‘I truly do not get it’: Netflix cancels Fate: The Winx Saga despite chart-topping popularity

Cast photo for Fate: The Winx Saga
(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has called time on popular teen drama series Fate: The Winx Saga after just two seasons. 

The news comes by way of showrunner Brian Young, who announced the cancellation in an Instagram post. “This is not fun news to share,” he wrote, “but Netflix [has] decided not to move forward with season 3 of Fate: The Winx Saga.” 

A live-action adaptation of animated Nickelodeon series Winx Club, Fate: The Winx Saga debuted on Netflix back in January 2021 before returning for a second season in September this year. Its recent episodes were watched for a total of 49 million hours in their first month of release, making Fate: The Winx Saga the number one show in 76 countries between September and October 2022. 

Clearly, though, the series’ chart-topping popularity wasn’t enough to convince Netflix executives of its longevity. 

“This is especially tough because I know how many of you loved [season 2],” Young told fans on Instagram. “It’s a heartbreaking silver lining, but a silver lining all the same. I’m so proud of everyone who worked on the show, and so happy we got to tell the stories we did.”

“Our cast and crew put in a ton of hard work creating this world and these characters,” the showrunner added. “I’m grateful for each and every one of them, and for all of you for watching. It’s been an amazing four years. Hopefully we’ll see each other again in the future.”

Frustratingly for fans of Fate: The Winx Saga, season 2 concluded with a huge cliff-hanger ending. “This can’t end like this,” one viewer wrote on Twitter, while another complained: “Hey Netflix, can you at least FINISH the show before canceling it? Seriously, it's getting annoying.” 

Same old Netflix?

The list of shows canceled by Netflix has slowed in recent months, though several series have still found themselves on the chopping block despite the streamer’s upturn in subscriber fortunes. Bad Crimes, for instance – an in-development procedural comedy set to star Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus – was recently cancelled before seeing the light of day.

Generally speaking, though, the future looks bright for Netflix movies and TV shows – brighter, at least, than it seemed earlier in 2022. The company’s finances are supposedly in good shape as the year draws to a close, and its operating profit looks set to further balloon in 2023 and beyond. 

Not only is Netflix ramping up its crackdown on account sharing in a bid to boost revenue, but the streamer is also preparing to launch a cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier to ease the pain on subscribers’ wallets and its own bottom line. 

Evidently, Netflix's business shake-up looks to have come too late for Fate: The Winx Saga, but here's hoping that more of the best Netflix shows are safe from cancellation following the company's strategy shift. 

Axel Metz
Phones Editor

Axel is TechRadar's UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site's Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.  Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.

Read more
Dream sits in a chair in season 1 of Netflix's The Sandman TV show
I’m not surprised The Sandman is Netflix’s first canceled show of 2025 after Dead Boy Detectives was axed
Nicole Kidman wears a blue blouse with her arms crossed.
Netflix might be renewing The Perfect Couple and Beauty in Black for season 2, but I don’t get why when it’s canceled shows with poorer ratings
Cece Carroway (Sara Silva), Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) in Cruel Intentions.
Cruel Intentions has been canceled after one season on Prime Video, but I'm not surprised by its cruel fate
Amrit Kaur and Reneé Rapp in The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Max cancels The Sex Lives of College Girls but the hit HBO show might find a new streaming home elsewhere
A collage image showing images from the TV shows The White Lotus on Max, Black Mirror on Netflix and The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
I'm pausing my Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Paramount+ subscriptions in April 2025 – here are the 3 streaming services I'm keeping instead
Peter looks to the side with the city skyline behind him in The Night Agent season 2
3 Netflix shows I stopped watching and wouldn't go back to
Latest in Netflix
The cast of Black Mirror season 7
Everything new on Netflix in April 2025 – including Black Mirror season 7 and Love on the Spectrum
Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Liliard and Linda Cardinelli in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
Netflix is firing up the Mystery Machine with a live action Scooby-Doo series
The cast of The Residence peek from a doorway
Netflix's #2 most-watched show is the new madcap whodunnit The Residence –here are 3 more mysteries to stream next
Netflix Ads
Netflix adds HDR10+ support – great news for Samsung TV owners, but don't expect LG and Sony to do the same any time soon
Wonka poster
Netflix cooks up sweet new reality TV series based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it's a dream come true for me
Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham) looks as his anxious son Jamie (Owen Cooper) in a prison cell.
Netflix's #1 show Adolescence is one of the best crime dramas I've seen – here are 3 more with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con up-close from app store
Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does