Netflix Quietly Axes Fan-Favorite Sci-Fi Series Despite Rave Reviews— Writer Confirms It’s Over After Just One Season
Fans waiting for news about Terminator Zero finally have an answer, and it is not the one they hoped for. Nearly two years after the animated series launched on Netflix, it has now been confirmed that the show will not continue with a second season.
The anime-style series was Netflix’s animated take on the Terminator world created by James Cameron. It was produced with several partners, including Production I.G and Skydance Television, and debuted with solid early interest. Still, months passed with no clear update, leaving viewers unsure about the show’s future.
That uncertainty ended this week when writer Mattson Tomlin spoke directly to fans on X. Responding to questions, he confirmed that Terminator Zero would not return in any form.
According to Tomlin, the show did well at first but could not keep enough viewers over time. He pointed to Netflix viewing data showing that Terminator Zero appeared in the global top 10 for only two weeks after release, pulling in about 3 million views early on. By comparison, another animated series, Blue Eye Samurai, drew far more attention during its debut and was renewed.
It was cancelled. The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it. I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in season’s 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is. https://t.co/Dh7G6gkBF7 pic.twitter.com/dqCSXHIytg
— mattson tomlin (@mattsontomlin) February 13, 2026
Even so, Tomlin said the experience working with Netflix was positive. He praised the company for giving him freedom to tell the story he wanted to tell, even though the project was costly and slow to produce. As he explained online, “The show was expensive and very time consuming. The only way they could justify it was if the audience showed up for it, and they just didn’t.”
Netflix was really great about supporting the show and giving me tremendous creative freedom to do what I wanted to do. Good partners. The show was expensive and very time consuming. The only way they could justify it was if the audience showed up for it, and they just didn’t. https://t.co/psEDbh5tcZ pic.twitter.com/EtRKLh5SH1
— mattson tomlin (@mattsontomlin) February 13, 2026
The writer also revealed that he had already written scripts for a second season and mapped out much of a third. He hinted that the full plan was even bigger than fans realized. “Maybe someday I’ll do a big thread about the plans I had for the full five season run,” he shared, adding that the ending of season one was carefully designed.
Netflix did offer him a short wrap-up to close the story, but Tomlin chose not to take it. He felt the ending already worked and that a few extra episodes would not do justice to the larger idea. “The finale of season one actually left things in a good place,” he wrote.
While the cancellation is disappointing, Tomlin did not rule out returning to the Terminator Zero world someday. “Maybe I will return to that world in a different form,” he said, making it clear the project still means a lot to him.
This feels like another case where strong ideas lose out to numbers. Terminator Zero had ambition and a clear long-term vision, but streaming platforms move fast and rarely wait. What do you think? Should Netflix have given the show more time, or was the decision fair? Share your thoughts in the comments.