The comedy premiered more than a year ago on the streamer.
Turn Up Charlie’s set at Netflix has ended.
by Lesley Goldberg
The streamer has opted to cancel the comedy starring and created by Idris Elba after a single season. The series debuted in March 2019 to middling reviews (it currently has a 53 percent score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes). «Turn Up Charlie will not return for a second season,» Netflix said Monday in a statement. «We’re especially grateful to star and executive producer Idris Elba, who turned his passion for DJing into a witty, heart-warming comedy series. We’re also thankful to executive producers Gary Reich and Tristram Shapeero and co-executive producers Martin Joyce and Ana Garanito, along with the dedicated cast and crew, for bringing this story to life on Netflix. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Idris on future projects.»
Picked up to series in April 2018, the comedy revolved around Charlie (Elba), a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor, who is given a final chance at success when he reluctantly becomes a manny to his famous best friend’s problem-child daughter. Turn Up Charlie was a co-production between Reich’s London-based Brown Eyed Boy Productions and Elba’s Green Door Pictures.
Elba started his career as a DJ in East London clubs before breaking out on the stage, television and in feature films. He returned to the DJ booth in 2017 with sets in London and performances at New York’s legendary Output venue. Elba was a resident DJ at Hi Ibiza during the summer, when he performed with the Mambo Brothers and Bob Sinclar, among others.
The decision to ax Turn Up Charlie arrives as Netflix, which does not release viewership figures, continues to make renewal and cancellation decisions based on internal viewing data vs. cost. The streamer reviews the returns and considers if the financial investment in another season will be valuable to its subscribers or if those funds would be better served with new content that draws more viewing and signups to its service.
Turn Up Charlie becomes the latest one-and-done at Netflix, joining V Wars, October Faction, Messiah, AJ and the Queen, Spinning Out, Soundtrack and Daybreak, among others.
