It seems as if we just got up the nerve to work our way to the dance floor and just like that Netflix turned on the lights and told us we don’t have to go home but we have to find a new series to groove to. Rumors have surrounded the fate of the series The Get Down for some time now with many saying the show’s creator Baz Luhrmann was eager to throw in the towel on the colorful ode to hip-hop history and return to film making. There was also the show’s colossal budget ($120 million for one season).
Although fans had campaigned for weeks using the hashtag #RenewTheGetDown once chances for the show’s return looked slim, Deadline was one of the first news outlets to break the news of the show’s cancellation officially:
“Netflix has opted not to proceed with a second season of Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious musical drama ‘The Get Down.’ The decision comes after the second six-episode part of Season 1 was released last month. It is a rare Netflix original series not to get a second season.
The hip-hop-themed drama, set in the South Bronx section of New York City in the late 1970s, was among Netflix’s most expensive shows, with the 12-episode first season costing about $120 million. ‘The Get Down,’ marked Luhrmann’s [first foray into the world of] TV.
In a Facebook post following the cancellation today, Luhrmann indicated that him not being able to commit to Season 2 full-time was a key reason for the decision: ‘This exclusivity has understandably become a sticking point for Netflix and Sony, who have been tremendous partners and supporters of the show. It kills me that I can’t split myself into two and make myself available to both productions… But the simple truth is, I make movies.’”
Luhrmann has seemed disconnected from the show (which had rapper Nas as an executive producer) for some time speaking at the Television Critics Association last year about exactly where he saw himself with the show:
“It’s not my story — I feel like I just curated it.”
He also took to Facebook to share his optimism about the fans’ response to the show:
“As for the real future of the show, the spirit of The Get Down, and the story it has begun to tell… it has its own life. One that lives on today and will continue to be told somewhere, somehow, because of you, the fans and the supporters.”
I guess the adventures of Shaolin Fantastic and The Get Down Brothers with Ms. Mylene Cruz have come to an end, but it was good while it lasted.
The post It’s Official: Netflix Announces ‘The Get Down’ Is Done appeared first on MadameNoire.