Netflix cancels live-action ‘Cowboy Bebop’ adaptation after one season

Netflix has cancelled its live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation less than a month after its first season premiered on the platform.

The Hollywood Reporter points out that while the series has received nearly 74million viewing hours worldwide since its premiere on November 19, critical response has been largely mixed.

The series currently has a 46 per cent critic approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score not much higher at 55 per cent.

The 10-episode adaptation stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda as main characters Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine.

Based on Shinichirō Watanabe’s 1998 anime series and 2001 anime film of the same name, the series is set in 2071, and follows the exploits of a crew of bounty hunters as they hunt criminals on the titular Bebop ship.

The series was developed by Christopher Yost, whose prior writing credits include Marvel Studios‘ Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok films, as well as Lucasfilm and Disney+ series The Mandalorian.

In a two-star review of the adaptation, NME‘s James McMahon criticised Netflix’s update, saying: “With classic scenes reshot frame by frame, this fleshy adaption of Cowboy Bebop so often feels like dress-up.

“The relentless narrative that episodic television requires is another problem. In Netflix’s update, the space and inertia so core to the anime are jettisoned for a pacy tempo that really doesn’t fit with the story. It turns Cowboy Bebop into just another show.”

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