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Netflix's latest What We Watched report has shed some light on its decision to cancel Kaos, just 40 days after it premiered on its platform.
The well-reviewed fantasy series, which was created by The End of the F***ing World's Charlie Covell and landed on August 29, puts a modern spin on Greek mythology, as it sees Jeff Goldblum's tracksuit-wearing Zeus become obsessed with stopping his prophecy, which signals the end of his reign over Olympia and beyond, coming true. As Zeus becomes more and more anxious over the thought of his power waning, his fellow gods and the people of Crete start conspiring against him, which only exacerbates his paranoia.
While the report confirmed the show was the most-watched of Netflix's cancelled titles, racking up 20.3 million views from July to December 2024, it also suggests the streamer's pulled it due to its top-heavy popularity and slow growth. Having earned around 9.3 million views in its first full week, it only managed to add another 10 million over the next six months.
As Deadline points out, the series was said to be relatively expensive, so that lack of momentum was likely enough to put Netflix off renewing it for a second installment.
The sophomore chapter of Rob Lowe's Unstable, which was cancelled after two seasons in October 2024, got 3.1M views in the same time period, while Part 3 of That '90s Show got 5.6M. Girls5Eva season 3, which was axed in December, only pulled in 1.3M from March to June, before adding 300,000 views in the later half of the year.
In comparison, Obliterated, the Las Vegas-set comedy-drama, was dropped in February 2024 after pulling in 27 million views from its release date on November 30, 2023.
Already binged Kaos? Check out our list of the best Netflix shows for some viewing recommendations. After more in the way of (literal) gods and monsters? Have a gander our picks of the best fantasy movies on Netflix, too.
