The OA's Brit Marling Addresses Protesting Fans After Netflix's Shocking Cancellation

The OA Prairie Johnson Brit Marling Netflix
(Image credit: Nicola Goode / Netflix)

The OA’s Brit Marling is addressing protesting fans after Netflix’s shocking cancellation. The streaming giant sent shockwaves through the core of numerous viewers with the announcement that the sci-fi series would not be renewed. Season 2 debuted all the way back in March 2019. An official update regarding the series’ renewal status languished long afterward.

That all changed in early August as Netflix gave a renewal status update that many fans had not expected. The streamer announced that it had cancelled the sci-fi fantasy series. Leaving fans without any closure following that mind-blowing Season 2 finale twist. Well, The OA’s star and co-creator Brit Marling has responded to the protests being enacted by fans. On Instagram, Marling posted:

You are standing on street corners in the hot sun in protest. You are meeting new people in strange recesses online and sharing stories about loss and renewal that you never thought you'd tell anyone. You are learning choreography and moving in ways you haven't dared move before. All of it is uncomfortable. All of it is agitation. All of it is worth something.

Even if it does not bring the show back, Brit Marling wants you to know that it is all worthwhile. The OA’s fans have been doing everything that Marling mentions in the hopes of getting Netflix to change its mind. A reversal is usually left for Netflix to decide after a broadcaster cancels one of its programs. Now, the question falls to Netflix itself.

In her extensive post, Brit Marling addresses the need to take action oneself as well as the questions that The OA’s cancellation brings up. Marling also says that neither the show’s characters, her, or Zal Batmanglij are authoring the story anymore. She concludes her missive with the story of a powerful exchange she and Batmanglij had with a protester.

In her sprawling message to fans, Brit Marling also expressed her and fellow OA creator Zal Batmanglij’s gratitude to the show’s fans. She signed off her post with a picture surrounded by The OA quote: “To exist is to survive unfair choices.” Words that were spoken by the character, Khatun. Check it out and the full post below:

A photo posted by on

Will all of this add up to Netflix changing its mind? Once known for saving shows, Netflix has had to deal with the realities of being a competitor in an ever-evolving streaming world. A universe that seems to be expanding at a non-stop rate. Despite its ambitious premise, The OA Season 1 was among the streamer’s most popular, according to Twitter.

Fast forward to Season 2 and its theory-inducing trailer. Many months after all of that excitement, The OA appears to be over. That did not stop a fan from theorizing that the entire cancellation might be fake. It continues to seem entirely real, replete with protests and other tell-tale signs of a show shutting down shop. Will it remain that way forever? Stay tuned.

Stranger things have happened, and The OA could pull off a miracle. It would fit with the series’ premise. You can watch the first two seasons of The OA on Netflix, among other premieres. In the meantime, television is moving forward with its this year’s fall premieres.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.