Netflix Cancels ‘The Get Down,’ Baz Luhrmann Issues A Statement


Netflix has canceled Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down after only one season according to Deadline. The show had been received favorably by viewers. However, as one of Netflix’s most costly shows to produce and with the suggestion of ongoing off-air problems, it seems Netflix has decided to pull the plug after only one season.

According to the official synopsis, The Get Down is a “mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to a new art form.” Set in 1977, the “music-driven drama series chronicles the rise of hip-hop and the last days of disco — told through the lives, music, art and dance of the South Bronx kids who would change the world forever.”

The show, with Baz Luhrmann on board, was always going to be produced on an epic scale. Deadline states that the first season of The Get Down cost around $120 million to produce.

However, it is the reportedly “difficult pre-production and production process, with showrunner and writer changes” that could have helped tip Netflix over the edge when it came to deciding to renew The Get Down for Season 2. Variety reports that backstage problems were so rife with production of Season 1 of The Get Down that people on set started referring to it as “The Shut Down.”

[Image by David Lee/Netflix]

Baz Luhrmann issued the following statement about the cancellation of Netflix’s The Get Down to his Facebook account.

“When I was asked to come to the center of The Get Down to help realize it, I had to defer a film directing commitment for at least two years. This exclusivity has understandably become a sticking point for Netflix and Sony, who have been tremendous partners and supporters of the show. It kills me that I can’t split myself into two and make myself available to both productions. I feel so deeply connected to all those who I have worked and collaborated with on this remarkable experience.”

According to IMDb, Baz Luhrmann doesn’t have anything in production at the moment. However, he did suggest he has been “spending the last few months preparing [his] new cinematic work.”

The Get Down is Luhrmann’s first foray into television. He usually prefers the epic proportions that come with seeing movies come alive on the big screen. While the commitment to TV series required is longer than what Baz Luhrmann is likely used to, previously, he told Vulture that Season 2 of The Get Down was going ahead.

“We have already developed the opening of the next season,” Luhrmann revealed to Vulture back in April.

“Sony and Netflix have been very driven about having a second season. There has been no question about that. They really want it.”

[Image by Netflix]

However, while there did seem to be the possibility of a second season of The Get Down, Luhrmann did state at the time that he didn’t feel like he should be the showrunner for Season 2.

Luhrmann said Netflix and Sony did search for a new showrunner. Baz even suggested there was an African-American director he really wanted to see helm Season 2. However, he did not disclose the name of this director. When no one was found, Netflix approached Luhrmann once more about the prospect of joining them again for another season of The Get Down. Obviously, Baz refused. As a result, Netflix and Sony seem to have pulled the plug on the show.

However, no official statement has been released by Netflix or Sony yet, so perhaps die-hard fans can still cling to the hope that the show will find a new showrunner and head forward into Season 2.

Have you seen The Get Down? Let us know what you thought of it by commenting below.

The Get Down is currently streaming on Netflix.

[Featured Image by Myles Aronowitz/Netflix]

Share this article: Netflix Cancels ‘The Get Down,’ Baz Luhrmann Issues A Statement
More from Inquisitr