Netflix cancels sci-fi horror series two months after it hit number one in the US

Netflix has cancelled sci-fi supernatural horror series Archive 81 less than three months after the first season premiered on the streaming platform. 

As reported by Deadline, the series starring Mamoudou Athie, who featured in further Netflix projects like Uncorked and The Get Down, will not be renewed for a second season. The eight-part series tells the story of Daniel Turner, who is hired to restore video footage from graduate student Melody Pendras (played by Dina Shihabi) after the building she was making a documentary on burns down. 

A cancellation was unexpected as Archive 81 managed to climb its way to the number one spot in the US for a period in January (via Forbes), before being dethroned by Ozark with Jason Bateman. Furthermore, the series was watched for 128.47 million hours globally, according to Netflix's own top 10 rankings.  

Archive 81 received a positive reception from critics and fans. It holds an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing) with many presuming a second season was locked, considering the cliffhanger ending. It's also the second time a show has stopped production after one season for Athie after The Get Down from Baz Luhrmann failed to make it to a second season. The actor's next major appearance will be in Jurassic World Dominion later this year. 

This is the streaming platform's third cancellation in just over a month with Star Wars actor Katee Sackhoff's sci-fi series, Another Life, scrapped after two seasons in February and The Baby-Sitters Club, one of the highest-rated shows on the platform, not doing enough either to receive a renewal for a third season in March also. 

Archive 81 stars Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry and Martin Donovan. The full series can be streamed on Netflix now. 

Looking for the best series to watch this month? Check out T3's top Netflix recommendations for March, including why everyone is obsessed with Inventing Anna.