The Best YA Adaptations That Were Cancelled Too Soon

Young adult fiction has produced some of television's most passionate fanbases. But streaming platforms have been quick to cancel YA adaptations, often leaving beloved book series only partially adapted.

YA fiction is one of the richest sources for television adaptation — built-in audiences, passionate fanbases, and multi-book arcs that provide years of source material. Yet streaming platforms have been remarkably quick to cancel YA adaptations, often after just one or two seasons. According to TVLine, YA adaptations face a unique problem in the streaming era: they attract passionate but narrow audiences that algorithms struggle to value properly. A show that is beloved by its target demographic may not register as a success on a platform's cost-per-view spreadsheet. The result is a graveyard of partially adapted book series, where fans are left to imagine what could have been. Here are the best YA adaptations that were cancelled far too soon.

1. Teenage Bounty Hunters (Netflix, 2020) — Not based on a book, but pure YA energy. Fraternal twin sisters in Atlanta accidentally fall into bounty hunting while navigating Christian high school life. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Cancelled two months after release. The cousin reveal in the finale was meant to launch a very different Season 2. Created by Kathleen Jordan and executive produced by Jenji Kohan, the show was praised by The Hollywood Reporter for its sharp dialogue, genuine heart, and refusal to talk down to its teenage audience. Netflix's decision to cancel before the show had time to find its audience remains one of the platform's most controversial calls.
2. Shadow and Bone (Netflix, 2021–2023) — Based on Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels, Shadow and Bone was one of Netflix's most ambitious YA fantasy adaptations. Two seasons adapted multiple books from the series — but the show was cancelled on a cliffhanger that left the Crows' storyline unresolved. The books continue for hundreds of pages. The show will never catch up. According to Variety, the show's cancellation was a financial decision: despite strong viewership in its target demographic, the production budget for a fantasy series of this scale required a much broader audience to justify renewal. Bardugo's Grishaverse spans six novels and multiple short stories — only a fraction of which made it to screen.
3. Lockwood & Co. (Netflix, 2023) — Based on Jonathan Stroud's beloved book series, this supernatural detective drama set in a ghost-infested London was one of the best YA adaptations of the decade. Faithful to the source material, brilliantly cast, and visually stunning. Netflix cancelled it after one season — despite the books providing years of material. According to ScreenRant, Lockwood & Co. was exactly the kind of show fans had been asking for: a faithful adaptation that expanded the source material without betraying it. The five-book series would have provided four more seasons of material, and the season finale directly set up the second book, The Whispering Skull. The cancellation was announced just three months after the show's premiere.
4. The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+, 2021–2022) — Based on Trenton Lee Stewart's award-winning book series, this charming, intelligent adaptation followed four gifted children recruited by the eccentric Mr. Benedict. Two seasons of smart, warm storytelling. Disney+ cancelled it and then removed it from the platform entirely. The removal was particularly painful for fans who had invested in the series — a show cancelled was one thing, but a show erased from existence was another. According to Deadline, the show was a victim of Disney's broader cost-cutting strategy, which saw multiple series removed from Disney+ to avoid residual payments.
5. I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix, 2020) — Based on Charles Forsman's graphic novel, this coming-of-age superhero story starred Sophia Lillis as a teenager with telekinetic powers. One season. Critically acclaimed. Cancelled during production of Season 2 due to COVID. The graphic novel continues — the show never will. The show was part of a wave of YA deconstructions of the superhero genre that included The End of the F***ing World (also based on a Forsman comic). Its cancellation was a direct casualty of pandemic-era production shutdowns, and unlike many other shows, it was never given a second chance when production resumed.
6. The Society (Netflix, 2019) — A group of teenagers must build a new civilisation when all the adults vanish. Renewed for Season 2, then cancelled due to COVID production complications. The script for the first episode of Season 2 had been written. We'll never see it. The Society was one of the most high-profile COVID cancellations, and its fate highlighted how fragile YA genre shows were in the streaming ecosystem. According to TV Guide, the show's first season had been a breakout hit, and the second season was expected to deepen the social and political allegory that made the first season so compelling.
7. First Kill (Netflix, 2022) — A queer vampire-romance YA series about a vampire and a monster hunter who fall in love. Based on a short story by V.E. Schwab. One season. Cancelled while fans were still discovering it. The source material had room for more — the show never got the chance. First Kill was notable for centering a queer romance in a genre space where such representation remains rare. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show's cancellation was met with significant backlash from fans who appreciated its commitment to authentic LGBTQ+ representation.
8. American Born Chinese (Disney+, 2023) — Based on Gene Luen Yang's groundbreaking graphic novel, blending coming-of-age storytelling with Chinese mythology. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu starred. Rave reviews. Cancelled after one season during Disney+'s content contraction. The show had the distinction of featuring three Oscar winners in its cast following the 2023 Academy Awards, where Yeoh and Quan won for Everything Everywhere All at Once. According to Variety, the cancellation was purely financial — a streaming platform tightening its budget after years of aggressive spending.
9. Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix, 2020) — A music-filled YA dramedy about a girl who starts a band with three ghost musicians from the 1990s. Charming, energetic, and genuinely moving. Cancelled by a single tweet from the Netflix account. The fan campaign continues to this day. The show's soundtrack, featuring original songs performed by the cast, became a streaming hit in its own right. According to TVLine, the fan campaign to save Julie and the Phantoms was one of the most persistent of the streaming era, with petitions, cover videos, and social media campaigns continuing years after the cancellation.
10. Daybreak (Netflix, 2019) — A post-apocalyptic YA comedy about a high school outcast searching for his girlfriend in a wasteland of zombie-like "ghoulies." Cult hit. Cancelled within weeks of release. A wild, inventive show that never got a chance to find its audience. Daybreak was notable for its genre-bending approach — part Mad Max, part John Hughes, part meta-commentary on YA tropes. According to ScreenRant, the show's polarising tone — which shifted wildly between comedy, drama, and satire — may have contributed to its quick cancellation, as it was difficult to market to a single audience.

Every one of these adaptations had source material that extended beyond where the show ended. Every cancellation left a book series only partially adapted — and fans only partially satisfied. The pattern is clear: YA adaptations are greenlit for their passionate built-in audiences but cancelled when those audiences turn out to be narrower than the platform's financial models require. According to a 2023 analysis by Variety, YA series on streaming platforms are cancelled at a rate nearly 40% higher than non-YA series — a statistic that reflects the industry's difficulty valuing young adult audiences in a cost-per-view framework. Explore our library of fan-written endings for the shows that left too soon.