Fans of Netflix's Sense8 were disappointed to learn on Thursday that the show has been cancelled. This follows the news that Netflix was cancelling The Get Down. Notably, The Get Down marks the first time a Netflix series hasn't been renewed for a second season.
Even if those aren't two of your favourite shows, there may still be a bigger reason to worry. Reed Hastings, Netflix's founder and CEO, may want the streaming service to cancel more shows, according to an interview with CNBC at the Code Conference on Wednesday.
"Our hit ratio is way too high right now," Hastings told CNBC. "So, we've canceled very few shows… I'm always pushing the content team: We have to take more risk; you have to try more crazy things. Because we should have a higher cancel rate overall."
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Hastings also said in the interview that the company was "surprised" at the high success of its recent (and controversial) drama 13 Reasons Why. "It's a great show, but we didn’t realise just how it would catch on," Hastings told CNBC of the series.
Netflix is notorious for not releasing data on its viewership, so we don't know exactly how many people tuned into 13 Reasons Why, Sense8, or The Get Down. Hastings hinted, though, that shows with larger viewerships are less likely to be canceled by the streaming service. So if you love a Netflix show, tell your friends!
Hastings also told CNBC that Netflix will increase its budget for original content. "There are so many great shows we don't have yet," the CEO said in the interview. When one TV show's door closes, another one opens.
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