“First Kill” showrunner Felicia D. Henderson held Netflix responsible while speaking to The Daily Beast about the streamer’s decision to cancel her lesbian teen vampire series after just one season. Netflix announced the cancellation on August 2, nearly two months after the eight-episode first season debut. Sources told Variety that Netflix cut the series because its low viewership didn’t guarantee the price of making a second season.
“When I got the call to tell me they wouldn’t renew the show because the completion rate wasn’t high enough, obviously, I was very disappointed,” Henderson said. “Which showrunner wouldn’t that be? I was told a couple of weeks ago that they hoped completion would be higher. I guess not. “
According to Henderson, Netflix’s marketing for “First Kill” wasn’t exactly ideal. He explained: “The art for early marketing was beautiful. I think I expected that to be the beginning and that the other equally compelling and important elements of the show – monsters versus monster hunters, the battle between two powerful matriarchs, etc. . – they would eventually get promoted, but that didn’t happen. “
However, Henderson still tipped Netflix because “they licensed the IP, paid for a pilot script, and gave it a healthy production budget.”
“The creative team was very helpful when we were shooting the show in excruciating conditions, before there were ‘vaccines for everyone’ in Atlanta, a very overcrowded production center,” added the showrunner.
“First Kill” quickly gained a passionate following on social media, and as Henderson noted, “The show is fantastic and we were in the top five globally and nationally for three of the first four weeks. I was very confident [we would get a second season] ”.
“I enthusiastically signed up to this show [because] it has something for everyone: strong female protagonists, supernatural intrigues, an epic Shakespearean battle between warring families and a black family featured in the genre space, something black viewers crave. and a general hearing needs to be dealt with, “Henderson concluded.
The first and only season of “First Kill” is now streaming on Netflix.
