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Netflix Proved Us Right

Netflix Proved Us Right

December 14, 2021

A few weeks ago, we talked about the need for streaming services to consider the source material and the established audience when creating content for existing IPs. Netflix has proven why that's necessary, yet again, after it canceled the Cowboy Bebop series after just one season.

Streamer's Spotlight: Netflix's Cowboy Bebop Debacle Proved Our Point

After over a year of hype, Netflix finally released its live-action version of the hit anime, Cowboy Bebop. Once released, however, it was clear that Netflix's chosen direction for the anime was horrendously off-base for what fans of the show wanted or expected. The result? Terrible reviews, low engagement numbers, and ultimately, a

quick cancellation

after the first season.

1. What Did Netflix Get Wrong?

The Netflix live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop currently has abysmal review scores. Its average on Rotten Tomatoes is a terrible 46% among professional reviewers and an only slightly better 55% average from audiences.

If you dig into the reviews from both sides, where Netflix missed the mark is fairly clear. The RT critic consensus notes that the cast is fun, but that the show "disappointingly replaces the soulfulness of the source material with kitsch."

These RT reviews sometimes need translation, so we'll add one here. Effectively, the show attempted to take a gimmicky approach with the delivery of the material instead of staying true to what made Cowboy Bebop popular among fans. Among audiences, the idea that it "disrespects" the source material is fairly common.

2. We Talked About This Before

We talked about this problem recently. In a newsletter a few weeks ago, we discussed how this could be a problem with the upcoming Amazon Prime Video version of Lord of the Rings. It's not often the points we make as industry observers that get proven so quickly, but there it is.

Hopefully, Netflix learns its lesson. But even more, hopefully, other streaming service providers learn the hard lesson that Netflix is learning right now after investing millions of dollars in content that was doomed to failure.