Data showed Netflix would cancel ‘Daredevil,’ other Marvel shows next

Netflix
canceled its Marvel TV show, “Daredevil,” on
Thursday.
Netflix

• Netflix canceled “Daredevil” after three seasons on Thursday.
• Social-media data suggested that this could happen, and the
  streaming company’s other Marvel shows are likely next.
• Data showed that interest in “Daredevil” had fallen
  dramatically over time, similar to other canceled shows, “Luke
  Cage” and “Iron Fist.”

 

To the disappointment of loyal fans who had called on Netflix to
renew one of its remaining Marvel TV shows, “Daredevil,” the
streaming giant canceled the show on Thursday after three
seasons.

But data showed interest in the series had dramatically fallen
since its first season in 2015, so news that it got the ax wasn’t
surprising. The show followed a similar pattern to “Luke Cage”
and “Iron Fist,” which Netflix canceled last month after two
seasons each. The remaining Marvel shows, “Jessica Jones” and
“The Punisher,” are probably next.

READ MORE: Fans are calling for Netflix to
renew ‘Daredevil,’ but data suggests interest in the show has
fallen off

Social-media data provided to Business Insider by
consumer-insights company Crimson Hexagon showed that Twitter and
Instagram posts for “Daredevil” had
decreased from one season to the next. Season three, which
was released in October, had half as many posts than season two,
as seen in the graph below:

Social-media reaction to “Daredevil” decreased over
time.
Crimson
Hexagon

Since the season dropped, it has failed to spark much audience
enthusiasm online, only spiking when the character’s creator,
Stan Lee, died earlier this month.

“Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist” also suffered from a lack of
social-media buzz. Crimson Hexagon data showed that posts for
“Luke Cage” had decreased from over 300,000 during the first
season, to less than 50,000 when the second season was released
this summer. “Iron Fist” dropped from 100,000 to less than 20,000
posts from the first to second seasons.

READ MORE: Interest in Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’
and ‘Iron Fist’ dropped dramatically over time, and its other
Marvel shows could be in trouble

“Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher” are the only remaining Netflix
Marvel shows, and fans should prepare to say goodbye. The data
for “Jessica Jones” wasn’t promising, either. Social-media posts
dipped from almost 300,000 during season one to less than 150,000
for season two.

“The Punisher’s” second season hasn’t been released yet, so we
can’t compare data to the first season. The second season
finished filming this year, so it remains to be seen how Netflix
will proceed. If “Jessica Jones” is canceled, the likelihood of
“The Punisher” getting renewed for a third season is close to
zero.

These shows could also be casualties of the
streaming war. Disney, which owns Marvel, is launching
its own service next year called
Disney+. That will include original series spinning off from
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so Disney likely wants to limit
competition as much as possible.

A big question is whether the Netflix Marvel shows could be
revived on Disney+, but we probably won’t be finding that out any
time soon. Netflix said in a statement that “the three
existing seasons will remain on the service for years to come,
while the Daredevil character will live on in future projects for
Marvel.” 

That suggests hope that Daredevil could be revived in some
capacity, but not necessarily the version seen on Netflix.

Even with Disney entering the streaming game, the data suggests
that “Daredevil,” “Luke Cage,” and “Iron Fist” were likely on the
chopping block anyway.