The Powers That Be already said as much. They're already filming the final season, as written to end the saga. But even if Kelly Clarkson's plea doesn't help Lucifer, hopefully it works in tandem with The OA fans' recent #CancelNetflix protests to help Netflix execs rethink their cancellation strategy.
Many fans are upset about Netflix shows being cancelled quickly, sometimes after three seasons -- because of a particular formula they have where costs get higher after that point -- and sometimes after just one season, like Sean Astin and Melissa Joan Hart's new show. What if, say, Kelly Clarkson would've loved No Good Nick and just hadn't gotten around to it yet, but now that she has a bit more time she watched Season 1 and wished for more?
Netflix doesn't release viewing figures like cable/network TV via the Nielsen ratings. But it does seem like you have to watch the episodes pretty quickly or Netflix will decide not enough people care vs. the cost to return for another season.
That's not too different from "regular" TV, in that people are always just discovering past seasons On Demand -- or through streaming on Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu -- and then joining the crowd to watch new seasons as they premiere on network TV.
It's a weird, imperfect system. I don't know the solution, since Netflix and all streamers and TV networks are businesses and they have to make money. People can't just watch faster, especially if they are parents or busy students or just, you know, have lives. There's always a lot of content coming to Netflix and it's hard for things to stand out enough to be watched in time for renewal. Your thoughts?
