Netflix cancels Sense8 after two seasons
Image: Image: Netflix.
NETFLIX has dropped the axe on its globe-spanning queer sci-fi drama Sense8.
Premiering in 2015, the series premiered to mixed reviews but quickly garnered a loyal fanbase and critical acclaim across the world.
Created by the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, Sense8 followed a ‘cluster’ of people, all of whom shared a birthday, who could communicate telepathically.
After a Christmas special late last year, the series’ second season landed in early May, following the cluster as they were hunted by a murky, evil organisation.
The series was beloved for its LGBTI inclusion and multiculturalism, prominently featuring stories in South Korea, Kenya, India and Mexico alongside its white characters.
Many of the show’s main characters, including Lito (Miguel Angel Silvestre) and Nomi (Jamie Clayton), were queer, with Clayton being one of the rare trans cast members on a mainstream TV show.
The series also starred Doona Bae, Tuppence Middleton, Tina Desai, Max Reimelt, Brian J. Smith, Toby Onwumere, Freema Agyeman, Alfonso Herrera, Naveen Andrews, Terrence Mann and Daryl Hannah.
The news follows Netflix cancelling Baz Luhrmann’s pricey series The Get Down, indicating that the streaming giant’s blank cheque approach to original programming may be coming to an end.
Netflix is notorious for refusing to give hard numbers on viewership, instead focusing on the idea that original TV series and films will drive subscriber numbers up.
Sense8 comes to an end after a social media-driven fan campaign to save it, using the hashtag “#RenewSense8”.
Its creators, trans filmmakers Lilly and Lana Wachowski as well as Babylon 5 creator Stracznyski, have not yet commented on the cancellation.
