Netlfix’s dark comedy series Santa Clarita Diet is the latest to be cancelled by the streaming giant.
The cancellation of the series, which starred Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, comes almost a month after the March 29th release of the shows third season. Further, it follows a worrying trend of third-season cancellations.
The show garnered a devoted following, with the third season scoring 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The world had never known a ‘zom-com’ until Santa Clarita Diet, and we’re indebted to creator Victor Fresco for bringing this idea to Netflix,” the streaming giant said in a statement to Deadline. “To their endless credit, the incredible Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant were totally game, with an uncanny knack for comedy that brought Sheila and Joel Hammond to vibrant life, even though one of them was undead.”
As for the trend of third-season cancellations, Deadline reports that some stem from shows becoming too expensive. Reportedly, Netflix structures many of its deals with a ‘cost-plus’ model, offering to pay upfront for a show’s production costs plus a premium of 30 percent or more of the costs. This includes bonuses after each season that get progressively bigger.
These payments are relatively modest after a first season, get a bit bigger in the second season and reportedly escalate after season three as Netflix pays off the show’s back-end.
This could be one reason why shows like Santa Clarita Diet joined other season three cancellations like One Day At A Time, Travellers, Love, Bloodline, Hemlock Grove and Marvel’s Daredevil.
Source: Deadline
