The golden era of streaming services seems to be over, having only just begun – at least that’s the impression that almost inevitably arises if you’ve followed the news situation over the past few weeks and months. First “Batgirl” and other HBO Max titles ended up in the bin, then the announcement of the impending death of the sci-fi series “Final Space” followed, and now Netflix is pulling the plug on an almost completely finished series: “Grendel”.
Grendel is based on Matt Wagner’s superhero comic book series of the same name, published by Dark Horse Comics. The series centers on Hunter Rose (played by Abubakr Ali), an author, fencer and hitman who seeks revenge after the death of his great love. Reinventing himself as the superhero Grendel, he takes on the New York underworld until one day he realizes it’s easier to become a crime boss himself.
Netflix had given the green light for an eight-episode first season of “Grendel” in September 2021 and it was actually almost completely shot! So Netflix didn’t cancel right at the beginning, but only now, even though the entire first season of “Grendel” is almost finished – a rather unusual development. Similar cases are more likely to occur after a pilot episode has been shot, such as in the first “Game Of Thrones” spin-off “The Long Night”.
There are no statements about the reasons for the Netflix end for “Grendel”, but the suspicion is obvious that Netflix does not believe in the potential of the series and would rather not put any more money into the project. The eight episodes have obviously been shot, but then there is still extensive work such as editing, music and computer effects required, which also consumes a lot of time and money.
The fact that the headwind in the competitive streaming market is slowly getting rougher for Netflix may also have played a role and the number of subscribers is not growing, but shrinking. That’s why the share price collapsed at the beginning of 2022 and numerous employees were laid off. In the future, Netflix should also attach even more importance to the already tough cost-benefit calculation.
“Grendel” fans who have been looking forward to the series adaptation do not have to give up completely: as reported by the major US industry magazines, those responsible for the series around showrunner, author and producer Andrew Dabb (“Supernatural”, “Resident Evil” series on Netflix) now the opportunity to find a new home for “Grendel”.
Like Andy Mientus, who was cast on the series as Grendel’s aide and confidante Larry Stohler Instagram wrote, that’s the cast and crew’s hope too. At the same time, Mientus emphasizes in his statement how unusual the whole thing with “Grendel” is and how much everyone involved was affected:
