Netflix’s Cancelled Sci-Fi Masterpiece Of The 2010s

9 years ago, Netflix premiered The OA, one of the best sci-fi TV shows of the 2010s, and then it went ahead and canceled the series after two seasons anyway. The best sci-fi TV shows of all time is a list that seems to be getting younger and younger, such is the quality of sci-fi in the streaming era.

Westworld, Stranger Things, Black Mirror, and The Expanse all rank high on most “best” lists, and not a few of those make their home on Netflix. For all its problems with canceling shows too early, Netflix seems to give sci-fi shows more leeway, except in this one critical case with The OA.

What Is The OA About?

The OA is a two-season mystery, sci-fi, fantasy series that premiered in December 2016 on Netflix. The show centers on a woman named Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling), an adopted young woman who has recently resurfaced after going missing for seven years. Despite being blind when she disappeared, Prairie can now see.

She also has mysterious scars running down her back and has also begun referring to herself as “the OA”, the “Original Angel,” as she says. The OA refuses to explain where she’s been to either the authorities or her family, but she insists on assembling a group of five “strong” people around her.

To these five people, the OA explains her life story, revealing that she’d been captured in another dimension, and now she wants to return in order to save the people she left behind with the help of the people gathered. Season 2 premiered three years later in March 2019, and sees the OA back in that alternate dimension.

In this version of San Francisco, the OA is on the hunt for her captor, Hap (Jason Isaacs), and the other captives she was with. Back in the original dimension, the OA’s five followers are on their own mission, which involves a cross-country road trip to help the OA in the only way they can.

The OA Could’ve Been One Of The Defining Shows Of The 2010s

Jason Isaacs as Dr Hunter Aloysius "Hap" Percy looking concerned in The OA — Jason Isaacs as Dr Hunter Aloysius “Hap” Percy in The OA

The OA was shaping up to be one of the defining sci-fi shows of the 2010s, if not one of the biggest shows of the decade in general. The first season of The OA has a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising its visual style, the mystery elements, and its willingness to be as strange as possible.

However, these same critics also noted that the multi-layered mystery of the story, as well as the blurred genre lines, made it hard to get a full grip on the show. The excellent acting and strong dialogue were often muddled by the twists and confusion that the show was deliberately playing with.

Season 2, with a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, was a big jump in quality, but still kept the essential characteristics of what made season 1 so unique. For one, the season quickly set out to answer some of the biggest lingering questions from season 1, paving the way for more branching mysteries.

The OA: Part II is also a much tighter season, with not a moment wasted. Despite a more streamlined focus, season 2 was even weirder, more experimental, and more surreal than the previous season. Had the show had the chance to continue, there’s no telling how well-crafted it could have eventually gotten.

Netflix Pulled The Plug On The OA Too Soon

The OA (Brit Marling) in a strange contraption

Thanks to The OA: Part II, fans had confidence that the series would continue to present intriguing mysteries that it had the creative capacity to provide suitable answers for. Unfortunately, Netflix canceled the show before any of those fascinating stories and puzzles could be presented.

Netflix canceled the series on August 5, 2019, just a few months after season 2 aired to critical acclaim (via THR). The fan reaction was immediate, with the fiercely loyal fanbase starting up “TheOAisReal” hashtag campaigns on Twitter (via NME), starting Change.org petitions (via People), and posting videos of themselves doing “The Movement” (via DailyDot).

One fan even went on a hunger strike outside Netflix’s Los Angeles Headquarters in protest. Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij showed their support by offering food and water (via VanityFair). Netflix didn’t offer up a reason for the cancellation, which isn’t unusual in their production model.

The OA wasn’t the only series canceled by Netflix at that time, being joined by Tuca & Bertie, Designated Survivor, She’s Gotta Have It, and Chambers. Some good news came from Jason Isaacs in July 2025, who said he and the team behind The OA were doing whatever it takes to bring it back (via YouTube).