Netflix Data May Reveal Why 'Luke Cage' and 'Iron Fist' Were Cancelled

Many fans were shocked when Netflix and Disney announced the cancellation of Marvel Television series Iron Fist and Luke Cage. But in the weeks after those decisions were made public, new details are starting to come to light about the reasons why.

According to data from analytics firm Jumpshot, as obtained by Screen Rant, Luke Cage and Iron Fist suffered major drops in users between their first and second seasons.

While Netflix does not release their streaming numbers to the public, Jumpshot does have access to "five billion actions a day across 100 million devices" in North America. While their scope is limited, it does give them a snapshot of data, giving them an idea of the success of the streaming platform's original content.

Jumpshot stated that Luke Cage and Iron Fist both lost nearly two-thirds of their viewers from their first seasons compared to the second; Luke Cage lost 59 percent, while Iron Fist lost 64 percent.

Though they didn't provide exact numbers of viewers, they did use Daredevil Season 2 as the index, which fits because it's among the most popular Netflix Marvel series they've seen since they began keeping track.

Here's how the seasons of Iron Fist and Luke Cage stack up to Daredevil's popular Season 2, which they've assigned the value of a 100 to make comparisons:

Daredevil Season 2: 100
Luke Cage Season 1: 92
Iron Fist Season 1: 80
Luke Cage Season 2: 38
Iron Fist Season 2: 29

This also helps support the reports of social media impressions for the two cancelled series, as engagement from users on Twitter and Instagram sharply declined in both shows' second seasons.

We reached out to Netflix for comment, but they have yet to respond at the time of publication.

The firm also reported that Daredevil Season 3 saw a sharp decline in their measurement of viewers, but there's still hope that the show will get new episodes on Netflix.

Daredevil Season 3 showrunner Erik Oleson expressed excitement to return and helm a new run of the series, teasing that there was a lot of setup in the latest episodes.


"I had the time of my life, man. I had so much fun," Oleson said to "If you talk to anybody in the cast and crew, or involved in the production, Season 3 was a very pleasant experience for all of us. And we're all very proud of the teamwork that made the final product possible. So yeah, I'm hopeful that I'll get to do it again."

Daredevil Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.