With the advent of the cancelled Good Girls—a show about three suburban women diving into the world of crime, drug lords and money laundering—making its way back into Netflix’s top 10 this week, we thought it’d be interesting to look back at some of the other series whose threads were cut way too soon.

According to Forbes, the anomaly that is Good Girls just keeps giving. Dubbing it “one of the most bizarre situations in television,” the article goes on to say that the show was axed after its fourth season before it even had the chance to conclude properly. Its finale episode aired in July of 2021, ending its short three-year presence on our screens. Without the sweet release of true catharsis, we were left without a rhyme or reason as to why it ended.

Clearly, the show was (and still is) crazy popular—so low viewer ratings is not it—with Forbes noting that the show still managed to edge its way into the streaming platform’s elusive number 2 spot on its US top 10 list. Though there’s been a lot of speculation as to why the show was cut, such as show leads Christina Hendricks’ (who plays Beth Boland) and Manny Montana’s (the internet’s heartthrob, Rio) rocky relationship—not to mention the supposed issue with Montana’s contract as well as the season five pay cuts. I won’t get too much into that though as we’re here to focus on the TV shows and only the TV shows.

So grab your shovels, folks—it’s time to enter Netflix’s cancelled-show graveyard and dig around for some gems.

Of course, I had to put Good Girls up in the top spot. How could you not want a finished ending to women who become so “fed up with playing by the rules and not getting the respect they deserve, they band together to take control of their lives by holding up a local grocery store”? It’s the perfect show—crime, comedy and Retta, what more could you want?

Maybe we really should get behind Forbes’ #SaveGoodGirls and bully some sense into the corporation. I mean, it worked for Manifest…

According to Business Insider, Netflix doesn’t really see the value in shows that exceed the 30 episodes mark and that couldn’t be more true in Castlevania’s case. Announced in mid 2021, the series was cancelled on its fourth season. The animated horror show, drawn from the series of video games of the same name, follows Trevor Belmont and Co. as they navigate a world of dark mediaeval fantasy filled with complicated vampiric hierarchy and the expansive world of witchcraft. The gothic horror action series definitely had a few more seasons of anarchic blood-shedding to offer its audience.

TVLine listed Grand Army on its roster for shows that shouldn’t have gotten away. Alongside American Vandal, The Society and On My Block, this one truly hurt as a zillenial who still lives for a bit of coming-of-age drama.

In 2021, rumours about the show’s success and its renewal greenlight for a second season began circulating, yet sadly, #blackAF was cancelled by the platform after, you guessed it, only one season. The black family mockumentary just didn’t do it for the streaming service. Deadline hinted that there’s still hope though, as there are talks that plans for the show in the idea mill include a movie franchise. Win, win, win, win, win, indeed, Kenya Barris.

Netflix’s dream to jump into the Marvel universe started off so well with Daredevil. Shortlist noted the structural plan for the Marvel universe shows—“each character getting their own show and an Avengers-like coming together in The Defenders”—was kind of genius. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out for Daredevil, despite its three seasons being a success, which still pains me to this day.

One man’s trash is another mouse’s treasure it seems since, according to The Manual, the show is confirmed to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), only this time on Disney+, as stated by Marvel President Kevin Feige. Too bad Netflix didn’t see the series’ full value. But hey, at least we get that anticipated fourth season.

One of the many forgotten Netflix wonders you will find is The OA, and for good reason too. The show’s trailers remain unforgettable to this day though its two-season run has since faded into obscurity.

This one makes me so mad that I can’t even talk about it only having one season when a show beginning with ‘R’ and ending in ‘Dale’ still exists. Yeah, that’s still going strong, by the way… I think I need a minute, honestly. I’d still watch the entire season of The Get Down all over again anyway.

Need I really say anything for this one?

can never forgive netflix for cancelling sense8

— betty (@yttxb) March 5, 2022

Remember that Insider article with showrunner Jonathan Entwistle? Only one season of beautifully dark comedy? Count your days, Netflix.

