Everything Sucks! Cancelled By Netflix After One Season

Netflix has cancelled Everything Sucks! after just one season. The ’90s-set coming-of-age dramedy hit some good notes in its first and only batch of season, but ultimately, found itself on the chopping block at the streaming giant. The show, starring newcomers Jahi Winston and Peyton Kennedy, drew mainly favorable reviews despite also drawing criticism for its over-reliance on ’90s nostalgia.


It appears that the nostalgia factor helped doom Everything Sucks! in the end. The series did show potential with its acting and sometimes refreshing coming-of-age themes as it followed a group of awkward A/V and drama club teenagers at a high school in Oregon. And it seems the show’s first season didn’t draw enough viewers to warrant a second run of episodes, which is why Netflix is instead adding it to its list of cancellations.


THR reports that Netflix is cancelling Everything Sucks!, marking its total run at just 10 episodes. It joins Netflix shows like like Girlboss, The Get Down, Disjointed, and Gypsy as one of the network’s original series to recently get the axe after just one season. Unfortunately, for Everything Sucks! fans, this means that the series will end on a cliffhanger. Series creators Ben York Jones (Like Crazy) and Michael Mohan (Save The Date) were already planning a second season.


Executive producer Jeff Pinker said that the makers of Everything Sucks! are “grateful to Netflix for the opportunity, but are very disheartened we won’t be continuing to tell these stories.” Everything Sucks! was compared favorably to Judd Apatow’s cult-favorite series Freaks and Geeks, which was cancelled before the first season finished airing but quickly gained a large cult following. Pinker also noted the small-but-devoted viewership that Everything Sucks! gained in its initial run.


Everything Sucks! did make waves with its representation of LGBT characters and thoughtful portrayal of a teenage girl’s sexual discovery. But those notable, heartfelt themes couldn’t quite help the show break through to a more mainstream audience. The series is proof that nostalgia doesn’t always sell, and a product still needs enough out of its characters, stories, and themes to overcome a feeling of cloying sentimentality.


Despite the show’s best efforts to infuse its ’90s-slathered time capsule with memorable characters, Everything Sucks! simply couldn’t transcend its obvious devotion to the bygone decade. It often bludgeons viewers with nostalgia, especially early in the season. But the series’ brief run still exists on Netflix – if an uneven but often engaging coming-of-age tale, and an avalanche of ’90s cultural references, is exactly what you seek. It remains to be seen if Everything Sucks! ends up with a bigger-than-expected cult following, but that’s what Netflix and the show’s creators have to hope for now.