Netflix’s sci-fi thriller The Boroughs was disappointing – but it shouldn’t have been axed, argues Rebecca Cook, Senior TV Reporter. Published June 18, 2026.
The red-plated cleaver has swung at Netflix HQ once again, as subscribers will reportedly not be visiting The Boroughs a second time around. The Duffer Brothers-produced show offered Stranger Things for a gang of senior citizens, with a whole new supernatural mystery. This time it involved creepy nighttime encounters with an arachnid-looking alien, which lurked in the titular retirement community and fed on OAPs in their sleep.
What happened at the end of The Boroughs?
By the end of the show’s eight episodes, several strands had been wrapped up: smarmy CEO Blaine had been vanquished, Alfred Molina’s Sam had realised he wanted to stay in The Boroughs after all and the leggy things, with their weird ‘Mother’, went the way of the dodo. Despite the various resolutions, the intention to make more was clearly there. In the closing moments, Sam stared at the bathroom mirror and saw his own reflection glitch, like it had dodgy service. Co-creator Jeffrey Addiss described the moment as ‘a hint at where we hope to go [next],’ as well as an homage to the season one Stranger Things conclusion, where Will vomited a slug after returning from the Upside Down.
The reporting around the cancellation has backed up that indication that this was not meant to be a one-and-done show. The writers’ room for season two is said to have been opened, amid renewal chatter. They were even reportedly toying with filming a second and third season back-to-back. Not anymore.
Why has it been cancelled?
Why does Netflix cancel anything? Because not enough people are tuning in. The Boroughs debuted to strong numbers – 9.5 million views in its first week – but slunk down the top 10 ranking in the weeks after. Deadline’s reporting on the cancellation indeed singles out ‘soft ratings’ and the expense of making a show that involves this many special effects. When you have the producing power and marquee names that The Boroughs did, it’s particularly noticeable when the show is lolling in the latter portion of the top 10 a week or so after its debut.
‘The elaborate production, along with its all-star cast, made for a high price tag, something Netflix weighs against viewing when making renewal decisions,’ the publication reported.
What’s even more dire than the fact that not enough people watched The Boroughs is that I can’t mount a full-throated critique of Netflix’s decision. I was pretty tepid on the show myself. The stacked cast (Molina and Geena Davies, among many others) couldn’t compensate for what was quite meh material. The show was a solid three stars (maybe three-and-a-half, if we did those).
But with this axe, Netflix continues to set a worrying precedent for its disposable relationship to TV storytelling. If it isn’t a hit from the jump, the axe swings. There seems to be no grace period for a creative team to work out the kinks and improve, if viewers aren’t tuning in.
It’s hard to care much for shows like The Boroughs when others like Widow’s Bay are on air at the same time. (I can’t shut up about Widow’s Bay – I’ve even managed to sneak it into this article about an entirely different show, on an entirely other streamer.) But the fact is that, compared to Netflix, Apple TV is garnering a reputation as the streamer that trusts its creators and gives them the breathing room to try things.
Apple will, sometimes bafflingly, renew shows which have little to no zeitgeisty conversation. But it has allowed brilliant entries like Severance, For All Mankind and Slow Horses to skyrocket in popularity as the seasons rack up. It’s a move I wish Netflix would try.
Tentpole shows like Stranger Things and Squid Game have ended, with mixed results. Into that prestige gap has fallen BBC or ITV acquisitions, true crime and a never-ending parade of Harlan Coben nonsense. I doubt Netflix minds they’re no longer at the front of the prestige TV game. Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria has said she wants to satiate subscribers on a diet of ‘gourmet cheeseburgers’, which offer the ‘premium and commercial at the same time’.
I appreciate that Netflix is a business and can’t keep cranking out pricey shows that nobody is watching, in case somebody somewhere starts to. But if the streamer doesn’t care about nurturing its shows into versions that aren’t expendable, then I can’t see how we’re supposed to care either. Metro contacted Netflix for comment on this story.
The Boroughs is available to stream on Netflix now.
