Why Netflix Canceled Noah Centineo's The Recruit

Another fun Netflix Original bites the dust. "The Recruit," a darkly funny spy thriller that I'm confident could've lasted a solid eight seasons on the USA Network a decade or two ago, is instead hanging up its hat (or badge, as it were) after just two seasons on Netflix, as confirmed by Deadline. The show's sophomore season dropped on the streamer less than two months ago, yet the powers-that-be have canceled it in about as much time as it would've taken the six-episode season to air weekly (had it not been a binge-watch-style release).

If this sounds a bit like Monday morning quarterback talk, it's because it's worth dissecting what went wrong here. "The Recruit" was a unique and entertaining show with a critically acclaimed second season that reportedly caught a large audience's attention. It also starred a popular heartthrob actor in the form of Noah Centineo, who's brought Netflix plenty of success in the past with the "To All the Boys" movies. The sudden end of the show, then, seems to come down to a number of factors, none of which have to do with its quality or entertainment value and all of which relate to the inherent wonkiness of the current streaming TV system.

According to Deadline, "The Recruit" season 1 amassed 26.4 million views in its first three weeks on the air, while season 2 nabbed 15.3 million views in the same time frame. This drop off might have been a problem if the show had a massive budget, but the site notes that the reported $5 million cost per episode to make the CIA dramedy was "very reasonable for a high-end streaming drama." Unfortunately, however, the series was made by Lionsgate Television, an outside studio that would likely make licensing fees trickier and costlier than shows made in-house at Netflix (as well as series that bring in more viewers).

Lower ratings may have been to blame for the show's cancellation, but fans and outlets like Deadline also see a link between the axing of "The Recruit" and the attention paid to another show with a similar premise: "The Night Agent." The latter series stars Gabriel Basso as a rookie FBI agent initially on the hunt for a mole in the agency, while "The Recruit" stars Centineo as CIA newbie Owen Hendricks, who quickly gets embroiled in an international conspiracy. While their loglines are ridiculously similar, "The Recruit" turns CIA subterfuge and corruption into something akin to a high-stakes workplace comedy, while "The Night Agent," made by "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan, plays its action more straight.

On paper, the two shows are nearly identical, and it appears that the Netflix algorithm put "The Night Agent" in front of more viewers. (It also seemed to have more marketing money.) As a result, both the first and second seasons of "The Night Agent" were a big hit for the streamer, and the show was renewed for its third season before the second batch of episodes even aired. "The Recruit" became an underdog by comparison, and like so many other good Netflix shows, it ultimately didn't get the same renewal. Netflix crowded its own market with two shows that may have been too similar for viewers, and algorithmic influence or not, viewers made their choice.

Did they choose right? Well, only one of these shows opens its first season with its secret agent protagonist singing Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" during an inconveniently timed bathroom break, and ends it with a satisfying geek-friendly casting reveal ... and it's not "The Night Agent."

Both seasons of "The Recruit" (and both seasons of "The Night Agent") are now streaming on Netflix.