It’s an ongoing joke among TV fans that there’s no point getting attached to a Netflix show because it won’t be around for long, but their viewership heavy metrics don’t always account for quality, and there’s some absolute gems among the series’ we’ve seen get the chop this year.
From laugh out loud mystery comedy to the return – and farewell – of a hit spy series, there are plenty of shows that have been canceled this year that are absolutely still worth checking out. As trigger-happy as Netflix may be with cancelations, it ranks among the best streaming services for a reason – what they deliver is always a big budget, entertaining affair, even if it only lasts one season.
And of all the series we waved goodbye to this year, three in particular stood out for me, so here’s my pick of the three best Netflix shows that were canceled in 2025.
The Residence
RT score: 84%
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
Between Poker Face, Only Murders… and the Knives Out trilogy, comedy whodunnits are all the rage at the moment, but The Residence is an under-the-radar riot that’s very much worth your time.
Taking the Agatha Christie idea of a murder in a grand manor house to its inevitable conclusion, The Residence takes place in The White House with detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) tasked with investigating a murder in which the suspect list is in triple digits. Stuffed with knockabout hijinks and internal politics, the case takes in all corners of the centre of US government.
Despite reaching number two in the Netflix charts on release, the show suffered by being pitted against smash-hit Adolescence, with viewers gripped by the altogether bleaker murder story, and not long after it was announced by Netflix that The Residence would not be returning. It would’ve been interesting to see what further cases Cupp was able to crack, but the one and done season still makes for a great binge.
The Waterfront
RT score: 68%
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
With his (hopefully) triumphant return to the Scream franchise around the corner, Kevin Williamson is riding high, so it was quite the shock when Netflix announced The Waterfront, created and written by Williamson, wouldn’t be returning for a season 2.
Partly inspired by the writer’s upbringing in coastal North Carolina, The Waterfront follows the Buckley family, as they struggle to maintain control of their failing fishing empire, resorting to increasingly desperate methods to keep things afloat. As you’d expect from the man behind Dawson’s Creek, the drama is delightfully pulpy and bingeably addictive as the Buckley’s face one escalating crisis after another.
The show debuted at number one back in summer 2025, eventually dethroned by juggernaut Korean drama Squid Game‘s third and final. However, despite strong audiences early on, it’s been suggested that the show’s completion rate was the problem here, with viewers failing to see the episodes through to the end. It’s a shame, because it really was a solid first outing, with Williamson suggesting he had a three season plan for the show. But don’t let that put you off, there’s still plenty to enjoy in the solo season of this family drama.
The Recruit
RT score: 77%
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 14
Returning after three years away, The Recruit finally delivered its second season in 2025, with Netflix announcing its cancellation mere weeks later.
The show follows Noah Centineo’s Owen Hendricks, a CIA lawyer who finds himself caught up in an agency conspiracy. Originally debuting in 2022, the Hollywood strikes and scheduling woes meant it took three long years for season 2 to reach screens. Both seasons, however, are well worth checking out, especially with the benefit of now being able to binge them back to back. It would be fair to say that The Recruit is not the most surprising of spy thrillers out there, but Centineo’s charm and a fun, Hitchcockian plot make the series hugely watchable.
It’s possible the show’s cancellation was down to the fact that the similar The Night Agent became a breakout hit for Netflix in The Recruit’s off years, or simply that audiences had moved on after the sort of gap that usually only sees big returns for mega hits like Stranger Things. Either way, the series is no more, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t two massively entertaining seasons waiting to be streamed right now.
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