I will never forgive Netflix for canceling the “Curious Creations of Christine McConnell”. They canceled it so fast, you probably didn’t even have the time to see it on the Watch Next options. It was the weirdest show and I was all about Rose, the raccoon. I feel represented. I felt seen. It was creepy, with very dark humor, goth and it came out on Halloween of 2018, and yes, that’s how long I have been mad at Netflix for canceling it.
The Curious Creation of Christine McConnell
“Curious Creations” had everything. Creative recipes, weird dialogues, taxidermy, an angry bad mouthed raccoon, was a mix of culinary show and scripted dark comedy. The show could come out for every Halloween Season, like Stranger Things. Christine McConnell, portrays herself in the show as a baker, in real life, he is a photographer and stylist also known as the Queen of Creepy Cookies, she also has a few baking books, according to her biography.
I found out Christine also has a YouTube channel, creating vintage weird content that includes recipes. Like many other shows I enjoy, Netflix cancels it, because it’s not profitable, clearly because they didn’t promote enough, how they would some of their shows or movies.
It happened with another one everyone’s favorite, “One day at a Time”, was canceled after the third season on the streaming because representation was not trending at that time. At the beginning of this year, they canceled AJ and The Queen. What I have been noticing, it’s the number of shows they have for Generation Z. The people were born after 1996. Netflix staggered in these young adult productions and the 30 something gang can’t find anything to watch.
Netflix becomes a GenZ streaming.
The list on the streaming of this type of show is long, just by making a quick search on Google, I found at least ten, that revolves around mischievous teenagers, usually, rich kids, that either killed someone, it is plotting to kill someone or after a wreck or a dream wakes up with a superpower.
Werewolf, a warrior nun, the umbrella academy, the list goes on and on. No wonder we end up always watching the same show over and over. That’s why Friends, The Office, Gilmore Girls keep getting all the views. I’m not saying it’s bad, but all the streaming should be split by age group, for example, we have a lot of different options when it comes to choosing, so if by any chance we could have a chance to only pay for what we watch, would be great.
Netflix would have all the Gen-Z shows they already have, HBO Max, would have movies and shows like New Girl, Jane the Virgin and Friends, which it already does. Disney would have cute Disney productions and Starz, Amazon, and Hulu would have grown up shows, like serious drama and crime shows.
It would be ideal because I would not have to spend my money to watch a certain type of show. Especially because the ones I like, Netflix cancels it. That happened with AJ and The Queen who was released in early January of this year.
AJ and The Queen
AJ and the Queen is a story of Robert/ Ruby, a New York Drag Queen, who worked for years performing to save money and open her club. She finally makes it to have her own business with her boyfriend. Spoiler alert- the boyfriend steals her money, living her with nothing, destroyed, and counting on her luck. Ruby then decides to go around the country.
She finds out the neighbor’s ten-year-old daughter, AJ, hid inside of the van, because she wanted to find her grandpa, all the way in Texas, as her mom was in shambles and not able to take care of herself or AJ. The show is heartwarming, the story is carefully written by RuPaul, and the message couldn’t be more realistic. It’s about love, loss, friendship, life challenges, how do you cope in hardship moments, humor, and comfort.
As the relationship between Ruby and AJ progresses, we start to realize how much they need each other, we just don’t know which one needs the other more. I cried watching the show multiple times. The dog scene and the red dress running were about to wreck me. Because I wanted to hug AJ and because I wanted to hug Ruby. In February, it got canceled.
Netflix cancel all my favorite shows.
Of course, it did. The show didn’t have any outraged teenager, superpowers, crazy rich kid plotting to steal someone’s boyfriend, instead of that, it had real people, with real problems. Apparently the network stated that there was not enough of this type of the show audience to keep it running.
Another show that got me sad about Netflix canceling was One day at a time. I held on to that show, it is everything I look for to watch on TV. Representation matter and it there is enough space for all us, the problem is with people following the same formula, over and over, because of the Networks executives, who think a different person playing a regular character would not attract and keep the audience to make them enough money.
Once again, it’s not about representation, is about the show that can profit more. Its business, not entertainment. One Day at a time was rescued by Pop TV, after an army of people going on Twitter and fighting for it. I understand that show, as an immigrant through Abuelita’s eyes, when told the story about how and why she moved to America, I was in tears.
People should see, on tv shows, that being an immigrant in America is one of the hardest things. For some of us, it’s a daily battle. It is buying into a pair of jeans, just because you think it’s beautiful, but once you try it and it’s kind of tight, you take it to take it home anyway, because, in your mind, the jeans will fit you the day you lose weight.
One day at a time needs to go on!
The point is, you spend a long time trying to make it fit, and sometimes it doesn’t. One day at a Time gave me the chance to see myself writing for the show, as I would love to write the spec for the Nickelodeon contest based on it, but I held myself because if I don’t pass, I don’t want to be thinking it’s because my spec episode was bad. Let me have my fantasy in my mind that someday I will be able to write for the shows and work with the show runners I admire. I’m throwing at the universe as I write my Original Comedy Pilot for the contest.
On July 31, I submitted the scripts for the Nickelodeon Writing Program. Do I have hopes to win it? Almost none. Was I thrilled to get it all done in time and participate? Absolutely. I created an entire story, with a Cold Opening, 3 acts, and a tag, by myself, had help and insight ideas from my best friend, who also happened to watched Pen15 and was able to untie the knots in my brain. I love it when people say writing is easy. True to be told, it never is.
That’s it for this week! Let me know in the comments if you had any of your shows canceled too!
XXX
J.G. Snelly