6 Years Later, Netflix’s Canceled 10-Part Masterpiece Is Still Streaming's Worst Mistake

Netflix has met its fair share of criticism recently for how often it cancels beloved series. While the streaming giant was previously known as a place of creative freedom where exciting new series could be given time and space to grow, that philosophy has all but disappeared recently, leading to series getting canceled before they can truly spread their wings.

Though fans might mourn the cancellations of big series like Glow, Sense8, and Mindhunter, at least those series got more than a single season.

One of the most disappointing Netflix cancellations was for Teenage Bounty Hunters, a series with only one 10-episode season, and its loss still stings 6 years later.

Netflix’s Teenage Bounty Hunters Had Tremendous Potential To Be Something Different

Released in August of 2020, right as the global pandemic was starting, Teenage Bounty Hunters struck a different note for Netflix. The series followed twin sisters (Maddie Phillips and Anjelica Bette Fellini) who, after damaging their father’s truck, take up bounty hunting to pay for the repairs.

Though Teenage Bounty Hunters did have an overarching narrative and bigger mysteries at play for the two young heroines to solve, the series was mostly episodic, with each entry seeing the girls and their mentor, Bowser (Kadeem Hardison), trying to bring a loose criminal to justice.

Unfortunately, despite a strong premise and a great cast, Netflix canceled Teenage Bounty Hunters in October of 2020, barely two months after the series premiered.

Netflix’s Cancellation of Teenage Bounty Hunters Suggests a Much Bigger Problem

Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, the problem of Netflix canceling series isn’t just limited to Teenage Bounty Hunters. Most infamously, Netflix canceled the critical darling Mindhunter in a move that’s still disappointing fans.

The problem is that more experimental shows like Teenage Bounty Hunters just aren’t given proper room to breathe on Netflix’s platform. With a weekly release model, there would be time for these series to build up hype and gain an audience. By releasing all of a season’s episodes at once, Netflix is failing to let series grow organically.

This binge release model is especially hurtful to something like Teenage Bounty Hunters, which had a more episodic structure. Netflix themselves seem to recognize this problem to a certain extent. There’s a reason Netflix has been staggering its biggest releases, like Stranger Things’ final season.

Series like Teenage Bounty Hunters deserve more time to shine, and, unfortunately, streaming services like Netflix have truly adopted a sink or swim mentality.