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For a little while, The Boroughs seemed like one of the most exciting new shows on Netflix. The show, executive-produced by Stranger Things' The Duffer Brothers, received critical acclaim upon its debut in May and trended high alongside other titles on the streamer. That aside, it honestly seemed like something of a spiritual successor to the Duffers' previous show. So it was surprising when it was announced that the series had been canceled, especially considering a two-year renewal was rumored. Now, reports are circling around the real reasoning behind the company's decision.
Sources claim to The Hollywood Reporter that The Boroughs' cancellation was greatly due to high costs. Per one insider, each episode of the show reportedly cost $10 million to produce, and a second source alleged that that total figure was "materially higher." All in all, it would seem that the viewership figures didn't justify the amount of money being dished out for the sci-fi series.
Considering the financial side of all this, it's hard not to wonder how cast salaries figured into this as well. The all-star ensemble, after all, included names like Geena Davis, Alfred Molina, Bill Pullman and Alfre Woodard. In the aftermath of the cancellation, Davis spoke out and admitted to being confused by the streamer pulling the plug on the Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews-created show.
For context, The Boroughs takes place at an idyllic retirement community in New Mexico. The show follows a group of senior citizens living in that community, who discover otherworldly threats infiltrating their community, and they band together to try and stop the mysterious forces. While further specifics about the costs and budget haven't been given, it's worth noting that the series makes heavy use of CGI and visual effects to depict the sci-fi elements of the show.
Interestingly, the report also indicates that there might be other factors at play with this cancellation. At the end of last year, it was reported that Matt and Ross Duffer would leave Netflix for a four-year deal with Paramount, and that allegedly didn’t go over well with executives at the streamer. Some sources claim to THR that the siblings' relationship with the streamer has been fraught since they made the decision to leave, and it's alleged that all of that impacted The Boroughs' renewal odds. However, a source with Netflix has denied this assumption, claiming the situation was purely a business decision that made the best sense for the company.
Regardless of the reason for the cancellation, it's hard to deny Buroughs saw some solid success following its premiere. The series hit second place on Netflix's TV trending list for English-language shows within its first four days live. Amid its first week, it also garnered 9.5 million views as well as the No. 1 spot in that aforementioned ranking. It also notched 3.7 million views the next week when it ranked fourth and, in eighth place the following week, it earned another 2.7 million views.
As speculation on the cancellation continues, I'm sad thatThe Boroughs is done and leaves a lot of unanswered questions in its wake. Netflix owns 100% of the show and, as far as we know, the brand has no plans to sell it to any other studio. It's still worth mentioning, though, that the Duffer Brothers are still producing other shows with Netflix, including a live-action Stranger Things spinoff. I look forward to seeing what they do next, at whichever studio that happens to be.
In the meantime, check out the first and only season of The Boroughs now with a Netflix subscription. For more information on other exciting projects heading to the streamer this year, make sure to consult the 2026 Netflix release schedule.
