Netflix has pulled the plug on two shows from the minds behind the hit series “Stranger Things.”
The Duffer Brothers first partnered with the streaming giant in 2022 to create an adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s New York Times best-selling novel, “The Talisman.”
However, the show never made it into production before Netflix reportedly axed what would have been the duo’s next project.
‘The Talisman’ Never Saw the Light of Day at Netflix
GettyIn 2025, the Duffer Brothers confirmed that “The Talisman” is no longer happening at Netflix.
“Sadly, ‘Talisman’ is no longer at Netflix, so we’re not involved,” Ross Duffer told CBR.
“I remember I was, I think it was probably naive of us to think we could break ‘The Talisman,'” Matt Duffer added.
Ross continued, “When I interned, when I was really, you know, back in college at Kennedy Marshall, I remember reading, I think it was a movie script for ‘Talisman.’ So it’s been in development forever, so I’m sorry that we were not the ones to break the curse.”
“The Talisman” follows the story of Jack Sawyer, a 12-year-old boy who is tasked with traveling through a parallel universe to look for an artifact called the Talisman, which is the only thing that could save his dying mother.
‘The Boroughs’ Has Been Canceled Too
Another series from the Duffer Brothers that Netflix has canceled is “The Boroughs.”
The show won’t be back for a second season on the streaming platform after the first one reportedly had poor viewership.
Deadline reported that discussions had taken place about renewing the series and filming a second and third season back-to-back. However, those plans ultimately did not materialize after the show reportedly failed to generate the viewership Netflix had hoped for.
“The Boroughs” brought in 9.5 million views in its first full week, but quickly sank to 3.7 million views the following week.
The series centers on a group of unlikely heroes who must work together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have, time.
From Netflix to Paramount
GettyThe cancellation of “The Talisman” and “The Boroughs” comes just two months after the Duffer Brothers left Netflix and signed a four-year deal with Paramount.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining the Paramount family,” the brothers said in a statement at the time. “To be part of that mission is not just exciting – it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And to do so at a studio with such a storied Hollywood legacy is a privilege we don’t take lightly.”
They continued, “We’re also excited to reunite with our friends Cindy [Holland] and Matt [Thunell], who were among the very first to believe in us and an unusual little script we wrote that became ‘Stranger Things.’ They took a chance on us in 2015, and they’re taking a chance again – we can’t wait to create new stories together.”
What did they actually expect? The promotional budget must have been miniscule. I only heard about The Burroughs about a week ago, and I hadn’t heard of the other one at all. Does Netflix promote themselves beyond Netflix itself? As far as I’ve heard, broadcast channels like ABC, NBC, CBS are still in existence, just as music and sports broadcasters. Maybe if they actually promoted a show on those and other broadcasters they might stop depending on the internet at large to do it’s job for it by driving any “buzz”. Netflix has had it easy too long. Today with even more competition, Netflix may have to start competing.
We watched the Boroughs and we enjoyed it. It ended with a prompt for a season 2, and maybe Paramount will give it the due it deserves. With so many things to watch, they really can’t say 3.7million viewers is a bad thing. Seems pretty ridiculous.