Netflix axe two shows with big name stars after just one season in shock cull
The streaming giant has pulled the plug on two big-budget series featuring A-list talent - leaving fans stunned as the shows are binned after just one season.
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Medical pot‑boiler Pulse, led by Willa Fitzgerald and Colin Woodell, was secretly pronounced dead more than a month ago - with the cast already hunting new gigs.
It arrived last in a stampede of five newbie hospital shows.
While rivals Doc, Brilliant Minds, The Pitt and Watson were renewing scripts, Pulse landed on the very day Noah Wyle's smash‑hit The Pitt dropped its penultimate episode - and viewers barely noticed.
Plus, a heavy sexual‑harassment storyline hardly screamed 'escapist telly' for viewers seeking cosy soap thrills.
And now, comedy whodunnit The Residence – boasting Uzo Aduba, Giancarlo Esposito and Randall Park – was shown the door this week.
It hit the platform just seven days after coming‑of‑age juggernaut Adolescence exploded, hogging every Top 10 spot and stealing social media thunder.
Netflix forked out for a jaw‑dropping White House replica spread over seven sound stages – 200 working doors, 10 miles of moulding, 144,000 lbs of flooring – but the lavish set couldn't save it from the budget crunch.
Even the Shondaland badge (the team behind Bridgerton) and Aduba's award‑winning sleuth Cordelia Cupp couldn't guarantee a second case file.
Despite the axe, both shows did rack up solid early numbers and managed four weeks apiece in the global Top 10.
The Residence peaked at No.2 on Netflix's global Top 10 with 8.8 million views.
Netflix teen drama slammed over steamy sex scenes as fans accuse bosses of 'fetishising young cast'
While Pulse wasn't far behind - hitting No.3 with 8.5 million views.
But even those figures weren't enough to save them - especially with the likes of the romantic hit Ransom Canyon (9.4 million) and nowhere near the viral might of Adolescence (141.2 million).
Glitzy casts and mega sets couldn't stop Netflix from cutting them loose.
In the streamer's high‑stakes game of renewals, even A‑listers can be a single-series wonder.
It's a brutal game in the land of streaming - and even millions of views don't guarantee a second shot.
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