Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Netflix has confirmed that ‘The OA‘, the highly popular mystery drama show, will not be getting a third season. Cindy Holland, the VP of Original Content of Netflix addressed this cancelation, saying, “We are incredibly proud of the 16 mesmerizing chapters of The OA, and are grateful to Brit and Zal for sharing their audacious vision and for realizing it through their incredible artistry. We look forward to working with them again in the future, in this and perhaps many other dimensions.”
‘The OA’ quickly gained a significant fan following soon after its premiere in December, 2016. The second season further cemented its position as one of the most admired tv shows of recent times. Even critics praised the show, saying: “The OA’s second season provides satisfying answers to its predecessors’ most maddening enigmas, all while maintaining the singular ambience that fans have come to crave.”
Notably, Netflix has a very high renewal rate for shows moving from Season 1 to Season 2. The rate stands at around 80%. However, these numbers drop significantly from Season 2 onwards. As shows get more expensive for the platform, Netflix heavily scrutinizes the cost versus viewership in their decision-making process about which shows should get renewed and which ones will get canceled. Although Netflix does not release its viewership data, it takes into consideration whether a show will bring in new subscribers, in order to allow it to continue on the platform. Some of the other recent Netflix cancelations include ‘Chambers‘ and ‘Designated Survivor‘.
Coming back to ‘The OA’, Brit Marling, show’s co-creator, took to Instagram to express her disappointment, saying, “Zal and I are deeply sad not to finish this story. The first time I heard the news I had a good cry. So did one of our executives at Netflix who has been with us since the early days when we were sketching out Hap’s basement on the floor of our production office in Queens. It’s been an intense journey for everyone who worked on and cared about this story.” She continued, saying, “While we cannot finish this story, I can promise you we will tell others. I haven’t figured out any other effective coping mechanism for being alive in the Anthropocene. And maybe, in some ways, it’s okay not to conclude these characters. Steve Winchell will be suspended in time in our imaginations, infinitely evolving, forever running after and finally reaching the ambulance and OA.”
