“Archive 81” has been canceled at Netflix after just one season.
The eight-episode series debuted on the streamer back in January. The show followed archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who takes a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994. Reconstructing the work of a documentary filmmaker named Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), he is drawn into her investigation of a dangerous cult at the Visser apartment building.
The cast also included Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry, and Martin Donovan. The series was loosely inspired by the podcast of the same name. It was developed for television by Rebecca Sonnenshine, who also served as executive producer and showrunner. James Wan and Michael Clear of Atomic Monster also executive produced along with Rebecca Thomas, Antoine Douaihy, and Paul Harris Boardman.
Netflix has always previously said that it weighs its renewal and cancellation decisions based on a show’s viewership versus its budget, though the streamer seldom reports any kind of viewership numbers beyond its weekly top 10 lists. Still, “Archive 81” found itself on those very top 10 lists shortly after its debut, with the show reaching the number two spot within its first week of availability on the streamer.
The show also received mostly positive reviews upon its debut, averaging an 81% critics’ approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review of the series for Variety, Daniel D’Addario wrote, “In a landscape filled with projects of portentous self-seriousness, perhaps there’s something refreshing about a project that stands proudly in its willingness to simply attempt to be deliriously, dizzily nuts.”
Deadline first reported the cancellation.