I’ve been doing this long enough where I can get a certain vibe as to whether or not the streaming series seems to be updating, which is a bit different from how it used to be with the network. Sometimes it’s obvious, but with so many hidden metrics, it often feels like gibberish in terms of what gets updated and what doesn’t. Especially on Netflix.
As for Resident Evil, the new video game adaptation that came to #1 on the service before being knocked out by Stranger Things again, I have a feeling it probably won’t last past this first season here, no matter what plans the showrunners have, or how many cliffhangers there are. end.
Here’s what worked against Resident Evil:
Potentially High Cost – While it may not be a Jupiter Legacy level money sink, Resident Evil is a sci-fi show about a post-apocalyptic future, full of practical effects for zombies and plenty of digital effects for bigger monsters. As such, it may be slightly more expensive than your average series on the service, which will require a higher audience to justify the continued investment.
Critics Don’t Like It – We’re living in a golden era of TV where right now, I can list maybe two dozen shows on the six streaming services currently airing that are getting over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Resident Evil has 51%, a very low according to TV review standards these days. And you can’t really say “critics are snobs and don’t like video game stuff” because Netflix also has Arcane (100%), Castlevania (94%) and The Witcher (81%) on its list, which have yet to face criticism. similar. And then there’s the next point:
Audiences Hate More – This is not a problem where critics hate something that is fun and audiences are much more tolerant. Resident Evil has some of the lowest viewership scores I’ve seen for any series on Netflix, 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and 3.7 on IMDB. Resident Evil fans really didn’t like the “authentic” view of the universe, and rated it lower than the endless series of blockbusters. Non-fans either ignore it, or don’t like it either.
The point is, even though Resident Evil rose to the top of the charts shortly after its debut, it might take a lot of viewership to justify the cost. After that, I don’t think Netflix enjoys the current narrative that much of its original production is low quality, and what message does it send when something is poorly reviewed (and not even a reality show trash at that) but continues to be invested?
One thing in Resident Evil’s favor is that Netflix also doesn’t like being a service accused of killing shows too soon or not letting them finish their storylines. Given that almost nothing was completed in Resident Evil season 1 and ended on a lot of cliffhangers, that would be another example of a show not finishing its narrative. But given that the showrunner said he wanted to adapt basically all of the main parts of the series over a number of years, I’m not sure it will ever be completed. I wonder if the cliffhanger ending is a ploy to try and make sure they’re updated. I just didn’t think it would work.
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Take my sci-fi novels Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
