Quick Links
Summary
Exactly a year ago,Netflixput out a remarkable action-comedy-drama series, only to end it prematurely. Despite starring Michelle Yeoh, the show ended up as yet another one of the streaming giant’s one-season cancellation victims – something it arguably didn’t deserve at all.
The show in question isThe Brothers Sun, created by Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu.Netflixhas become increasingly notorious for not renewing some of its key original productions after just one season,such asKAOSor1899. Shows like this prove that the platform needs to rethink its strategy to keep its genuinely promising properties alive and running.
What IsThe Brothers SunAbout?
Family Soap Meets Asian Gangster Action
The Brothers Sunrevolves around the Sun family, whose background is rooted in beingTaipei’s most renowned gangsters. However, Eileen ‘Mama’ Sun and her younger son, Bruce, move to California to build a life away from violence. The mother’s efforts go to waste as Bruce learns about his family’s profession when his older brother, Charles Sun, visits Los Angeles.
Charles’ life is completely contrary to his younger brother’s, as he was raised by his crime boss father to be a hardened gangster. The lives of these estranged family members clash when the father, Big Sun, faces an assassination attempt, and Charles moves to the States to keep his family safe.
8 (1 season)
IsThe Brothers SunWorth Watching?
From the outset,The Brothers Sundoes a fairly good job of being an entertaining, fun family affair, blending brutality with soft emotions. True to its characters and setting, the show features adecent mix of English, Mandarin,and Korean. The main ingredients – the action choreography and quippy comedy – work hand-in-hand to create an overall memorable outing. Critics seem to enjoy it too, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it an 84% Certified Fresh score andpraising Michelle Yeohand Justin Chien’s performances.
Cancellation After Just One Season
But none of this was enough to change Netflix’s mind from canceling it so quickly. Less than two months afterThe Brothers Sunstarted streaming, Netflix announced that it would not be proceeding with a second season. The series was part ofNetflix’s Top 10for English-language series, even reaching number two and spending around five weeks on the list. Despite this, its audience viewing numbers were relatively low by the platform’s standards. The show’s star Michelle Yeohtook to Instagramto express her shock at the news:
Heartbroken… and finding it so hard to understand why… however, I am so very proud of My Brothers Sun family and what we presented to the world. Heads held high.
Why WasThe Brothers SunCanceled?
The Show Creator’s Expensive Netflix Deal
The show’s co-creator, Brad Falchuk, is best known for his other works likeGleeandAmerican Horror Story. In fact, Netflix has an ongoing eight-figure deal with Falchuk, under whichThe Brothers Sunwas actually commissioned. Despite the cancelation of thisaction-comedy drama, Falchuk will continue his partnership with Netflix through his overall deal. So, it’s possible that the streamer had lofty expectations for the show’s viewership, especially given the weight of Falchuk’s deal.
High-Budget Episodes & Poor Viewership Ratio
To be fair, the streamer can’t be entirely blamed for this. These shows cost a lot of money, and the returns aren’t as straightforward as theatrical box office revenue. It’s likely thatThe Brothers Suncost over a million dollars per episode, making it understandable why Netflix seemed hasty with its cancelation plans. Moreover, a potential Season 2 ofThe Brothers Sunwas hinted to be set in Taiwan, where much of the action would take place. So, it’s possible thatNetflix faced budgetary restrictionswhen it came to filming there, especially considering the show didn’t deliver a strong return on investment.
Apparent Lack Of Asian Authenticity
Another potential reason forThe Brothers Sungetting scrapped is the mixed reactions from theAsian American entertainment community. The show faced minor criticism for its authenticity, particularly in how it portrayed Asian gangsters. At the time of its release, fans on social media pointed out that some scenes felt like they were directed by someone who had never seen an Asian gangster film before.
At the same time, those who enjoyed the show didn’t overanalyze it. They valued it as a blend of family drama, dark comedy, and solid action, withMichelle Yeoh’s performanceserving as the icing on the cake. Even if it wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously,The Brothers Sunwas still a triad-style show, which may have been difficult to balance with the family dynamic. Perhaps Season 2 could have gone darker and leaned more into the Taiwanese gangster elements, but it might be too late for that now.
Why Is Netflix Quickly Canceling Shows?
The Brothers Sun’scancellation made it clear that not enough people had watched it to keep the show alive. EveryNetflix original showgets a very short window to prove itself, and it’s obvious thatThe Brothers Sundid not meet the platform’s strict streaming metrics. These analytics are changing faster than ever, shrinking from months to weeks. In the near future, if a show underperforms early, it could be canceled within days, and that’s an alarming trend.Bojack Horsemanco-creatorRaphael Bob-Waksberg addressed this ina 2019 Los Angeles Times interview:
When we started on ‘BoJack,’ it was understood that the Netflix model was to give shows time to find an audience and to build that audience. I think it’s a shame that they seem to have moved away from that model.
All this highlights how muchNetflixrelies purely on numbers rather than a show’s quality. Complaints aside,The Brothers Sundeserved more time before the decision was made to cancel it. On the other hand, some of its popular shows have been churning out subpar seasons one after another, yet they continue to get renewed simply because they meet the streaming platform’s metrics. It’s a showbiz truth that the audience is never wrong, but perhaps they need more than just a few weeks or months to decide what they really want.
