Netflix has officially axed Michelle Yeoh’s crime drama The Brothers Sun after airing for one season. The streaming platform explained that the viewership ratings was not enough to grant another installment despite stellar reviews.
The series also dominated Netflix’s Top 10 list for five weeks, ranking No. 2 for the English-language category. The show’s cancelation has got fans questioning the platform’s motivation for axing a well-executed project.
Michelle Yeoh’s The Brothers Sun Season 2 Officially Axed By Netflix
The Brothers Sun featured Michelle Yeoh, Justin Chien, Sam Song Li, Joon Lee, and Highdee Kuan in an eight-episode show that was released on January 4. As per Deadline, it received critical praise, especially for Oscar winner Yeoh’s groundbreaking performance.
Netflix decided to halt the series after its number of weekly views only stayed below 7 million, which is considered modest in terms of the platform’s standards. Interestingly, it stayed on the Top 10 list for more than a month since its launch.
Justin Chien took to Instagram his disappointment at the show’s cancelation, penning a heartfelt letter to the audience:
“To all the fans of The Brothers Sun, Thank you for riding with us on this labor of love. It will take some time to digest this news, but I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your love and support for the show.”
The Brothers Sun followed Taipei gangster Charles Sun (Chien) as he moved to Los Angeles to protect his mother and younger brother after his father’s life was cut short by a mysterious assassin. The actor continued his message:
“Thank you for every post, tweet, edit, interaction, etc. It fills me with so much joy knowing that the show resonated with so many people. Your love made all of our collective work, sacrifices, and heartache, worth it.”
Netflix’s decision to axe the show stems from its below-the-standard viewership, which is also confusing for fans since the series stayed on the top list for five consecutive weeks.
However, one of the great things about the season was its self-contained story. The final episode left a satisfying conclusion, although there’s a small cliffhanger that could have been addressed in a new installment.
The Brothers Sun Fans Got Furious At Show’s Sudden Cancelation
The termination of Michelle Yeoh’s The Brothers Sun created tumult on social media amongst fans of the show. It received an 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes for the first season, proving that it might have been the best sleeper hit series on Netflix right now. Here’s what fans are saying about the cancelation:
Netflix’s model is completely broken so a show there needs to be either really freakin cheap to produce or a cultural phenomenon on the level of Stranger Things, otherwise they get cancelled.
— Roma Kong (@RomaKong) March 2, 2024
Netflix renews some garbage shows but cancels some great ones because they expect the great ones to get HBO Game of Thrones ratings weekly for like 14 straight weeks even though they release all episodes same day. So they then blame ratings and budget. They used to run 3 seasons
— Brian (@Spcbll_1) March 2, 2024
Netflix is like a library full of so much content, but all the books have the last few chapters ripped out.
— it’s Garrett (@amazing_garrett) March 3, 2024
i’m so angry about this. The Brothers Sun was so good!!
— Jason Marcus (@TheJasonMarcus) March 2, 2024
How can something both be a top 10 show AND underperform, wtf, does that mean anything but the top 3 underperforms?
— Angelo Wentzler (@meneer_pastoor) March 2, 2024
The Brothers Sun is co-created by Glee’s Brad Falchuk and newcomer Byron Wu. Netflix also recently canceled a bunch of other titles aiming for a second season. Obliterated was axed after one season despite spending a respectable six weeks in the Netflix Top 10. Shockingly, it peaked at No. 1 in its second week.
While all hopes may be gone now, fans can still stream The Brothers Sun on Netflix.
