I am usually correct when I predict which shows are going to be renewed on Netflix and which are probably going to be cancelled, which is why this recent news caught me totally off guard.
This week, Netflix announced they were cancelling The Waterfront its new crime series that seemed poised to be a Bloodline or Ozark replacement, or at least something adjacent to it as a water-based crime show. There will be no season 2.
Netflix informed Kevin Williamson, its creator, who then informed the cast and crew, its lead being Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany. The show reviewed okay, a 68% from critics and a near-identical, positive 67% from audiences, but that’s generally not what Netflix considers, they want views.
And it seemed like The Waterfront had those views. The show stayed at #1 for a number of days, and was only knocked down because Squid Game season 3 arrived. It’s also likely that really all viewership for new shows would have dropped with the Squid Game finale there, including that former #1 series. But even past that, The Waterfront spent a full five weeks in the global top 10. It’s also worth noting that this performance was better than something like Ransom Canyon, which Netflix did renew for season 2.
There’s also cost but…how could this show have been that expensive? It’s not some sort of huge blockbuster, it does not have a big A-list cast that would demand huge salaries. Insider information given to Deadline indicates that the non-public “completion rate” was solid, but the internal reports also say that Netflix thought it wasn’t good enough. Neither was its viewership, they said, and I wonder what kind of standards exactly they had for a brand new series with relatively unknown actors starring in it.
If you didn’t watch it, here’s the synopsis of The Waterfront:
I’m not sure I’d recommend the show now, as it enters the graveyard of unfinished Netflix projects that are do not have a firm conclusion given their cancellation, making for an unsatisfying ending. It really does feel like something else must have happened here, as Netflix complaining about its viewership does not make sense based on what we could see with our own eyes on its top 10 list and its placement there for weeks.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/08/28/its-hard-to-believe-netflix-just-canceled-a-recent-1-hit-show/
