Why Netflix Canceled Bloodline After Three Seasons

In 2015, "Bloodline" was at the back end of the roster of those top-shelf Netflix original shows (like "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black") that the streaming service made primarily to impress and hook viewers. The debut season was fresh and gripping, offering the type of slow-burn family drama set in the breathtakingly dazzling Florida Keys that felt special at the time. It, perhaps, wasn't as prestigious or buzz-worthy as creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman had hoped, but its quality was clearly up there with other Netflix exclusives. At the same time, its harrowing and emotionally layered story in season 1 also had the feel of a limited series, as opposed to something that could go on for years — despite the creators claiming they always planned it to be a show with potentially five or six seasons.

Along with many other viewers, I enjoyed the 2015 freshman season immensely, but I was quite surprised to hear that the show had been renewed for another year (and then another) because, at its core, the plot was really a one-trick pony. And that trick hit like a truck in a shocking twist toward the end of those initial 13 episodes, but after they concluded, there wasn't a whole lot left to go on.

"Bloodline" seasons 2 and 3 were nowhere near as deep and nail-biting, and many critics immediately sensed that something essential had been lost along the way. The cast and the performances were still sublime, but the material they had to work from was not. Overall, that must have affected streaming numbers (although it's hard to say for certain since Netflix's viewership metrics are infamously dubious), which must've made it difficult to justify the cost of producing the show year after year.

Regardless of how you look at it, "Bloodline" was undoubtedly not on the same level in terms of buzz and popularity as other Netflix originals that ran around the same time, like the beloved "Stranger Things" or the controversial "13 Reasons Why." But since it was mostly shot on location, the production costs were still quite high. According to an interview co-creator Todd A. Kessler once gave The Hollywood Reporter, the show's creatives were able to cut costs on the first two seasons thanks to a Florida entertainment tax incentive program. For season 3, however, that was no longer the case. As Kessler explained it:

"We decided to set the show there [Florida Keys] ... because it's crucial to what the show is, not because of the tax incentive, but it does affect things financially for us, and the show will be challenged because of that. It makes things more difficult."

According to Vulture, Netflix was paying Sony Pictures Television between $7 and $8.5 million per hour-long episode to produce the show, which meant a 10-episode season would've cost the streaming giant between $70 and $85 million. With the tax credits no longer being a viable option to reduce costs (as they were during the first two seasons), Netflix simply made the call that "Bloodline" wasn't worth it financially to keep it going. So, it shortened the final season from 13 to 10 episodes and announced the series' cancellation in 2016.

Though it was a somewhat surprising move at the time (Netflix was mainly expanding its roster of original programs back then), it wasn't completely out of nowhere. Frankly, if you look at most of the reviews and viewer opinions of season 3 (which were quite poor), Netflix's decision seems, from both a creative and financial standpoint, more than justified.