‘The Boroughs’ Canceled at Netflix: Here’s Why There Won’t Be A Season 2 for Duffer Brothers’ Sci-Fi Series

We break down the viewership numbers and data behind Netflix’s decision to cancel ‘The Boroughs’ after Season 1.

Picture Credit: Netflix

It’s officially one-and-done for The Boroughs. Despite early signs of confidence behind the scenes, Netflix has opted not to move forward with a second season of the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series.

The news was first broken on Wednesday by Deadline, revealing that the “Stranger Things with seniors” series will not be returning to our screens. As we’d already covered, a writers’ room had been open for Season 2, and the Hollywood trade notes that Netflix was initially very optimistic about the show’s future, and there had even been preliminary discussions about shooting Seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back.

So, what went wrong? As always with Netflix, it comes down to the almighty cost-versus-viewership ratio.

The show set up for more with a notable callback to Stranger Things season 1 with the main character glitching in the mirror, akin to Will’s final scene in Stranger Things a decade ago, although for the most part, the major plotlines for season 1 were all wrapped up.

Why was The Boroughs canceled?

As we noted in our recent renewal status prediction and stats breakdown for The Boroughs, the writing has unfortunately been on the wall for a few weeks, based on the global Top 10 data.

While the series debuted to strong critical reviews, audience numbers were not up to par for an expensive show with a large ensemble cast and elaborate effects.

Let’s dig into the numbers, starting with the global weekly top 10s, as they tell the story of the cancellation perfectly.

Top line: The Boroughs Season 1 has spent 4 weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10, amassing 130.5 million viewing hours and 20.8 million completed views. Here’s how that breaks down week-to-week:

Week in Top 10
Week Period
Hours Viewed
Views / CVE
Weekly Rank

1
May 17 to May 24, 2026
35,300,000 (New)
5,600,000
2

2
May 24 to May 31, 2026
59,400,000 (+68%)
9,500,000
1

3
May 31 to Jun 7, 2026
23,000,000 (-61%)
3,700,000
4

4
Jun 7 to Jun 14, 2026
12,800,000 (-44%)
2,000,000
8

That steep drop-off in Week 3 is the death knell for most Netflix shows. It signals a lack of long-tail growth and suggests that word-of-mouth wasn’t strong enough to carry it beyond its initial premiere window. When a show carries a massive price tag due to special effects and a veteran cast, Netflix needs it to have staying power. The Boroughs simply didn’t find the audience it needed to justify the budget.

Stacked up against prior cancellations and other shows, the picture becomes clear that it was always going to be difficult for the show to get renewed for a Season 2. Here’s the ultimate graph that tells the story. As we’ve covered before, Obliterated once represented the most-watched cancellation, which was ushered in by The Waterfront’s cancellation in 2025. If you’re tracking beneath these two shows’ viewership, especially if you have a big budget, you’re in big trouble.

Netflix Cumulative Views Over Time – The Boroughs – Season 1, Obliterated – Season 1 and The Waterfront – Season 1 (6-week trend)

Week-by-week cumulative views for 3 Netflix titles: The Boroughs – Season 1, Obliterated – Season 1, The Waterfront – Season 1. Combined final total: 81,000,000 views.

Weekly cumulative Netflix views for The Boroughs – Season 1, Obliterated – Season 1 and The Waterfront – Season 1 over 6 weeks.

Title
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Final cumulative

The Boroughs – Season 1
0
5,600,000
15,100,000
18,800,000
20,800,000
—
—
20,800,000

Obliterated – Season 1
0
7,000,000
16,000,000
21,200,000
24,400,000
27,000,000
29,000,000
29,000,000

The Waterfront – Season 1
0
8,300,000
19,900,000
25,500,000
29,100,000
31,200,000
—
31,200,000

When put against more shows over its four weeks, you can see that it tracked similarly to PULSE, another casualty of 2025.

Netflix Weekly Views Breakdown – 3 Body Problem – Season 1, Black Doves – Season 1, 1899 – Season 1, Man on Fire – Season 1, The Lincoln Lawyer – Season 1 and 13 more Netflix titles (4-week analysis)

Weekly views for 18 Netflix titles: 3 Body Problem – Season 1, Black Doves – Season 1, 1899 – Season 1, Man on Fire – Season 1, The Lincoln Lawyer – Season 1, The Recruit – Season 1, The Waterfront – Season 1, Nemesis – Season 1, The Diplomat – Season 1, Obliterated – Season 1, Ransom Canyon – Season 1, The Boroughs – Season 1, PULSE – Season 1, The Brothers Sun – Season 1, The Abandons – Season 1, KAOS – Season 1, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Dead Boy Detectives – Season 1. Combined total across all titles and weeks: 443,300,000 views.

Per-week Netflix views for 3 Body Problem – Season 1, Black Doves – Season 1, 1899 – Season 1, Man on Fire – Season 1, The Lincoln Lawyer – Season 1 and 13 more Netflix titles across 4 weeks.

Title
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Total

3 Body Problem – Season 1
11,000,000
15,600,000
8,300,000
4,800,000
39,700,000

Black Doves – Season 1
10,800,000
14,600,000
6,700,000
5,400,000
37,500,000

1899 – Season 1
10,800,000
12,000,000
6,100,000
3,800,000
32,700,000

Man on Fire – Season 1
11,000,000
12,600,000
5,500,000
3,000,000
32,100,000

The Lincoln Lawyer – Season 1
5,400,000
13,000,000
7,800,000
5,100,000
31,300,000

The Recruit – Season 1
7,100,000
13,000,000
5,900,000
3,200,000
29,200,000

The Waterfront – Season 1
8,300,000
11,600,000
5,600,000
3,600,000
29,100,000

Nemesis – Season 1
7,100,000
11,400,000
5,900,000
3,500,000
27,900,000

The Diplomat – Season 1
8,500,000
9,800,000
4,600,000
2,700,000
25,600,000

Obliterated – Season 1
7,000,000
9,000,000
5,200,000
3,200,000
24,400,000

Ransom Canyon – Season 1
7,200,000
9,400,000
4,200,000
2,500,000
23,300,000

The Boroughs – Season 1
5,600,000
9,500,000
3,700,000
2,000,000
20,800,000

PULSE – Season 1
6,500,000
8,500,000
3,200,000
2,000,000
20,200,000

The Brothers Sun – Season 1
4,100,000
6,900,000
2,700,000
1,900,000
15,600,000

The Abandons – Season 1
7,300,000
7,600,000
0
0
14,900,000

KAOS – Season 1
3,400,000
5,900,000
3,400,000
2,200,000
14,900,000

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
4,500,000
6,900,000
3,100,000
0
14,500,000

Dead Boy Detectives – Season 1
3,100,000
4,700,000
1,800,000
0
9,600,000

With the Duffer Brothers having recently departed Netflix for a lucrative film and TV deal at Paramount, this cancellation leaves Netflix with only one active Duffer project remaining: the upcoming animated series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, rumored for an October return. Their adaptation of The Talisman was notably scrapped, and the only other lingering projects in development are a spin-off for Stranger Things, which is still in its infancy, we’re told, a Death Note adaptation, which is MIA, and an adaptation of The Savage, Noble Death Of Babs Dionne, which was announced last year.

Are you disappointed that Netflix has pulled the plug on The Boroughs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.