How did I just now find out that Netflix quietly canceled the best zombie show Black summer? Sadly, I’m not surprised considering how many cancellations I’ve seen these days and how few people have streamed it. But it still deserves the same praise as other creature features and I’m going to celebrate this fact by revisiting it.
Funnily enough, I discovered this news after writing about five shows canceled by Netflix so far in 2024 that you should still watch, so I’m going back to update this – be sure to bookmark the article to find out what else is on offer .
Black summer debuted on the top streaming service in 2019, with season 2 of the horror series coming two years later. Any news from Black summer The Future went silent until co-creator John Hyams tweeted in April 2023 that there would be no third season. Since then What’s on Netflix has reported that Netflix has officially canceled the film Z nation spin-off, despite a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%.
Unfortunately, the streaming giant has been known to cancel beloved shows Black summer is another one ending up on the scrap heap, with What’s On Netflix citing low ratings as the reason for its axing.
It’s a shame that Black summer has flown completely under the radar compared to other undead shows like The walking dead And The last of us, given the frenetic, blood-curdling action, this is probably one of the most realistic depictions of how people would react to a zombie apocalypse.
A Netflix gem that is now (un)dead and buried
Black summer is a prequel spin-off from Z Nation, and takes place a few weeks after the start of a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of strangers from all walks of life trying to survive and find their loved ones. This group consists of Rose (Jaime King), a mother trying to reunite with her daughter, Spears (Justin Chu Cary), a criminal posing as a soldier who saved Rose’s life, and Sun (Christine Lee), a Korean woman who doesn’t. I don’t speak English looking for her missing mother. During their attempt, they encounter other survivors and a plethora of zombies.
The characters are realistic in their desperate struggle for survival, providing a compelling portrayal of what humans are capable of in terrifying life-and-death situations. The zombie genre is often criticized for the way people with no shooting experience can pick up a weapon and miraculously hit a target while running or do it with one hand – something that would be extremely difficult for professionals to do, let alone for a normal person. However, this is not the case with Black summer. They cannot shoot straight or effectively and have difficulty making a successful headshot on a zombie a few feet in front of them.
They also make reckless decisions that will have you screaming at your screen, but true Black summer impresses with his camera work. The long one-take sequences throw you into the heart of the chaos, making you feel like you’re experiencing the same unrest unfolding – I mean, That stadium scene is slightly different. I know some people don’t like the “running zombie” trope, and there’s plenty of that in this best Netflix show, but it does help to evoke a sense of pure terror in the viewers, just as the main characters go through that.
It’s sad to see this Netflix gem buried after two seasons, but I can only hope it will rise from the dead if another streamer picks it up. With no third season, fans won’t get an answer to season 2’s cliffhanger, but don’t let that stop you from watching this very good but stressful series – and with Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to to grab.