Denis O’Hare’s Emmy Campaign for ‘The Boroughs’ Is the Most Satisfying Response to Netflix’s Cancellation
When Netflix dropped the ax on ‘The Boroughs’ after a single season, the entertainment industry took notice. The supernatural sci-fi series, executive produced by ‘Stranger Things’ creators Matt and Ross Duffer and created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, paired a premise built around retirees uncovering a dark secret with one of the most accomplished ensemble casts assembled for a streaming drama this year.
The numbers told a genuinely compelling story. In its first four days, ‘The Boroughs’ landed at No. 2 on Netflix’s Top 10 English-language TV chart with 5.6 million views, and in its first full week it climbed further. Critics were equally enthusiastic, awarding the show a 97 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The cancellation hit hard, and it hit fast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, June 15 marked Netflix’s deadline to extend the cast’s options, and the streamer chose not to, effectively ending the series despite a writers’ room already at work and reported plans to shoot a second and third season back-to-back. The timing stung with particular sharpness, arriving mid-Emmy campaign and with only days left in the voting window.
Into that frustration stepped Denis O’Hare, who played Wally Baker in the series, with a response that has since taken on a life of its own online. In a video posted to his Instagram on Saturday, O’Hare addressed Emmy voters directly, urging them to rally behind ‘The Boroughs’ in the closing days of voting and name-checking castmates Bill Pullman, Alfre Woodard, Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Seth Numrich, and Alice Kremelberg, as well as the show itself for Best Series. His message was pointed and deliberate, framing a strong Emmy showing as a chance to send Netflix a signal they could not ignore.
O’Hare was not the only cast member to speak out. His co-star Geena Davis expressed her own bewilderment at the cancellation to Deadline, adding another prominent voice to what has quickly become one of the louder collective cast responses to a streaming cancellation in recent memory. The media swirl surrounding the decision has grown into one of the messiest and most debated cancellations of the year, with Hollywood trades pointing to behind-the-scenes studio politics as a factor alongside the show’s economics.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that ‘The Boroughs’ costs roughly $10 million per episode, and that Netflix weighed that figure directly against its viewership performance when making its decision. Additionally, the Duffer Brothers’ exit from Netflix in favor of a deal at Paramount was said to have strained the relationship with high-ranking executives at the streamer, though Netflix denied that characterization and insisted the decision was purely a business one.
Precedent offers some comfort for fans hoping the story does not end here. Canceled shows have claimed Emmy wins before, with ‘Pushing Daisies’ sweeping four categories in 2009 and Prime Video’s ‘Étoile’ receiving nominations just last year despite being axed before voting concluded. ‘The Boroughs’ submitted eight performers for Emmy consideration, giving voters plenty of opportunities to make O’Hare’s vision of sweet revenge a reality.
If Emmy night delivers a haul of wins for a show Netflix just walked away from, do you think it would be enough to make the streamer regret the decision?
