Michelle Yeoh’s hit action-comedy series The Brothers Sun won’t be returning for a second season. The critically acclaimed show was canceled by Netflix, leaving fans furious.
The series, which stars Michelle Yeoh, managed to achieve a near-perfect audience score of 91% and a commendable 84% from critics. This performance places it among the top-rated shows on Netflix for 2024, sharing prestigious company with titles like One Day, A Killer Paradox, and House of Ninjas.
In The Brothers Sun, Yeoh played Eileen ‘Mama’ Sun, the fierce matriarch of a Taiwanese crime family. When her eldest son Charles (Justin Chien), a deadly assassin, finds himself a target, he reconnects with Mama Sun and his younger brother Bruce (Sam Song Li) to protect them.
However, despite the strong critical reception and a promising start in the viewership rankings, The Brothers Sun struggled to maintain a broad audience. It initially recorded 30.2 million hours viewed in its first days on Netflix, eventually totaling 126.1 million hours over its first five weeks. These numbers, while respectable, fell short of Netflix’s benchmarks for renewing a series for additional seasons, particularly when compared to the streaming service’s most successful originals.
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The decision to cancel the show has been attributed to its insufficient viewership numbers, making it not cost-effective for Netflix to proceed with another season. Despite its early success in the year and positive reviews, The Brothers Sun could not sustain the momentum needed for renewal. This is a pattern seen with other Netflix cancellations where despite critical acclaim, viewer numbers have not met expectations.
The Brothers Sun co-star Justin Chien expressed his gratitude to fans on Instagram, saying: “Thank you for all your love. Without you, this wouldn’t mean nearly as much as it does. I gave everything I had to this show, and I can’t wait to do the same in the next project.”
Fans of The Brothers Sun were deeply disappointed when Netflix decided to cancel the series after just one season, taking to social media to share their feelings. One fan tweeted in disbelief, “Are you kidding me!? They canceled The Brothers Sun, it was so good, one of the best things I watched last year.”
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Another pointed out the lack of promotion for the show, saying, “Netflix really pissed me off canceling The Brothers Sun, they barely promoted that show and it was in the top 10 for a whole month.” This fan also mentioned Michelle Yeoh’s recent Oscar win, suggesting that Netflix should have done more to highlight her and the show.
