Why Netflix canceled this 90s present

“That 70s Present” Didn’t Stick sufficient as culturally ubiquitous as its fellow ’90s sitcoms “Seinfeld” or “Mates,” however that additional demonstrates how titanic its opponents have been and stay. True to its identify, “That ’70s Present” ran from 1976 to 1980 (4 years unfold over twice as many seasons), following a gaggle of six excessive school-aged buddies rising up in Level Place , in Wisconsin. The city is fictional, however the sequence the creators modeled “That ’70s Show” and its characters on their real teenage experiences.

Between 1998 and 2006, “That ’70s Present” recorded a minimum of 200 episodes. That is additionally why you understand who Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace are: with their reputation, a revival was inevitable, particularly as a result of by the 2020s, sufficient time had handed to replace the central gadget.

Enter “That ’90s Present,” the setting having caught up with the period when the unique present aired. Set in 1995, the sequence starred Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), daughter of unique protagonists Eric (Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon). Whereas her mother and father are busy (and might solely be occasional visitors), Leia lives together with her paternal grandparents, original series supporting the characters Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp).

However the days of “That ’70s Present,” when sitcoms churned out 22-plus seasons of episodes for syndication, are over. “That ’90s Present” solely lasted two seasons earlier than being pulled the plug like so many different Netflix reveals earlier than and since. The sequence’ two seasons, or 26 episodes, can be sufficient to fill a full tv season in 1998.

The cancellation of “That ’90s Present” was confirmed by Kurtwood Smith in a press launch dated October 3, 2024. Instagram post. Smith mentioned there have been plans to maneuver the sequence to a brand new residence for a possible season 3, however he did not clarify. Why Netflix is ​​placing an finish to it. What’s the story?

Set off Warning: There will likely be references to sexual assault within the subsequent slide.

There’s an elephant within the room surrounding the legacy of “That ’70s Present,” a legacy that features the very existence of “That ’90s Present.” That elephant is unique actor Danny Masterson, who performed Steven Hyde, the surly, Afro-paranoid pothead in regards to the Man.

Masterson can be a convicted rapist. In Could 2023, he was convicted of raping two women in separate incidents in 2003, then (in September of the identical yr) sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. (Masterson’s attorney filed an appeal in December 2024.) Masterson is a Scientologist and plenty of others, including prosecutor Ariel Ansonalleged that he used his affect throughout the Church of Scientology to assault after which silence survivors.

The adverse press grew even worse when it emerged that a number of solid members of “That ’70s Present” (namely Kutcher, Kunis, Smith and Rupp) wrote letters testifying to Masterson’s supposed good character. It goes with out saying that these letters didn’t persuade choose Charlaine Olmedo. Kutcher and Kunis later apologized on digital camera for writing the letters.

Masterson was first publicly accused in March 2017and the accusations noticed it fired from Netflix comedy series “The Ranch” (the place he performed with Kutcher) later that yr. It is no shock that Masterson did not seem on “That ’90s Present,” and the present by no means even referenced Hyde. Did his conviction merely make persevering with the sequence untenable? It is a pure assumption, however is it right?

Season 2 of “That ’90s Present” premiered (in two separate elements) in June 2024 and later in August 2024. It was then canceled once more round October 2024, roughly a yr after Masterson’s conviction. So it appears just like the present hasn’t been canceled straight in response at sentencing. Deadline reported that it was much simpler: Season 2 of “That ’90s Present” didn’t entice sufficient viewers to justify wider distribution of the sequence. The primary half of the season solely entered Netflix’s High 10 as soon as, and the streamer even moved up the premiere date of the second half (from October to August), which didn’t managed to extend the numbers. This sequence of occasions would not make it seem to be Netflix has written off the sequence as a lame duck heading into season 2.

The storm of adverse publicity may have had a backdoor impact, in that individuals did not wish to watch “That ’90s Present” attributable to now-marred reminiscences of the unique. “That ’70s Present” was once one in every of my favourite sitcoms, however I can’t convey myself to return to it or watch “That ’90s Present.” After all, that is all hypothesis; it was additionally reported that viewership had dropped loads between season 1 of “That ’90s Present” (which easily remained in the Netflix Top 10 the weekend of its premiere) and season 2. Maybe Masterson’s conviction between the 2 seasons soured viewers, or possibly a big portion of viewers merely did not like season 1 sufficient to observe season 2 Regardless of the motive, not sufficient Netflix viewers watched “That is ’90s Present” for season 3.