Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi The Boroughs cancelled by Netflix after one season

Alfred Molina leads the cast of The Boroughs

Netflix is cancelling The Boroughs, its supernatural mystery series executive produced by Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, after just one season.

The cancellation, which was first reported by Deadline, comes less than a month after The Boroughs premiered on the streaming giant.

In its first week, it pulled in 5.6 million viewing hours globally, before climbing to the top spot on Netflix’s TV chart with 9.5 million in its second full week and then dropping to 3.7 million the following week.

Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, the show is set in a seemingly idyllic retirement community where a group of unlikely heroes are forced to work together to prevent an otherworldly force from stealing the only thing they don’t have: time. The cast includes Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters and Bill Pullman.

It is executive produced by Matt and Ross Duffer and Hilary Leavitt via Upside Down Pictures, in addition to Jeffrey Addiss, Ben Taylor and Will Matthews.

The Boroughs was one of the projects to emerge from a high-profile, years-long overall deal between the Duffer Brothers and Netflix. Other projects produced under the pact are Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, a limited series that premiered in March, and animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, which will return for its second season in the fall.

There had previously been momentum behind the idea that The Boroughs would be renewed, according to Deadline, with the potential to shoot seasons two and three back-to-back.

While the exact circumstances behind the cancellation are unclear, it comes as the Duffer Brothers move under a major new overall deal with Paramount Skydance, marking a significant coup for the David Ellison-run media company, whose streaming division is led by former Netflix content head Cindy Holland.

The exclusive four-year deal with Paramount Skydance began in April and covers feature films, television and streaming projects.