Obliterated. Cr. Ursula Coyote/Netflix © 2023
Obliterated Season 1 left the door open for a second season, but it won’t be getting it? Two Penske trades have confirmed the show won’t be coming back for any additional season but despite that, Netflix is still working with the trio behind the show on Cobra Kai season 6. Why was the show canceled? Let’s dig in.
After being initially developed for the cable network TBS, Netflix took over the project with all three creators behind Cobra Kai on board to bring the R-rated action comedy to the streamer.
The show, released on Netflix globally on November 30th, 2023, follows a ragtag group from an elite special forces team that is looking to stop a deadly threat to Las Vegas. The big ensemble cast for the show includes Shelley Hennig, Nick Zano, Paola Lázaro, C. Thomas Howell, Kimi Rutledge, and Alyson Gorske.
Has Obliterated been renewed for Season 2?
Official Renewal Status: Canceled as of February 1st, 2024
Our Renewal Prediction: Leaning Cancelation
As of February 2024, Netflix has officially canceled the show, with two Hollywood trades (Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter) confirming it.
Although it came as a surprise to Deadline, it sadly didn’t to us. Stats indicated that the show could be at risk of cancelation within the first few weeks. It notably lagged behind other renewals for 2023 debuts and was a relatively pricey show, with episodes clocking in somewhere between $3 and $5M an episode, according to one source.
As we’ve covered numerous times, Netflix takes multiple factors into its renewals, including the cost of making the show, which is then benchmarked against viewing data, including completion rates, hours watched, number of starters, and many more factors. We’ll dig into the data more below.
Obliterated. (L to R) Shelley Hennig as Ava Winters, Nick Zano as Chad McKnight in episode 103 of Obliterated. Cr. Ursula Coyote/Netflix © 2023
How well is Obliterated performing on Netflix?
Using a variety of sources, we can look at exactly how well Obliterated is performing, which we know will be vital to see whether the show will be renewed.
Let’s begin with Netflix’s top 10 data, released every Tuesday. Here’s how its weekly performance breaks down week-to-week so far with both hours viewed and views / CVE:
| Week Period | Hours Viewed | Views / CVE | Rank | Week in Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26, 2023 to Dec 3, 2023 | 47,600,000 | 7,000,000 | 3 | 1 |
| Dec 3, 2023 to Dec 10, 2023 | 61,500,000 (+29%) | 9,000,000 | 1 | 2 |
| Dec 10, 2023 to Dec 17, 2023 | 35,600,000 (-42%) | 5,200,000 | 3 | 3 |
| Dec 17, 2023 to Dec 24, 2023 | 22,200,000 (-38%) | 3,200,000 | 4 | 4 |
| Dec 24, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023 | 17,800,000 (-20%) | 2,600,000 | 4 | 5 |
| Dec 31, 2023 to Jan 7, 2024 | 13,700,000 (-23%) | 2,000,000 | 9 | 6 |
Moving into CVE then, where we divide the number of hours watched by the series’ runtime, we can compare the performance in the first four days against other Netflix Original series released in 2023.
In the first four days, the show got 7M equivalent completed viewing equivalents, ranking it above Survival of the Thickest (3.7M), Unstable (3.6M), Glamorous (2.3M), and Freeridge (2.3M) but down on The Diplomat (8.6M), That 90s Show (10.6M), and perhaps more importantly, FUBAR (12.5M)
CVE performance in first 4 days for Obliterated – Picture: Netflix n’ Chiffres
Looking at how the series evolved over time, we can see the show is really lagging behind other shows with 18.4M CVE after two weeks on the platform.
Below, the graph shows you the series that got renewed with a green bar and those canceled with a red bar. Obliterated sits just beneath That 90s Show (a show notably cheaper to produce) and just above Archive 81.
First 14 days CVE viewership – Picture: Netflix & Chiffres.
Next, we move on to FlixPatrol, which measures the daily top 10 charts from dozens of countries worldwide. After debuting at #4, the show quickly rose to the number 1 spot. We can use FlixPatrol to see where the show is trending in the top 10s exactly, and we tend to find that shows that are super sticky get renewed. Here, we can see the show had mostly dropped out of the top 10s after a month, with the top-performing countries being those in the Middle East and India.
FlixPatrol stats for Obliterated
Finally, how about reviews? They may play some roles in whether or not people give Obliterated a go. Critics certainly weren’t huge fans, as indicated by its Rotten Tomatoes rating of only 47%, but audiences have been far kinder. Sticking with RT, the show holds 83% from audiences; meanwhile, on IMDb, the show holds a 6.7 based on over 14,000 reviews.
What to Expect from Season 2 of Obliterated
Editor’s Note: Jacob Robinson wrote this section.
Should the show get renewed, what can we expect from the story?
Assuming a second season gets the go-ahead, the theme of the team getting inebriated before they are required to save a city from destruction, they could stick with Las Vegas or move on to a different U.S. city known for its party culture, such as New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Miami Beach, or even the Big Apple itself New York City. Alternatively, the team could be sent on a mission outside the States, finding themselves in the middle of Bangkok in Thailand, Prague in the Czech Republic, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, or Melbourne in Australia.
Where does the team go from here?
McKnight and Winters closed out the season with their steamy shower. However, does the couple have a future together? We suspect the “will they won’t they” cliche will be a recurring theme for the pair if the show runs for multiple seasons. There’s more than meets the eye for both characters and while they can basque in their victory in saving Las Vegas from utter destruction, once the dust settles from the mission, will they be able to keep a steady and stable romance going? For now, it’s unlikely.
As the tech maestro of the team, Maya has minimal combat experience. This almost resulted in her death at the hands of the Russians when she was shot, but miraculously survived. If a new mission takes them further afield than the United States, we could see Maya’s development as a combatant. As for her crush on McKnight, after walking in on him and Winters having sex twice, that is most likely over.
Trunk was extremely close to leaving the U.S. armed forces and joining Lady Gaga’s security team. We expect when the shit hits the preverbal fan that, he’ll be wishing he had joined Gaga’s security team after all. Whether the team is next season, we expect Trunk to stand by his best friend McKnight and ensure he has a full belly for the mission ahead.
Terrence Terrell as Trunk, Shelley Hennig as Ava Winters, Nick Zano as Chad McKnight, Eugene Kim as Paul Yung in Obliterated. Cr. Ursula Coyote/Netflix © 2023
By the end of the first season, Gomez is evaluating who she is after feeling regret for ruining the engagement between Sarah and Billy. In the following season, there may be an actual shot of romance for the character who may want something more stable than meeting a person for a wild night.
Paul went on a wild trip thanks to Hagerty’s powerful drug-infused guacamole. He may be one of the most reluctant of the team to return as his focus may now want to be on his family, especially his daughter, as he missed most of her upbringing thanks to his job. It wouldn’t surprise us to see Paul rejoin the team out of pure coincidence of being in the same city while the team is conducting a mission.
As for Hagerty, where there are drugs, alcohol, and a thrilling rush of disarming explosives, he’ll be there.
Lastly, Lana is still a threat. She may have been arrested, but when has that ever stopped a dangerous and vengeful Russian from escaping captivity? Rather than destroying cities, we suspect Lana will make it her mission to destroy the lives of the team for their part to play in the death of her brother.
Before we leave you, we’d recommend reading our interview with the composers of the new series, who talk through their process of developing the music for the series.
Would you like to see Obliterated coming back for a second outing? Let everyone know in the comments below.