Why did Netflix cancel the ’90s show?

“That ’70s Show” didn’t survive completely It’s as culturally ubiquitous as other ’90s sitcoms Seinfeld or Friends, but that speaks more to how titanic its competitors were and still are. True to its name, “That ’70s Show” takes place from 1976 to 1980 (four years spanning twice as many seasons), and follows a group of six high school-age friends growing up in Point Place, Wisconsin. The city is fictional, but so is the show The creators designed “That ’70s Show” and its characters based on their real teenage experiences.

That ’70s Show ran from 1998 to 2006, with 200 episodes. It’s also why you know who Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace are – with their popularity, a revival was inevitable, especially since by the 2020s, enough time had passed for the central gimmick to be updated.

Enter “That ’90s Show” with the setting keeping up with the era in which the original show aired. The series is set in 1995 and stars Leah Foreman (Callie Haverda), the daughter of original heroes Eric (Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon). While her parents are busy (and are only able to guest star occasionally), Leah lives with her paternal grandparents, Original series supporting characters Reed (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Robb).

But the era of “That ’70s Show,” when sitcoms produced more than 22 episode seasons, is over. The ’90s Show only ran for two seasons before its plug was pulled like so many other Netflix shows before and since. The show’s two seasons, consisting of 26 episodes, would be enough to fill an entire television season in 1998.

The cancellation of “That ’90s Show” was confirmed by Kurtwood Smith on October 3, 2024. Instagram share. Smith said there are plans to move the show to a new home for a potential third season, but he did not elaborate Why Netflix is ​​ending it. What’s the story?

Trigger Warning: There will be references to sexual assault in the next slide.

There’s an elephant in the room surrounding the legacy of “That’s ’70s Show,” a legacy that includes the existence of “That’90s Show.” That elephant is original cast member Danny Masterson, who played Steven Hyde, a gruff Afro-man who is paranoid about men.

Masterson is also a convicted rapist. In May 2023, He was convicted of raping two women In separate incidents in 2003, and later (in September of that year) He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. (Masterson’s attorney has filed an appeal as of December 2024.) Masterson is a Scientologist and many, Including Attorney General Ariel AnsonThey claimed he used his influence within the Church of Scientology to assault and then silence survivors.

The negative press got worse after several of the cast of That 70’s Show came out. (They are Kutcher, Kunis, Smith, and Robb) He wrote letters attesting to Masterson’s supposed good character. Needless to say, the messages did not affect Judge Charlene Olmedo. Kutcher and Kunis then posted an on-camera apology for writing the letters.

Masterson was first publicly accused in March 2017And she saw the accusations Adapted from the Netflix comedy series “The Ranch” (where he co-starred with Kutcher) later that year. Not surprisingly, Masterson did not appear on That ’90s Show, and the show never mentioned Hyde. Did his conviction make the show’s continuation untenable? It’s a natural assumption, but is it true?

The second season of “That ’90s Show” premiered (in two separate parts) in June 2024 and later in August 2024. It was then canceled again around October 2024, about a year after Masterson’s conviction. So, it looks like the show has not been cancelled In response directly To condemnation. It was much simpler, Deadline reported: The second season of “That ’90s Show” did not attract enough viewership to justify making more of the show. The first half of the season only made it into Netflix’s top 10 once, and the streamer also moved up the premiere date for the second half (from October to August), which did not succeed in increasing the numbers. This series of events doesn’t feel like Netflix wrote the show as a lame duck in season two.

The storm of negative publicity could have had a knock-on effect, as people didn’t want to watch “The ’90s Show” due to spoiled memories of the original. “That ’70s Show” was one of my favorite sitcoms, but I can’t bring myself to revisit it or watch “That ’90s Show.” This is all speculative, of course. Viewership was also reported to be low a lot Between the first season of “That 90’s Show” (Which easily remained in the top 10 movies on Netflix on the weekend of its premiere) and the second season. Masterson’s conviction between the two seasons may have made viewers nervous, or perhaps a large portion of viewers didn’t like the first season enough to watch the second. Whatever the reason, not enough Netflix viewers tuned in to watch That ’90s Show for Season 3.