>
Netflix executives have curtailed plans for its soap-like drama, Firefly Lane, which will now end after two seasons.
While the show had not yet been formally confirmed for a third run, the drama was expected to continue beyond the second season. The show had accumulated 1.3 billion viewing minutes in its first five days, according to Nielsen’s weekly look at the biggest shows on streaming serviceswhich you would think would set the show for the long haul.
Instead, the streaming service has decided to end the show with season two, but a season two that will be in the style of Ozark and Stranger Things in two parts. The season consists of 16 episodes, of which the first nine can be viewed from December 2 and the second series of seven episodes will premiere sometime in 2023.
Firefly Lane stars Scrubs’ Sarah Chalke and one-time Greys’ Anatomy focal point Katherine Heigl. Based on Kristin Hannah’s novel of the same name, the show documents the 30-year friendship between Heigl’s Tully Hart and Chalke’s Kate Mularkey. Friends since the age of 14, the couple has gone through endless ups and downs, loves and losses.
Created by Maggie Friedman, whose credits include Dawson’s Creek and Witches of East End, the show co-starred Ben Lawson, Beau Garrett, Ali Skovbye, Roan Curtis and Yael Yurman, starring India de Beaufort, Greg Germann, Jolene Purdy and Ignacio Serricchio’s cast for season two.
Analysis: A surprising move from Netflix?
Netflix’s more buzzing shows are big-budget establishments, such as Stranger Things, The Crown, and Bridgerton, the tentpole productions that are the driving force behind attracting new subscribers. The unsung heroes, meanwhile, are shows like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias and the long-running Grace and Frankie, comforting shows with modest budgets and loyal fan bases.
These shows return once a year, always with a slightly larger audience than the previous series, and for every $200 million miniseries you need one or two such series. You can’t cook gourmet every night – sometimes you just want a bowl of cereal.
This makes the ending of Firefly Lane all the more surprising. The show had the same cozy feel as Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias, and while Chalke is recognizable for her roles in Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother, and Heigl is remembered for Knocked Up and 27 Dresses, they aren’t A-listers who pay mega salaries. would have ordered.
To us, this had the feel of a show that could run and run. It wouldn’t get the same fanfare as Netflix’s tent poles, there wouldn’t be a panel at Comic Con, no rousing presence at Tudum, and no billboards, but it should have been a regular banker.
None of the reports of the show’s demise have suggested behind-the-scenes issues such as escalating budgets or scripting issues; this just seems like a change of strategy from Netflix, and you might surprise us.