Following news that Terminator Zero was canceled by Netflix, the show’s creator has explained why he turned down the opportunity to wrap proceedings up via a mini-season.
Terminator Zero is one of the most acclaimed titles in the futuristic franchise, debuting with an incredible 100% on Rotten Tomatoes when it launched on Netflix in August of 2024.
The animated series took the story in an intriguing new direction, fixed the Terminator’s biggest problem, and ended in action-packed fashion, while also leaving the door open for future seasons.
The show’s creator/writer/showrunner Mattson Tomlin said he had a five-season plan for Terminator Zero, but today he confirmed what fans had suspected – that the anime has been terminated.
Terminator Zero canceled due to poor viewing figures
With little news of a Season 2 over the last 18 months, one viewer asked Tomlin on X/Twitter: “Is there an official status of Terminator Zero? If it’s officially done, I will move on. I just hate not knowing.” Tomlin was quick to respond, and the news wasn’t good.
“It was cancelled,” he wrote. “The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it. I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in Season’s 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is.”
Tomlin added: “Maybe someday I’ll do as big thread about the plans I had for the full five seasons. The series finale was special and it was part of my pitch to get the job. I’ve written all of the Season 2 scripts and outlines pretty much all of Season 3.”
Why Mattson Tomlin didn’t want to wrap story up
Tomlin also revealed that he turned down the chance to briefly conclude his Terminator story, saying: “They offered to let me do two, maybe three episodes more to wrap up the story, which I declined. I felt the story I wanted to tell was much longer, and the finale of Season 1 actually left things in a good place.”
But Tomlin added that the experience of collaborating with the streamer was a positive one, adding: “Netflix was really great about supporting the show and giving me tremendous creative freedom to do what I wanted to do. Good partners.
“The show was expensive and very time consuming. The only way they could justify it was if the audience showed up for it, and they just didn’t.”
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