EXCLUSIVE: The ax continues to fall on Marvel’s series at Netflix. #Daredevil, which launched the #Marvel universe on the streaming platform, has been canceled after three seasons. The move comes on the heels of Netflix canceling Iron Fist and #LukeCage last month.
“Marvel’s Daredevil will not return for a fourth season on Netflix,” the company said in a statement to Deadline. “We are tremendously proud of the show’s last and final season and although it’s painful for the fans, we feel it best to close this chapter on a high note. We’re thankful to showrunner Erik Oleson, the show’s writers, stellar crew and an incredible cast including Charlie Cox as Daredevil himself, and we’re grateful to the fans who have supported the show over the years. While the series on Netflix has ended, the three existing seasons will remain on the service for years to come, while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for Marvel.”
The cancelation of Daredevil comes a month after its third season was released following a long hiatus. It leaves only two Marvel series on Netflix, Jessica Jones and The Punisher as the era of Marvel TV on Netflix seems to be coming to an end at the same time Disney is revving up its own streaming service with series coming from Marvel’s film division. For now, the upcoming new seasons of Jessica Jones and The Punisher are still currently scheduled to run on Netflix as planned, sources say.
The cancellation of the series starring Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio comes amid strained relations between Netflix and Marvel TV that became evident when the SVOD player abruptly pulled the plug on the third season of Luke Cage after the scripts had been written, and a formal renewal had been considered a foregone conclusion.
In addition to the inevitable “creative differences,” there also had been talk of the parties’ not being able to reach a deal. The Marvel shows on Netflix are costly to make, even with New York’s generous tax credits. Back in 2013, the streamer paid top dollar for the series that it doesn’t own. With the high cost, there has been pressure on the Marvel series to overperform in viewership. That was easier early on when they were among a handful of Netflix originals but is getting harder today as they compete with dozens of other buzzy shows on the Internet network.
Additionally, Netflix and Marvel TV have been arguing over the season orders. Being part of the first wave of Netflix original series, all Marvel series have produced 13-episode seasons. But Netflix has since switched to seasons of 10 episodes and has been pressuring Marvel TV to switch to fewer episodes, which the company had been resisting.
There also have been creative issues, with a revolving door of showrunners on Marvel’s Netflix shows. There have been new showrunners for every season of Daredevil, with Iron Fist for and Jessica Jones’ also undergoing a showrunner change.
by Nellie Andreeva and Dominic Patten November 29, 2018
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