That was quick: Netflix canceled its ambitious, highly publicized, and ultimately very disappointing anime adaptation. Cowboy Bebop, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The move comes less than three weeks after the show’s November 19 debut on the streaming service.
The Western space had a poor reception. The 10-episode series earned just a 46 percent positive critics rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Fans seemed to agree, giving the show a 56 percent positive viewership score on the site. According to Netflix’s Top 10 site, the series has racked up nearly 74 million viewing hours worldwide since its debut, so it got plenty of samples early on, but plummeted 59 percent during the week of September 29. November to December 29. 5.
Insiders noted that Netflix’s renewal rate for scripted series that have two or more seasons is 60 percent, in line with industry averages, and like all Netflix renewal verdicts, the decision was made. balancing the audience and the cost of the show. The streamer also takes pride in making big changes to projects like Bobop jean and has many other gender shows on the air and in the works.
The project is the latest attempt to reinvent Japanese anime as a live-action series that failed to attract viewers after titles like 2009. Dragon Ball Evolution, From 2017 Ghost in the shelland the 2017 Netflix movie Death Note. The biggest hit in space so far was possibly 2019. Alita: Battle Angel, which extracted considerable foreign dollars ($ 319 million) if not domestic ($ 85 million).
Bobop jean The series starred John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda as three bounty hunters, also known as “cowboys,” all trying to put the past behind them. From the show’s description: “They form a tough and sarcastic team ready to hunt down the most dangerous criminals in the solar system, for the right price. But they can only kick and joke to get out of so many skirmishes before their past finally catches up with them. “
The Hollywood ReporterAngie Han wrote that Bobop jean was “faithful to a failure” with “leaden rhythm” and “the sharp [anime] visuals [were] reduced to a muddy CG, the playful humor translated as a fake laugh, the lived bravery replaced by bad looking sets ”and that the remake“ seems to make no sense ”.
The show was based on the popular 1998 Japanese anime television series and the 2001 anime film. Netflix first ordered the project directly from the series in 2018. A live-action feature film version starring Keanu Reeves it was also previously being developed at Fox.
André Nemec (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) serves as showrunner, with original anime series director Shinichirō Watanabe serving as consultant for the series and original composer Yoko Kanno returning for the live-action adaptation.