Netflix announced that it would not be renewing First Kill, a supernatural teen drama about a vampire and monster hunter falling in love against the wishes of their families. The series debuted June 10th and gained over 90 million hours of views in just its first few weeks of streaming. Despite its release being a mere two weeks after Netflix's explosive Stranger Things 4, First Kill brought in high numbers and performed very well.
First Kill, created by Victoria Schwab, focused on a queer relationship between two teenage girls and their feuding families. Although some viewers have criticized its low budget look, the series garnered support from fans of the supernatural and fans of queer media. The abrupt cancelation of First Kill shocked many viewers and revealed a very unsettling trend across many streaming services.
Streaming Services Have a Cancelation Problem
Netflix has a history of canceling shows after just their first season. Series like The Society, Everything Sucks! and The Get Down were all canceled before they had a chance at renewal, with reasons for their ending being anything from the COVID-19 pandemic to low viewership. Meanwhile, other shows with premises like First Kill that were canceled include The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (which got four seasons) and I Am Not Okay With This (which only got one).
Changes in HBO Max and other streaming services have also cut some shows and films short. Recently, news of the Batgirl film being canceled, despite being almost completed, have created distrust in streaming services. Although services like Netflix are intended to bring films and television to the homes of viewers, they also put in a lot of time and money into creating their own original content. Cancelations of original series and the removal of other films and shows from streaming services prove that these providers are mostly concerned with profit, and any show deemed "unprofitable" will be canceled regardless of how well it does.
Streaming and Television Has an Issue With Sapphic Romance
Aside from the unreliability of streaming services like Netflix, there is another problem at hand. First Kill being canceled after just one season reveals that studios do not think of shows focusing on Sapphic characters as necessary and profitable. In 2022 alone, numerous shows featuring lesbian and bisexual women and their relationships were canceled. Gentleman Jack, Batwoman and The Wilds are just a few, and many more have been canceled before this year as well.
Following Netflix's decision not to continue First Kill, many people have begun to examine how Netflix and other streaming services treat shows about lesbians compared to shows about gay men. For instance, Heartstopper, which premiered a couple of months before First Kill, renewed for two more seasons. Interestingly enough, First Kill brought in more views during its first few weeks yet was still axed. WhileHeartstopper absolutely deserves its continuation, it's heartbreaking that a show geared for teenage lesbians has been left behind by Netflix.
Unfortunately, First Kill's untimely cancelation reveals that corporations are not inclined to fight for Sapphic media. It's likely an unfortunate result of the crossover between homophobia -- and the idea that queer media is only of interest to queer people -- and the notion that stories about women are less important than those about men. If given a second season (which would have likely provided a higher budget) First Kill could have grown its fan base beyond what it already had. Despite its high viewership, growing fan base and place on Netflix's Top 10, First Killnever stood a chance against Netflix's model for cancelation.
While it's unfair that a show as new and popular as First Kill was canceled so quickly, it has shown many people that streaming services are not inherently giving viewers the content they want. Rather, the shows that are deemed the most likely to bring in money and views are prioritized over all others. Hopefully the future will bring audiences more fun shows about queer women and teenagers to reflect the obvious interest in their stories.
Season 1 of First Kill is available to watch on Netflix.
