netflix the defenders

The door might be sliding closed on any chance of seeing a second season of the Netflix team-up series ‘The Defenders’.  It was only supposed to be a one-off event to begin with but optimists hoped that the success of the other Marvel shows could inspire a second team-up.  Even though nearly everyone involved, including the cast, have stated that it is unlikely, fans have held out hope.

Now another development makes a second installment even more unlikely.  Netflix has repurposed the ‘Defenders’ Facebook page turning it into something called NX which is described as “The Netflix space to live everything super, sci-fi, the fantastic, and beyond.”  Pages rebrand but it’s usually if a business changes its name or due to some legal issue.  It’s a little stranger that Netflix turned its ‘Defenders’ page into something completely different.  And it’s a bit of a cheat that NX just automatically inherits all of ‘The Defenders” LIKE-ers and followers.

Fans are not keen on the switch (or “bait and switch” as some are calling it) and are venting their frustration on the page.  Many are un-following and un-LIKE-ing.  It appears that Netflix knows it dropped the ball on this and are apologizing and promising that NX will be a solid destination for fans who want to keep up with the sci-fi/fantasy side of the service.  Here is a promo video for the project:

Now back to ‘The Defenders’.  The series was announced back in 2013, at the same time as the solo programs– ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ and ‘Iron Fist’.  The lead-ins proved extremely popular– ‘Daredevil’ was immediately renewed for a second season, causing some delays in other projects, and ‘Luke Cage’ crashed Netflix’s servers when too many viewers tried to stream it upon release.  ‘Daredevil’ even spawned a spin-off ‘The Punisher’.

Then came ‘Iron Fist’ which revealed that there was a chink in the Marvel/Netflix armor.  Not only was ‘Iron Fist’ not as well liked, it was downright hated, throwing a wet blanket on the entire endeavor and potentially squelched excitement for ‘The Defenders’.  Netflix doesn’t reveal streaming numbers, but apparently, ‘The Defenders’ was even less successful than ‘Iron Fist’.

It’s a shame, because by most accounts, ‘Iron Fist’ has vastly improved with Season Two.  And ‘Defenders” problem wasn’t that viewers disliked it — it’s that very few watched it to begin with.  But if ‘Iron Fist’ can turn things around, surely a second helping of ‘The Defenders’ could also satisfy.

Do you still want to see a second season of ‘The Defenders’?  Or are you indifferent or happy that it may be gone for good?

Source: Screen Rant