Terminator Zero Netflix anime series was quietly canceled because "not nearly enough people watched it"

Terminator Zero creator Mattson Tomlin has confirmed the animated Netflix series has been quietly canceled after just one season.

Replying to a tweet asking for an 'official status' on Terminator Zero, Tomlin wrote, "It was cancelled. The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it."

Tomlin added, "I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in seasons 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is."

But far from Netflix coldly terminating the series, Tomlin went on to reveal that the streamer offered him the chance to wrap up the show with an additional set of episodes, which he declined.

Tomlin said, "I felt the story I wanted to tell was much longer, and the finale of season one actually left things in a good place. But they didn’t have to offer that. Good partners here."

Terminator Zero, a spin-off of the iconic sci-fi franchise brought to life by James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd, revolved around Eiko, a soldier sent back from 2022 to the eve of Judgment Day in order to stop the launch of an AI that would rival Skynet. The anime series received a respectable 87% score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with our own four-star Terminator Zero review declaring it a "welcome return to terror" for the franchise.

So, will the Terminator ever be back? As of September 2025, James Cameron admitted he was struggling to pen a script.

Cameron told CNN, "I don’t know what to say that won’t be overtaken by real events. We are living in a science fiction age right now."

For more, check out our picks for the best anime on Netflix and best sci-fi movies.