A Critical Look at Media Cancellation: Are Diverse TV Shows in Danger?

The cancellation of well-loved television shows comes as no surprise every season. Big name streamers such as Netflix and HBO Max, as well as cable networks like ABC and CBS, have a notorious reputation for cancelling shows after only a few–if not one–seasons. Many reasons come to mind for such abrupt endings, ranging from low ratings, expensive budgets, or internal conflict among executives. None of these are out of the ordinary in the realm of television. However, a disturbing trend has emerged with the kinds of shows that are getting axed.

Which Shows are Being Canceled?

Television has taken slow but steady steps in diversifying the industry over the last few decades. More underrepresented demographics are leading shows, becoming writers, or making up the lead cast. But a noticeable setback has people questioning just how much diversity Hollywood is allowing on screen. If we take a closer look at the cast and crew of many of these beloved cancelled shows over recent years, many of them are POC, Women, LGBTQIA+, and/or Black-led.

The Cancellation of Lovecraft Country

Shows from the likes of Kim’s Convenience Store, Pose, The Get Down, and many more have gotten the cut despite strong ratings and loyal viewers over the seasons. One startling example was the cancellation of the popular HBO Max show, Lovecraft Country, which had an astounding 18 Emmy nominations for the 2021 Emmy Awards. The ratings were solid and it had the potential to become a staple on streaming television. The show, based on the popular novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, garnered a cult following, with the season one finale the most watched new episode of an original series on HBO Max in its first day of availability, with 1.5 million viewers. It featured a predominantly Black-led cast with executives such as Jordan Peele as executive producer and Misha Green as the main screenwriter. The reason for the cancellation remained vague at best, with no real indicators about why HBO decided not to renew the show for a second season.

A Lack of Network Promotion Leads to Cancellation

While there was no clear “why” for Lovecraft Country’s cancellation, other tv shows are given more distinct reasons. Some of the most common reasons are low ratings/viewership, or that the show has not garnered enough attention. These are all valid, but when taking diverse television shows into account, there is something these companies do different. The marketing and advertisements are not there for these kinds of shows. Shows do not get views when there is little to no advertising done on the company’s part. A prime example was the Netflix series One Day at a Time. The show followed a Cuban American family navigating the trials of life starring a predominantly Latinx cast with LGBTQIA+ representation among the characters. This was another show with a woman of color, Gloria Calderon Kellett, as one of the show’s creators, directors, and writers. The solid fan base and heartwarming storyline kept the show running for 4 seasons, but Netflix ended up cancelling the show in 2019 since it was not gaining the “broad audience” that it was looking for. However, Netflix did little to no promotion for the series across social media platforms and online advertising. Netflix’s show account never promoted the show on platforms like Twitter, tweeting more about the show’s cancellation than the actual show across the three years it aired. Netflix is notorious for keeping viewership data a secret, so the argument of “not enough viewership” falls flat.

The Hypocrisy of the Television Industry

All of this gives the impression that the stories of underrepresented communities do not matter. To these companies, these important television shows displaying the vast diversity of our society do not matter if the numbers are not there. This casts light on the hypocrisy of an industry that cancels diverse shows on the basis of ratings and viewership, but offers no initial support to help them succeed in the first place. A main factor could be that executive and cast roles are still unsurprisingly white-dominated and male led. This data chart on page 38 shows actor counts by race and gender for the 2018-2019 broadcast scripted roles season, showing it is still led by white people, specifically white males.

Additionally, the following chart on page 49 showcases the percentage of episodes directed by minorities by share in broadcast scripted shows from 2018-2019. The share of shows for which minorities directed less than 20% of episodes was over 63.4%. Again, the diversity falls short time and time again in the sphere of television.

What Pattern is Emerging from This Data?

A red flag is blatantly being shown amongst these television corporations. When a streaming giant like Netflix “cancelled 17 of the 23 shows axed featured leads that were female, a person of color, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community” in 2020, there is an obvious pattern emerging. These shows get cut before truly gaining an audience under the guise of it being a numbers game. There is a clear trend going on against diverse television shows. Especially now, when streaming is becoming the dominant form of television consumption, companies like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, etc. need more transparency on the data surrounding cancellations. If the cancellations are truly only about the numbers, why is that information not publicly available? Data on viewership, budgets, etc. should be available so consumers can be informed on why a particular show was not successful.

Will Television Recognize the Significance of Diverse Shows?

Television shows that have a melting pot of cultures and communities on the camera and behind the scenes give viewers a glimpse of themselves. If these are not being shared through diverse shows, it sends the message that the experiences as a person of color, as a woman, as someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, and so on, do not matter. But they always have, which is why the television industry needs to do better. It needs to cater to the demographics that are the reason why shows are so successful in the first place, because these experiences matter too.