Less than two months after the streaming giant premiered the drama from The Killing showrunner Veena Sud starring Regina King, the series from producers Fox 21 has been canceled.
The anthological drama explored race in America through a story involving the hit-and-run of an African-American teenager by a white Jersey City cop (Beau Knapp) and the crime’s subsequent cover-up by the mostly white police force. It premiered Feb. 23 on Netflix to mixed reviews. (In his review, THR’s Daniel Fienberg called Seven Seconds a “well-acted wallow in murder and misery.”)
While Netflix, like other streamers, does not release viewership information, the drama has a 77 percent rating among critics and an 84 percent score among those who watched the series.
“We loved working with Veena Sud, Regina King and the cast and crew of Seven Seconds. Together they created a compelling, timely and relevant crime drama. The first season is a complete, stand-alone story that we are proud to feature on Netflix for years to come,” said Cindy Holland, vp originals at Netflix.
In nterview with THR, Fox 21 Television Studios president Bert Salke said his hope was for Seven Seconds to run for additional seasons, featuring old characters returning along with new faces in an anthology format as the series would remain rooted in Jersey City.
“This I think in our mind can go on for four or five [seasons], even more,” Salke said at the time. “Each year will be a chapter … in the book about that city and what’s going on in the struggle to survive in urban America today.”
Netflix, meanwhile, will submit Seven Seconds as a limited series drama for Emmy consideration.
The decision to cancel Seven Seconds comes as Netflix continues to refine its roster of scripted programming amid an $8 billion spending budget. The streamer recently axed comedy Everything Sucks after one season; and dropped Chuck Lorre’s pot comedy Disjointed after its initial two-season order. Seven Seconds joins a roster of one-and-done shows on Netflix that also includes Girlboss, Gypsy and The Get Down.
Seven Seconds was Sud’s follow-up to The Killing, which was famously canceled twice before being revived the first time on AMC and a second and final time on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
