Netflix aborts mission on hit spy thriller The Recruit and I know which show to blame for its cancelation

Owen Hendricks looks at something off camera in The Recruit season 2.
(Image credit: Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix)

  • Netflix has canceled spy series The Recruit after two seasons.
  • The Recruit failed to compete with Netflix's smash hit espionage thriller The Night Agent.
  • The news was announced by one of The Recruit cast members on social media.

Netflix has canceled hit spy series The Recruit after two seasons, and I'm pointing the finger at The Night Agent as the reason why it's ended up on the streamer's scrap heap.

The Recruit already faced a tough mission having to compete with the espionage thriller The Night Agent, which is one of Netflix's most-watched shows of all timeand the stakes were raised even higher when the second season of The Recruit was released just one week after The Night Agent season 2.

The Recruit's cancelation comes five weeks after season 2 of the spy dramedy debuted on one of the best streaming services on January 30. Colton Dunn, who played former CIA operative Lester Kitchens on the show, announced the news on Instagram Threads.

He wrote: "The Recruit has been cancelled y’all. Such a bummer. I’ll share some pics and fun memories on IG but just wanted you to hear it from me. Thanks if you watched. I’m AVAILABLE NOW! Hire me for you [sic] tv story!!”

Despite The Recruit season 2 racking up 5.9 million views within its first four days on Netflix, it wasn't enough to compete with The Night Agent, which reclaimed its number one spot with 13.9 million views. Throw in the fact that The Night Agent also amassed a total of 98.2 million views, The Recruit was always facing an uphill battle to get renewed.

The Recruit Season 1 Trailer - YouTube The Recruit Season 1 Trailer - YouTube
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What are The Recruit and The Night Agent about?

The Night Agent | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube The Night Agent | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
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The Recruit stars Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks, a CIA lawyer who becomes embroiled in dangerous international conflicts after former asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock) threatens to expose the agency unless they clear her of a serious crime.

In The Recruit season 2, which consists of six episodes instead of eight for season 1, Owen is thrown into yet another life-or-death situation as he gets involved in a perilous mission in South Korea

While Netflix hasn't officially revealed why The Recruit was canceled, it's usually low viewing figures that are a driving force behind axing's of the best Netflix shows. It's also possible that people got tired of too many spy series going on at once, but for now The Recruit has met the same fate as the Yellowstone-style series Territory and The Sandman.

Based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent follows low-level FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) as he's plunged into a vast conspiracy involving a mole in the highest levels of the US government and embarks on a hunt to find the traitor to save his country.

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Grace Morris
Entertainment Writer

After graduating with a degree in Writing and Film Studies, Grace dived into the world of entertainment where she started writing all about the must-watch shows and movies at What To Watch. Now Grace is on her next writing adventure at TechRadar, where she uses her expertise to help readers keep up to date on the biggest TV shows and movies in the ever-changing world of streaming. If she’s not writing about her passion for entertainment, you’ll find her watching reality shows while feasting on chocolate. 

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