By all conventional logic, Space Force should’ve been a hit for Netflix. It had some of the biggest stars in TV comedy (Steve Carrell, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow), a topic rife with potential (a satirical look at Trump’s much-maligned ‘Space Force’), and the guiding hand of Greg Daniels, the beloved creator of NBC’s The Office. Moreover, Netflix clearly had high hopes for the show, gifting Space Force a ‘series order’ straight away and setting a record for how much they were paying Carrell for his involvement ($1m an episode – more than they’ve ever paid for talent on any of their series).
But, when the show aired on May 29, the results were underwhelming. Viewers discovered that, despite Carrell and Daniel’s involvement, Space Force was nothing like The Office: it wasn’t as funny, heart-warming, or relatable as that hit series. Indeed, critics were also lukewarm on the end result, with the show attaining a disappointing 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Across the board, Space Force was clearly a let-down. With the streaming service becoming increasingly ruthless in its approach to cancelling shows in recent years, many thought that this failure-to-launch may be the next series to get the chop.
Yet Netflix announced the show would be getting a second season nonetheless, with filming set to begin early next year. Since Netflix bases its decision to renew or not on viewer data and not critical reception, this renewal isn’t a complete surprise. After all, they made four seasons of 13 Reasons Why, so why not Space Force? But, hidden behind this renewal announcement were details of a massive shake-up of the show, indicating that Netflix’s decision to renew may not have been completely cut and dry.
Indeed, for one thing, the show is said to be going under “a large creative revamp”. Norm Hiscock, a veteran comedy writer for shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation, will be joining Daniels as co-showrunner, and a new team of writers will be brought in for the second season. It would appear that Netflix wasn’t fully sold on the tone and delivery of Space Force season one, and they’re hoping a revamp will allow the series to evolve and find a new groove (like what happened with The Office and Parks and Recreation). Whilst this practice isn’t completely unheard of in the world of cable television, it’s definitely unlike Netflix’s usual behavior – Tuca and Bertie, for example, wasn’t given a second chance.
Alternatively, Netflix seems to be hedging its bets a lot more with this second season. The show’s production will be moving from the sunny-but-expensive Los Angeles to the cold-but-cheap Vancouver, in a bid to reduce the show’s budget. Equally, it’s been predicted there will be fewer big-name cameos (such as Jane Lynch and Noah Emmerich in season one) and less room for special effects, such as a rocket launch. This practice of greatly reducing the budget for a show’s second season is vintage Netflix behavior, as is often seen immediately before the streaming service decides to cancel (just look at Altered Carbon).
So, what does this renewal mean? Does Netflix have faith in Space Force or not? The easy answer is “no one knows”, but it does suggest the streaming service is changing its usual strategy. Before, it all came down to whether a show was cheap enough to justify how many viewers it brought in – considering the bad press around Space Force and its massive price tag, it would seem the series would come out unfavorably.
Additionally, Netflix recently cancelled the moderately popular but acclaimed series Glow, stating that COVID made filming the show just too difficult – why isn’t Space Force suffering the same fate? A more direct comparison is perhaps Away, another space-themed Netflix series that got the chop after a single season despite high viewership. This would all suggest that Netflix may be subtly changing how it approaches cancellations moving forward. By giving Space Force room to grow and evolve and potentially get good, the service is breaking away from its rigorous practices of the recent past, showing leniency and patience. “You haven’t brought in X number of viewers in your first season? No worries – maybe a second one will help!”
There’s also a reasonable explanation for why this new strategy has emerged. Around a month ago, there was a reorganization of the executives at Netflix, with company stalwart Cindy Holland being replaced with Bela Bajaria. Holland, who had been at Netflix from the start and had helped craft its usual practices, was removed in favor of the up-and-comer Bajaria who apparently had “challenged a lot of the company’s hegemonic ideas”. Perhaps Bajaria is pushing the company to be more sparing with its cancellations, focusing on long-term growth over short-term profits? Because it’s Netflix, it’s difficult to say for certain, but one thing is clear: Space Force getting a second season suggests times are changing.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply