Netflix Cancels ‘V Wars’ & ‘October Faction,’ Renews ‘Locke & Key’
Netflix has opted to cancel two out of three of its shows produced by IDW Entertainment. After renewing Locke & Key, the streaming service announced its decision not to move forward with Season 2 of both V Wars and October Faction, according to The Hollywood Reporter. All three efforts are based on graphic novels.
The Hollywood Reporter detailed that the third IDW Entertainment show ordered to series by Netflix — Locke & Key— did manage to secure a future. Showrunners Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill shared their excitement about the renewal in a joint statement released on Monday.
“We are thrilled to be continuing the journey of ‘Locke & Key’ alongside all of our amazing collaborators. We are grateful to Netflix for all their support, especially at this difficult time, and look forward to bringing you the exciting next chapter of our story.”
Locke & Key is based on a graphic novel that follows three siblings that move to their ancestral home after their father passes away and discover the presence of mysterious keys with incredible powers. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are credited as the series creators.
V Wars starred Vampire Diaries alum Ian Somerhalder as Dr. Luther Swann. The show was based on IDW Publishing’s best-selling graphic novel series of the same name written by Jonathan Mayberry. The series focuses on Swann’s search for the cure to a disease that turned his best friend into a murderous predator.
October Faction followed a married couple who lived a secret life as monster hunters. The sci-fi series starred Tamara Taylor and J.C. McKenzie.
Neither series performed particularly well with critics, although V Wars fared much better with audiences, earning a 96 percent approval score on Rotten Tomatoes from its viewers while October Faction only managed 49 percent approval.
Despite the negative critical reviews, there have been several other Netflix Original series that performed poorly with critics but have been renewed thanks to their internal viewership numbers. Unfortunately, Netflix rarely shares its ratings, so it is impossible to know exactly what led the streaming service to cancel the freshmen dramas.
Considering all three series share similar genres of horror and science fiction, there are overlapping fandoms of the shows. According to Newsweek, this could have played a role in the cancellations. Netflix VP of content Cindy Holland told a Code Conference audience the criteria that go into the streaming platform’s decision to cancel or renew a series.
“The basic calculation is, how much viewing are we getting for what it costs? We also look at, is it reaching different audiences? Is it gaining critical acclaim? Is it doing something for us as a business that we like?”
Newsweek suggests that the similarities in fandom — and cost — could have played a factor in the decision to renew only one of the IDW series.
