Too Much TV: Netflix Series Canceled Three Years Ago Latest Target Of Conservatives

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, October 2nd, 2025:

THIS MIGHT BE ABOUT THE TENTH EFFORT BY CONSERVATIVES TO CANCEL NETFLIX
If you follow conservative media types and influencers, one of the phrases you hear frequently is "Go Woke, Go Broke." In other words, if a corporation engages in behavior critics argue is "too woke," that company's bottom-line will be impacted in a massive fashion. The truth isn't nearly that clear-cut, as companies like Target can testify to after finding their revenue declining following their decision to step back from DEI programs.

Despite that, it's rare that a week goes by without some campaign popping up in conservative social media circles that seeks to target a company for some perceived woke behavior.

This week, the efforts are focused on Netflix, with subscribers to that streamer being asked to cancel their subscription over what they describe as "pro trans" messaging in the animated series Dead End Paranormal Park. Which the streamer canceled nearly three years ago due to low ratings.

So why did the show pop up on the radar of conservative culture warriors now? It seems to be the result of this tweet from the show's creator, which he posted following the murder of Charlie Kirk:



People angry with that tweet (and let's be real, it wasn't a great idea) seemed to have looked up his show and then realized three years after the fact it featured a happily trans teenager as a focus of the show.

And like a predictable outrage pipeline, it wasn't long until this happened:



There are calls for people to express their outrage by cancelling their subscriptions. Not realizing, of course, that Netflix no longer publicly releases subscriber numbers. So even if there was some impact on their bottom line - which is extremely doubtful - no one would ever know.

My takeaway? Go watch Dead End Paranormal Park, it's a really sweet show that might still be around if conservatives had targeted it three years ago.

'THEY'RE PAYING ME ENOUGH TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY'
I have written a great deal over the past couple of years about the disconnect between what the new Joe Rogan-adjacent bro-comics say in public or on their Netflix special and the way they talk on their podcasts. For all of the talk in the press that comics such as Shane Gillis, Andrew Schulz or Tony Hinchcliffe have toned down their unsettling ideas about what is funny, the truth is that they are still saying those terrible things. They're just do it in a way in which most people in the press won't notice.

Which is maybe the reason that so many people seem shocked by comments in this excellent piece by Seth Simons in The Guardian. It is depressing to see how cynical these so-called "free speech" comics can be when they realize they have the opportunity to collect a sizeable paycheck. 

As I write this, the Riyadh Comedy festival is underway in Saudi Arabia, featuring a murderer's row of American comics including Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari and others:

The event’s producers include Sela (a live events company owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) and the kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, chaired by Turki al-Sheikh, a royal adviser dogged by allegations of human rights violations, including the detention of people who criticize him on social media.

Now you might think that some of these "free speech" comics might have a problem receiving a large paycheck from the Saudi government. But these pillars of "asking the hard questions" comedy are more than willing to trade integrity for a big paycheck:

Some comics were transparent about their willingness to ignore their moral convictions in order to play at the festival. “So what, they have slaves?” asked Tim Dillon in a podcast segment that led to his firing from the festival. “They’re paying me enough money to look the other way.” Pete Davidson offered a similar take, acknowledging in a chat with Von that people have asked him why, given his father’s death on 9/11, he would take a paycheck from the Saudi government. He did not address the criticism directly, but he did suggest he was happy to forget 9/11 for the right price: “I just know I get the routing, and then I see the number, and I go, ‘I’ll go.’”

WHY YES, IT HAS BEEN A SLOW NEWS WEEK FOR THE HOLLYWOOD TRADES



AS IT TURNS OUT, MAYBE JANE FONDA WILL BE THIS GENERATION'S JANE FONDA
Last week, I wrote a piece asking whether there is anyone in 2025 Hollywood who will step up to battle the Trump Administration in the same way that Jane Fonda did in the late 1960s and early 1970s. So I was amused to see Jane Fonda surface this week to announce that she is relaunching The Committee for the First Amendment, a group once led by her father, Henry Fonda, among other A-list Golden Age stars, including Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The Committee’s launch was accompanied by the release of a statement signed by over 550 industry heavyweights.

As part of the organization's launch, Fonda spoke with The Ankler's Richard Rushfield, and while I am skeptical that signing a petition and doing some webinars is more performative than anything else, she had some interesting things to say about political movements:

It really helps when you’re not alone. I have come under ferocious attacks since I became an activist. And I wasn’t so young. I didn’t become an activist until I was about 34. But I know what attacks feel like, except I’ve never been alone. I’ve always been part of a movement. And that’s the answer. It’s also the answer to despair. When you’re part of a group working together, you’re more courageous, you’re safer. I could very well just be a loose cannon, but I work with people who have deep experience in movement-building, and they shore me up and give me courage and we can do that for each other. Just the act of not being alone, of being part of a group, is resistance. Because ever since Reagan in the ’80s, individualism has been, you know, each person for themselves. This is what’s extolled. It’s the opposite. We need community. We need strength in numbers. 

TWEET OF THE DAY



ODDS AND SODS
* Apple TV+ has extended its deal with Peanuts and will continue to be the exclusive streaming home of the brand until 2030.

* The hat Mary Tyler Moore wore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show is seeking a permanent home. A task that is more complicated than you might expect.

* Lioness has been renewed for a third season by Paramount+.

* CBS will pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of Everybody Loves Raymond with a 90-minute special on Thursday, November 20th.

* The Game, which stars Jason Watkins and Robson Green in a cat-and-house thriller, has been licensed to BritBox for its North America markets.

* The Hollywood Reporter and Spotify are co-producing a podcast roundtable for Golden Globe nominees.

* GBH has announced the launch of its “Fund the Future” campaign, an ambitious three-year initiative to raise $225 million and secure a sustainable future for the organization following the loss of federal funding. 

* The Australian drama The Family Next Door has been licensed to AMC Networks in the U.S. and Canada.

* Creator Lena Waithe says the upcoming eighth season of the Chicago-set drama series Chi will be its last.

* Married At First has moved from Lifetime to Peacock and the streamer will premiere a new season of the series in December.

WHAT'S COMING TOMORROW

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND:
* Charlotte's Web (HBO Max)
* Dudes Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Karen Pirie Season Two Premiere (BritBox)
* Pass The Monster Meat, Milady! Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Rockstar: DUKI From The End Of The World (Netflix)
* The Game: You Never Play Alone Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Graham Norton Show Season Premiere (BBC America)
* This Monster Wants To Eat Me Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Wasp Woman: The Murder Of A B-Movie Queen (Sundance Now)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD:
* Belle Collective Season Premiere (OWN)
* Faceoff: Inside the NHL (Prime Video)
* Genie, Make A Wish Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Marvel Zombies Series Premiere (Disney+)
* May I Ask You For One Final Thing? Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix)
* Old Dog, New Tricks Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Rhythm + Flow France: After The Beat (Netflix)
* Shabake Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Steve (Netflix)
* The Lost Bus (Apple TV+)
* The Balloonist (Disney+)
* The New Force Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Sisters Grimm Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* V/H/S/Halloween (Shudder)
* While They Were Sleeping (LMN)

SEE YOU EARLY FRIDAY MORNING!