A two-season sci-fi masterpiece, which premiered on Netflix almost a decade ago, was abruptly canceled long before it could reach its natural conclusion. Its creators had planned a complete five-season arc for its story. Unfortunately, despite garnering a cult following and earning wide acclaim, the show in question never returned.
Even after all these years, though, the show’s fans still hope that it will get a second chance and get the opportunity to finish what it started. The show, The OA, remains one of the most distinct additions to the sci-fi genre. It merges many intriguing pseudoscientific ideas with spirituality and grounds these aspects in a hard-hitting human drama.
On paper, Netflix’s The OA features many story beats surrounding multidimensional travel and near-death experiences that feel a little too bizarre. However, the show executes these stories so brilliantly that it becomes hard not to buy into its surreal mythology and remain emotionally invested throughout its runtime.
The OA Remains One Of Netflix’s Most Discussed Canceled Shows 6 Years After Its Last Season
Every time an acclaimed TV show gets axed before reaching its natural conclusion, viewers widely discuss how problematic abrupt streaming cancellations have become over the years. Some even take it upon themselves to help bring the show back by setting up online campaigns. Over time, though, most canceled shows are eventually forgotten and left behind in Netflix’s graveyard of other unfinished originals.
In The OA‘s case, however, things have been significantly different. The show still has an incredibly solid fan following. Fans of the show still keep dissecting every update posted by its creators, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, on social media, hoping that its return might finally happen. The fans even support every new show the creators are involved with to encourage them to eventually continue The OA.
The OA season 2 tried to wrap up as many story beats as it could in its limited runtime. However, since Marling and Batmanglij had planned a five-season run for the series, the show eventually leaves viewers with many unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries.
New and old viewers of the show still keep discussing where the series was planning to go with its future installments and how it would have potentially ended its run. When compared with most other decade-old shows that have been canceled, the Netflix sci-fi show also seems to have an incredibly active subreddit. The fact that The OA is still so widely discussed suggests that it has managed to sustain its audience.
While it may not have fulfilled Netflix’s complex metrics for renewal after season 2, it clearly has an established audience. This suggests that if it manages to return, The OA has the potential to succeed and last long enough to reach its natural conclusion, provided it finds a platform willing to support its long-term creative vision.
The OA’s Return Has Been Rumored For A While, & It Might Eventually Happen
Many cast members from The OA have been hopeful about its return and even its creators have hinted that they might return to it in the future. Jason Isaacs, who played the leading villain in the series, also recently posted an AI-generated image that drew a direct reference to the canceled Netflix sci-fi show:
Isaacs’ Instagram post prompted many viewers to speculate that The OA‘s return is probably in the talks. While there are no official announcements to back up these speculations, many viewers have noticed other seemingly cryptic details and updates the show’s cast and crew have given away in recent times to set up its return.
Unfortunately, without any official statements from the creators or the potential streaming platform the Netflix show will end up on, it is hard to predict whether it will get a second life. However, it is hard not to deny that The OA achieved something truly exceptional by garnering such a solid fanbase, and, if any canceled Netflix sci-fi show deserves to return and finally complete its story, it is The OA.