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Netflix Cancelling Patriot Act Begs The Question, Why Do Good Shows Get Cancelled?

Who made this decision, asking for a friend.

Hasan Minhaj just announced that Patriot Act won’t be renewed on Netflix, meaning it’s cancelled, and now Netflix is now dead to me.

Fans of Patriot Act are obviously, uh, upset to say the least.

Considering the fact that Patriot Act is probably one of the best shows on Netflix (me, biased?), its cancellation has come as a huge shock to fans.

Netflix has a history of cancelling popular shows (Sense 8, for example), yet paying huge sums of money in licensing to host old shows like Friends.

Hasan Minhaj is out here doing amazing things, and Netflix has been praised heaps for platforming a brown Muslim man to talk about such important issues. So, the question on everyone’s mind is “why would they cancel Patriot Act?”

Okay, So Why TF Does Netflix Cancel All These Good Shows?

Unsurprisingly, this all comes down to money. Capitalism is really out here ruining every good thing in this world, hey?

Basically, the speculation is that Netflix does what gets them the most subs, and that’s variety, not consistency, according to Deadline.

A constant change in content on Netflix allows for more variety in shows, which means there’s a wider audience reach, which means more subscriptions.

Netflix makes money from your subscription. They introduce a new show that’s really good and gains them new subscribers, and then when the fandom growth starts to stagnate they cancel it and create a new show for a new wave of subscriptions. The cycle repeats itself constantly, and so we keep seeing really good shows cancelled even though they’re well-loved and get good ratings.

Plus, if they cancel your fave show, you’ll still have more content pumped out to binge, and the constant turn over rate means you stick around, while new subscribers have regular incentive to sign up.

On top of all that, there’s the fact that staff get a pay rise for every new season of their show, and the 2-3 season mark is when staff are most likely to want big raises or ask for a budget increase. Netflix, like every other giant corporation, is going to prioritise profit over worker wages, and so capitalism waves its hand and your fave series is cancelled.

How Come Patriot Act Went On For Longer Than Three Seasons?

Obviously, Patriot Act went longer than three seasons – it has six, actually. Patriot Act has also won awards, and so have the other exceptions to the unofficial 3-season rule (Stranger Things, Orange Is The New Black).

Shows are far more likely to be renewed if they’re award-winning, because the prestige of those titles brings in new subscribers even after the show has aged.

Why Patriot Act has been called after six seasons specifically, I’m not sure. It could be because Netflix no longer found it profitable. It could also be because Hasan Minhaj is a political king and calls out corruption wherever he sees it – even close to home. He’s publicly criticised Netflix before, after they removed an episode of his show because it criticised the Saudi government and their alleged involvement in a journalist’s death, and when discussing tax cuts.

Some have pointed out that this doesn’t really explain why we’re getting a Kissing Booth 3, and honestly? I have no fucking clue about the logic behind that. Either way, Patriot Act is over, and the world is poorer for it.

Image Sources: Twitter

Hasan Minhajnetflixpatriot acttv shows

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