Netflix has canceled “Gentefied,” a half-hour Latino comedy-drama from Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, produced by America Ferrera.
Season 2 of “Gentefied,” starring JJ Soria, Carlos Santos and Joaquin Cosio, was just released on the streamer this past November.
“Gentefied” followed the lives of three Mexican American cousins in Boyle Heights who must tackle gentrification, borders, babies and family separation, all while attempting to save their grandpa’s taco shop. “Gentefied” also starred Karrie Martin, Annie Gonzalez, Julissa Calderon, and even Ferrera herself played a character on the show.
Critics overwhelmingly liked the series when it debuted in 2020. The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave “Gentefied” a score of 96% on the “Tomatometer,” and an average audience score of 76%. The last highly-rated Latino-focused sitcom that Netflix slashed from its programming slate was Gloria Calderón Kellett’s reboot of “One Day at a Time.”
Season 2 of “Gentefied” did not appear in Netflix’s Top 10 and most of Netflix’s cancellations and renewals are driven by viewing, not by cost. Despite criticism from subscribers that the streamer cancels series more than it creates them, in the past year, Netflix’s renewal rate for scripted series with two or more seasons has been in line with industry averages: Netflix (60%), HBO (67%) and CBS (70%).
In addition, Netflix has been making progress in boosting the amount of Latino and Hispanic talent it features on and off-screen. America Ferrera will be directing “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” adapted by Chávez and produced by Macro, both from the “Gentefied” team. The platform inked overall deals with Jennifer Lopez, Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Robert Patino and Kalinda Vazquez in 2021, and greenlit projects with Sofia Vergara (“Griselda”) and Vanessa Ramos (“Blockbuster”). Moreover, last year, Jenna Ortega, Edgar Ramirez, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Melissa Barrera were all cast as major leads— for “Wednesday,” “Florida Man,” “Lincoln Lawyer” and “Breathe,” respectively.
Chávez will continue producing through her overall deal with 20th Television, and Lemus is currently directing and executive producing “Hipster Death Rattle” at the CW.
Deadline first reported the news of the show’s cancellation.