Netflix data sheds light on the reasons behind the cancellations of FUBAR and The Recruit. As audience trends shifted in 2025, both series saw significant viewership declines that ultimately sealed their fate.
Fubar Season 2 dropped its audience by 75.9%
FUBAR Season 2 saw a 75.9% drop in viewership, making it the biggest audience loss for any returning English-language Netflix series in 2025, according to Netflix & Chiffres.
The season generated just 2.2 million views during its debut weekend in June 2025, compared to 11 million views for Season 1’s opening in May 2023. As a result, Netflix canceled the series following its steep decline.
Netflix canceled several major shows in 2025 due to steep audience drops. The Recruit dropped 42.1 percent in Season 2 and failed to draw enough viewers to continue. The Sandman lost 60 percent of its audience after a long delay and controversy involving Neil Gaiman. The Witcher dropped 52 percent in Season 4. Viewers reacted negatively to the casting change from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth. It seems Netflix kept the show alive because it had already renewed it.
These losses followed a broader 2025 trend. Almost every returning English-language Netflix series lost viewers. Netflix & Chiffres measured each show by comparing the first 28 days of a season to the same period for the previous one. Stranger Things was the only show to gain viewers in 2025. It rose 2.25 percent over Season 4. In 2024, Bridgerton had been the only series to grow its audience.
Netflix data shows that sharp declines hit even top-tier shows. Wednesday Season 2 dropped 42.6 percent but still reached over 100 million completed viewing equivalents. Nobody Wants This dropped 40.1 percent but earned a renewal due to a strong Emmy performance. Tires and XO, Kitty kept their drops under 20 percent. These shows survived. Most shows that lost over 40 percent and lacked major awards or viewership did not.
Netflix & Chiffres data shows that without awards or high viewership, major audience drops led to cancellations in 2025.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.
