Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has received backlash after comments he made in an interview following the cancelation of the popular show Warrior Nun.
The second season of Warrior Nun brought it into the top ten on Netflix, with its first season creeping back into the top ratings too.
Racking up almost 48 million hours viewed of Warrior Nun, it was still canceled on Dec 13, 2022, leaving some to believe the reason may be more than just about numbers.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Sarandos stated, “We have never canceled a successful show. A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget.”
However, fans of Warrior Nun have since rebuffed the comments – starting a new trend using the hashtag #SaveWarriorNun.
Why are #SaveWarriorNun and #NetflixCorrectYourMistake going viral?
After Warrior Nun was not renewed for another season, many Netflix viewers suspect it may be about more than just numbers – with several leading romances featuring women being canceled. Since then, they have started a viral campaign to bring it back.
For those who missed the show, Warrior Nun’s main protagonist, Ava Silva (Alba Baptista) falls in love with Sister Beatrice (Kristina Tonteri-Young). According to reviews of the most recent season, it was a “fantastic queer romance” and has been applauded across various online outlets.
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The online backlash of the canceled Warrior Nun grew intensely after the news broke. At the time of writing, the hashtag has grown to over 7.5 million tweets in an attempt to bring the show back.
Come on @netflix these numbers don’t lie and surely you can see it’s worth saving? #SaveWarriorNun https://t.co/9jV1Enx6E1
— BE MORE SUPER (@bemoresuper) January 23, 2023
The #SaveWarriorNun petition has just crossed 110K signatures! This is not a small feat, especially when compared to the number of signatures received by the 1899 petition, a show that had a lot more viewers and promotion than #WarriorNun. Congrats!NETFLIX FREE WARRIOR NUN pic.twitter.com/k19rSrr9qu
— Camille | WoT & CR (@RationalNerd) January 23, 2023
Netflix Spends $20 Million on a Drama as Your Favorite Shows Get Axed🤬 😳 NETFLIX FREE WARRIOR NUN #SaveWarriorNun #WarriorNun https://t.co/ubVbgXEko2
— Agnes Szalkowska (@AgnesSzalkowska) January 23, 2023
Another hashtag, #NetflixCorrectYourMistake has been growing online as well. The two main actors of Warrior Nun, Alba Baptista and Kristina Tonteri-Young both won Spoiler TVs Performers of the Year in 2022 as well, further solidifying the show’s success.
Netflix also shot down another popular show in 2022 called First Kill, with its first week in ratings putting it in third place behind only Stranger Things and Peaky Blinders. It held 100 million hours watched in its first 28-day cycle.
Other shows with similar leads have been canceled as well, such as:
- Teenage Bounty Hunters
- One Day at a Time
- Everything Sucks
- I Am Not Okay With This
The creator of Warrior Nun, Simon Barry, has also tweeted his acknowledgment of the support fans have been giving him and the show.
As of now, Season 3 isn’t happening, but Simon himself is continuing the fight to see if the campaign can swing a change in direction from Netflix.
