It's never good news when a TV show gets canceled. But this surprise rush of cancellations by Netflix certainly raises eyebrows. As reported by Deadline, Netflix is axing five shows: Shadow and Bone, Glamorous, Agent Elvis, The Further, and Captain Fall. Most of these were not big hits for this popular streaming service, but the cancellation of "Shadow and Bone" is a surprise. The show was adapted from Lee Bardugo's Grishaverse novels and already had a good following of enthusiastic fans.

Also, Netflix seemed invested in the series until just before its abrupt termination. The streaming giant had just announced a new Shadow and Bone game, Shadow and Bone: Enter the Fold, at its Geeked Week event just six days earlier. [Unlike competitor Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix may not have wanted to shelve an already completed project. But between Netflix's aggressive approach to gaming, of which "Shadow & Bone" seemed to be a major part, and Netflix's investment in the Grishaverse, the cancellation of the TV series came as a surprise to the industry and fans alike.

Part of the reason this latest Netflix cancellation is a surprise is that the streaming service was relatively quiet about the cancellation during the recent Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America strikes. Not only that, they even renewed several shows during the strike, including the popular live-action "One Piece", "The Night Agent", and "The Diplomat". But now that the strike is over, Netflix appears to be forced to cut costs, as Deadline headlined "'Shadow And Bone,' 'Glamorous,' 'Agent Elvis' Among 5 Series Canceled By Netflix Amid As reported under the headline "Strike Impact," at least that's what some industry insiders are trying to say.

While it is naive to think that the strike has had no impact on the studios, there seems to be a more obvious answer as to why these shows were cancelled. Agent Elvis, Falzer, and Captain Fall are all animated TV shows, and while Netflix still has several successful ongoing animated shows, it appears to be reducing its investment in original animated content: according to CBR, in 2022 alone streaming services canceled at least a dozen animated shows.

And as Deadline points out in its coverage, all three shows were developed by Netflix's previous adult animation chief. So it is no great surprise that these shows are going the way of the dodo.

"Glamorous" and "Shadow & Bone" cannot be explained away because they are genres that Netflix no longer prioritizes, but there are also clear reasons for their cancellation once they are seen.

"Glamorous" was mostly a flop, spending only two weeks in the Netflix top 10, while "Shadow and Bone," despite an impressive first season, only managed five weeks in the top 10 and, perhaps more importantly, never reached #1 It did not. Given the investment required to produce content from the Grishaverse IP, Netflix likely determined that the current return on investment for the Shadow and Bone show is not meeting expectations.

So will Netflix use the end of the strike (which is a fact) and the current economic climate as cover to cancel a few more unprofitable series that will lead to higher costs? Perhaps, but the key here is that the shows being cancelled are underperforming. Netflix is canceling "Sandman," one of the most expensive shows to film in television history.