YOU season 2 moving to Netflix, away from original network Lifetime
This morning, Lifetime has announced that the second season of the Penn Badgley series is going to be moving over to the streaming service, which mostly means that its ties with the cable network are severed. The show isn’t being canceled, given that there are more episodes coming (they were ordered a good while ago), but clearly, Lifetime opted that they didn’t want to continue broadcasting it themselves. The series didn’t draw enormous ratings there in its first season, and Lifetime has shown a willingness to shift and move around series that are not performing to expectations on their network. Another good example of this is UnREAL, which moved to Hulu for its fourth and final season after being renewed in advance there.
In a statement, here is what Lifetime had to say about the move:
“Lifetime had an incredible experience working with Greg Bertlanti, Sera Gamble and the entire team on YOU for Season 1 … We wish the cast and crew the best as the series continues on at Netflix and can’t wait for the opportunity to work with the creative team again.”
Is there a chance that the second season could have a long life at Netflix? In theory, sure, but we also have to remember that we’re in this all-new era at Netflix in which shows are basically being canceled left and right. We ultimately think that watching shows you watch on Netflix quickly after their release is even more important than it’s ever been, and it is certainly something we recommend further as we push more and more along into the new year. There have been a number of notable cancellations at Netflix in 2018, whether it be Daredevil, Everything Sucks!, Luke Cage, The Good Cop, Iron Fist, or American Vandal. Even more cancellations could be something and that is certainly a news item to be aware of at this point
There is a clear benefit to YOU season 2 airing on Netflix in that you don’t have to wait in order to binge-watch many of your favorite episodes at once. However, at the same time there is a pretty significant drawback in that the show isn’t likely going to premiere as early because of it. Maybe the early renewal will help lessen the wait from one season to the next, but inevitably airing on traditional television tends to mean shorter hiatuses, just because you don’t need to have every single episode of the show done all at one time.
When do you want to see YOU season 2 coming on the air at Netflix? Be sure to share in the comments! (Photo: Netflix.)