Cowboy Bebop, canceled before the season of Netflix, is bad for TV

Netflix canceled the live action Cowboy bebop reflects a company that follows the data. While the show, first announced in 2018, opened with a bang in the service’s top 10, dates are from What’s on Netflix shows a dramatic finish shortly afterwards. And both Metacritical and Rotten tomatoes show a rare match between critics and fans, with the results of both groups coming close in their general dislike.

With no critical approval, a vocal fandom, or continued interest in making the show a mega-hit, it’s easy to see what it was like for John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda. But the finish is still stunning, simply considering how much Netflix has put into its advertising efforts. You can find it on the YouTube page of Netflix Cowboy bebop Remixes by Steve Aoki, Clips behind the scenes with actor shows the bespoke set and Musician do their thing and even a four hour and 40 minute long soundtrack stream entitled “Space Jazz to Chase Bounties and Cook Beef and Broccoli to. ”

Compare all the hype to Netflix’s biggest hit of the year: Red notice. While it’s just a metric, only one live event from will appear on the company’s YouTube page Red noticeCollect ‘s stars. the a promotion done by Ryan Reynolds doesn’t even focus on the movie, but rather discusses his recent purchase of a football club. Of course, it helps when Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and walking, breathing advertising machines with millions of followers are on all sorts of platforms. A tech company like Netflix knows Red notice promotes itself. Cowboy bebop, a strange show based on a strange show, not so much.

The quality of Bebop could certainly have played a role in Netflix’s decision. The Polygon review praised the show by pointing out that it paid “careful attention” to the physical details of the original anime and that if it were changed it could often offer “interesting developments and dimensions”. Rather than having issues related to acting, storylines, or set, the problem appeared to be structural: the show “feels like a decision by showrunner André Nemec to interpret the idea of ​​a cartoon in live action rather than creating a more straightforward one” . Version of Cowboy bebop. ”

Another problem: in contrast to the original Bebopwho aired the show at one time. The full course of the original Bebop aired on October 24, 1998 through April 24, 1999 on the Wowow satellite network. It then slowly built audiences all over the world – first in Italy, then in the United States through Adult Swim, then in Australia and so on. Its reputation flourished due to strong reviews and word of mouth among international anime fans. During the anime Bebop can certainly be eaten, each episode feels like an event. From Spike’s daring move on the Columbia Space Shuttle to Jets learning Feng Shui on Mars, these episodes stand on their own. Certain action points are pushed forward, but each session feels really unique.

Photo: Geoffrey Short / Netflix

With all of the episodes presented together, it’s hard to make that feel explosive on every run through. The Netflix Bebop tries to recreate the magic, but creating a show to eat can put pressure on the writers to tie each episode together, forcing a sense of oneness that may not necessarily exist. What works in the bubble of the car’s room cannot arrive in real life.

Of course, a show with strong ideas and flimsy execution can set the course right. Lost was able to Get rid of characters who were not connected The good wife changed character arcs based on fan reactions, Sleepy Hollow began to focus more on monster-of-the-week episodes, and despite being sold as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show, SHIELD agents stopped responding to any event in the larger MCU.

The average length of a show these days is between three and four seasons, with less and less time to find out what is wrong. No matter what happened to Bebop, that’s a problem: there is less time for writers, actors, and creators to figure out what works and what doesn’t, which leads to less creativity overall. A show like Hulus’ Hi-Fi, which received rave reviews, had no chance of finding its audience.

Retrofitting a show in the middle of a season, especially an expensive one, is rarely considered a good thing. And it wouldn’t have been in 2021 Bebop. But if the data could tell Netflix to ditch the vicious stuff or hold back on the puns “blackmail” / “black man” then chances are the show didn’t just get stuck trying to make a 90s -Years-to-recreate anime but finds its own foothold. John Cho kept his promise as the lead actor. The rest of the cast kept energizing with every turn. The heightened sound cracked in places. There was probably a good show in there that should be reconsidered in season 2. But that doesn’t happen.

See you next time, space cowboy.