By Sophia Gong '26
In 2022, First Kill was canceled after one season. Heartstopper was renewed for two more. Warrior Nun was canceled after two seasons. Young Royals was renewed for another run.
These shows all have many things in common. They all consistently entered the top 10 most watched shows on Netflix around the world, widely appealed to consumers of the YA genre, and were all centered around queer couples. The key difference? Heartstopper and Young Royals were centered around relationships between conventionally attractive white boys. First Kill and Warrior Nun centered around relationships between queer women.
The hashtag #SaveWarriorNun has since amassed 5.4 million tweets on Twitter. The cancellation came out of the blue; Warrior Nun had 26.22 million worldwide streaming hours and debuted at number six on the week of its release. First Kill amassed 97.66 million watch hours in its first four weeks of release, compared to Heartstopper which clocked 53.4 million total hours in its first four weeks of release.
Netflix’s history of show cancellations lay out a pattern. What was once known as the “Bury Your Gays” trope – where works will feature the story of a gay couple, usually ending in tragedy and death – has evolved. “Cancel Your Gays” has taken its place. Queer characters are now portrayed as bold, immortal and immune – to everything but cancellation.
Some have attributed the reasons behind the abrupt endings of sapphic shows to Netflix’s blatant lesphobia. But others willing to look beyond the surface have concluded that shows centered around queer women tend to be held to a higher standard than those starring gay men.
To quote the article “Why is sapphic media held to such high standards?” written by Anna Govert, “Over the years, there have been a number of shows and films that featured representations of sapphic women, yet they always get shot down for one reason or another. Killing Eve was always labeled “too toxic.” Crush was “too corny.” She-Ra and the Princesses of Power were “too childish.” And now First Kill is “too sexual.””
The truth is that women have always been held to a higher standard. The same judgment is applied to television that dares to portray women differently from the way society expects them to behave. Instead of attempting to challenge that narrative, streaming services like Netflix have taken the easy way out: cutting funding, leaving behind a trail of unfinished shows and furious fanbases.
Sources: https://collider.com/warrior-nun-cancelled-sapphic-shows/ https://culturess.com/2022/06/08/sapphic-media-held-high-standards/ https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1579&context=mcnair#:~:text=Bury% 20Your%20Gays%20is%20a,arms%20of%20a%20heterosexual%20partner. https://diva-magazine.com/2022/08/12/cancel-your-gays-trend-diva/ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/netflix-renewal-status-and-everythin g-about-warrior-nun-season-3/articleshow/95602581.cms?from=mdr https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/warrior-nun-season-2-gave-us-one-of-the-years-most-satisfying-q ueer-love-stories/ https://www.cbr.com/warrior-nun-season-1-netflix-top-10-season-2-release/
Senior Editor: Clara Li '24
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