Normally, when a show is canceled, we get sad. And angry. But there are times when we feel liberated. Not many times, let’s grant you that, but they do exist. And that’s exactly what we felt after learning that The Waterfront was canceled.
According to Deadline, The Waterfront won’t be returning for a second season, even though its numbers were quite good. Especially compared to other series that did get renewed, like Ransom Canyon. Normally, spending five weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10 for English-language series, including a rare triple number 1, peaking at 11.6 million views for its first full week of release, would have guaranteed The Waterfront a near-certain renewal.
We’ll never know why that wasn’t the case, but honestly? We’re glad. Just as we did with And Just Like That…. When a show isn’t worth our time, it’s better off going away for good. That way, the stars involved can move on to other, more interesting projects, and so can we.
The fact is, The Waterfront had everything going for us: a troubled family, shady business, and Melissa Benoist. But none of that was enough to fill in the gaps in a plot that was sometimes sinking and didn’t make sense. It had a bit of everything: a bad script and a lot of clichés. Don’t get us wrong, sometimes we’re here for a good cliché, but not in this one.
This show was boring. It was slow. It made no sense. We wanted to like it, we did. But it just never truly grabbed us, despite Melissa Benoist, and despite Topher Grace coming in to throw a Hail Mary at the last second to try to make us care.
So yes, Netflix has made a lot of questionable decisions with its shows lately—we’re still smarting from certain cancellations and we will be mad forever—but this is the best decision they’ve made in a while. Maybe ever.
The Waterfront Season 1 is now streaming only on Netflix.