Though it’s not a Netflix show, my honourable shoutout must go to Hulu’s High Fidelity starring Zoë Kravitz. Despite her being on bigger, better and more bat-ish things like 2022’s The Batman by Matt Reeves, I do lie awake at night wondering if she’ll ever reprise her role as Rob.

whole world talking about zoe kravitz so now how can we get high fidelity brought back

— ceo of kory (@korysverse) March 6, 2022

The world’s most popular video streaming service gained 37 million new subscribers due to the global pandemic-induced lockdowns, which lead to the company seeing almost $2.8 billion in profit, according to Netflix’s latest earning report. That’s a lot of dough, and the company isn’t ready to thank who brought it either, as it is now clamping down on password sharing. Here’s what you need to know.

Earlier on in March 2021, some users received the message “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” To which those users were asked to verify their account through two-factor authentication via a code being sent to the ‘official’ account holder’s phone or email. Basically, if you were still logged on to and using your ex’s Netflix account, your sweet free streaming may have come to an abrupt halt. That being said, it may not all be that bad, because the company has all of us to lose in the long term if it strictly regulates its users. We’ve had enough of being told no over the past year, wouldn’t you say?

The research firm Magid stated that a third of subscribers in the US alone have admitted to sharing their passwords, which could be costing the streaming service as much as $25 billion a year, which makes their mere $2.8 billion profit look a little small… sorry Netflix.

The company does however promote itself as a consumer friendly brand, and although the terms of service clearly state that passwords “may not be shared with individuals beyond your household,” we still do it. The threat of a password crunch down was contradictory to what Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, said at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) back in 2016: that consumers sharing Netflix account information was “a positive thing.” Later, according to Quartz, he stated that it was something Netflix just had to “learn to live with.”

Obviously, like any subscription service, Netflix wants users to pay for the service that they use, and that is only fair. Even if people are ‘borrowing’ passwords, and effectively not paying, it does still combat the issue of illegal streaming or downloading movies from Torrent websites. Although these sites are very much being used by a lot of people, imagine how many more would use them if the sharing of Netflix passwords were truly clamped down on.

As lockdowns are beginning to lift all over the world, in some places quicker than others, people are likely going to be spending more of their time outdoors and not in front of their televisions, which doesn’t favour Netflix’s subscriber count. It may be the reason that Netflix created the test of threatening two-factor authentication in the first place, because ‘quietly’ discouraging users from sharing their passwords could be a way to, as Quartz puts it, “squeeze some extra revenue out of existing freeloaders without doing much damage to the brand.”

Most of the time, users who freely use their friend or family’s accounts will become paying customers themselves at some point. We see this as kids leave home and receive a salary of their own—having a Netflix account that is separate from their parents is almost a right of passage into independence. Also, if you share passwords with your current flatmates, and then move flat, you’ll find that they might start up a new account after you leave because they have become accustomed to having access to endless things to watch. A word of caution though, let’s discuss safety.

Jack Moore, a cybersecurity specialist at ESET spoke to TechRadar on the matter of password sharing and safety (that go beyond the obvious safety perceptions). He commented that “If I were to ask people if they share their email account password with anyone else, the vast majority would probably say ‘absolutely no chance!’… but when it comes to media services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify, such password sharing is actually quite common. It may sound innocent, but when people are using the same password for their media service that they use for other accounts, it starts to become dangerous, and the risk of account compromises increases.”

Moore advises what we all know but might not necessarily put into practice: “regularly change your passwords in order to flush out anyone who has gained access over the last year who shouldn’t have. Creating complex passwords, combined with a password manager, will reduce your risk of compromise.” Let’s not forget that the web of gossip goes far beyond trusty circles of friends, with passwords or otherwise, because online, if your best friend who mooches your Netflix account gets hacked, it simply means the hacker has your password too.

There is no talk of a guarantee that Netflix will implement this two factor authentication hurdle world wide, or anywhere, but as Magid wrote, “a system that introduces two-factor lets you continue sharing, as long as you don’t mind passing along the occasional code. It’s a little inconvenience for a lot more peace of mind.”