There's a certain worry among Netflix fans that, if the streamer doesn't announce a new season straight away, then the show is due for cancellation. Well, the platform's newest axed show bucks this trend, because the flush has been pulled on a show that did have a second season planned.
The Netflix Original in question is Ratched, a series that was conceived as a prequel to the multi-Oscar-winning movie One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. It stars Sarah Paulson as Nurse Ratched, who works at a psychiatric ward with lots of dangerous patients, while she tries to rescue her brother from its clutches.
Ratched season one ended with Nurse Ratched on the run, being pursued by a murderer with a bone to pick, but she's preparing to turn the tables in a second season... except that it'll no longer happen.
Despite Ratched initially getting a two-season order (as per Deadline), the silence since the first season's 2020 debut has been deafening. And now, in a video shared on Twitter/X, Paulson has confirmed that there won't be a second season coming.
Ratched was developed by Ryan Murphy, a TV powerhouse whom TV fans will also know as he produced or created American Horry Story, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Glee.
The show was fairly popular when it came out, and Netflix itself called it "our biggest original Season 1 of the year" for 2020. It was nominated for quite a few awards at the Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes, though it didn't win any.
Netflix subscribers are no strangers to series cancelations, as the streamer has cultivated a reputation for axing series despite fans clamoring for more.
Recently, though, the platform has been making a concerted effort to buck that reputation, renewing shows left, right and center. Within the few days before Ratched's cancelation, Sweet Home was confirmed for a third season while filming plans were announced for second seasons of The Night Agent and One Piece.
In fact, this is only Netflix's second major cancelation of the year, after the critically-maligned but viewer-popular Obliterated which was axed earlier in February 2024.
Netflix's decision to turn a new leaf may be great news for subscribers who love its new shows, but it's too little, too late for Ratched fans.
