Netflix has canceled three more TV shows. If you are a fan of "The Last Kingdom," "The Irregulars," and "Dutchess," unfortunately Netflix will not be renewing the new series.

Over the past few years, Netflix has been releasing more and more shows and movies, creating a seemingly never-ending river of programming. And this latest news reminds us that we may need to take an interest in watching shows ahead of time to survive the inevitable culling of shows.

News of these discontinuations has been making waves in recent weeks, with Deadline reporting the end of "The Last Kingdom," "Dutchess," and "Irregulars."

"The Last Kingdom," based on Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales" series of novels and pulled from the BBC, had a fairly decent run before Netflix announced that season 5 would be its last with the streaming giant. It was picked up for season 3 and renewed for several seasons after that.

Of course, each cancellation will hit differently depending on what viewers are watching. This brings us to "Irregulars," which is also being dropped from Netflix. But it was a bigger success story than "The Last Kingdom," charting in Netflix's coveted Top 10 and holding that position for several weeks after its initial release.

Netflix has not given a solid reason for the show's cancellation, but the show's Dickensian crew of misfits has been compared to the streamer's hugely popular period drama "Bridgerton."

In the hotly contested world of Netflix's top shows, viewership numbers will always take precedence over the tribal fan loyalty of smaller shows. Indeed, Netflix's ratings statistics have always felt uninformative because they count those who "chose to watch and watched for at least two minutes." Nevertheless, Netflix seems determined to follow the numbers, even if it means upsetting the loyal fan groups of shows like The Irregulars.

Many disgruntled fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the show being let go, with one fan comparing it to Netflix's latest hit series, although Season 2 of "Shadow and Bone" will air on Netflix, not yet announced due to the length of time it has spent at the top of the Netflix charts.

Last on the list: 'Dutchess'. Created by U.K.-based comedian Katherine Ryan, this six-part series launched in September 2020, but has not been rerun. Ryan focuses on the often problematic livelihoods of single mothers living in London, and Vicky Pattison's podcast "The Secret To..." and told fans that Netflix decided not to renew it because, surprisingly, it had a small audience.

A common theory, and one often pointed out by streaming fans, is that networks often use pilot episodes of TV series to sell shows to TV stations. This is still in use today, except on Netflix. However, when Netflix came on the scene, it usually changed the game, signing up for the entire first season rather than putting money into a pilot that failed to make it into a series.

That, of course, meant that a show could be pulled after just one series, depending on the whims of the powers that be at Netflix. Unfortunately, it would also give fans just enough of a window to invest in the show before it is axed.