Netflix has canceled its anime series Terminator Zero, the show’s creator says.
Mattson Tomlin, who developed the series and served as its showrunner, wrote on X that Terminator Zero was canceled after a single season. “The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it,” Tomlin wrote. “I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in seasons 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is.”
The news of the show’s cancellation is not much of a surprise, given that it’s been almost 18 months since Terminator Zero debuted on Aug. 29, 2024 and there had been no word on the show’s future since then. The series didn’t make Netflix’s top 10 global series chart in the weeks after its release, nor did it show up in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for the United States.
In another post, Tomlin added that Netflix offered him and the show’s team “2, maybe 3 more episodes to wrap up the story, which I declined. I felt the story I wanted to tell was much longer, and the finale of season one actually left things in a good place. But they didn’t have to offer that. Good partners here.”
Terminator Zero is set in 1997 Tokyo, where a scientist named Malcolm Lee is developing an artificial intelligence system meant to compete with Cyberdyne Systems’ Skynet. He’s then pursued by a Terminator sent from the future, while a soldier follows the cyborg in an attempt to protect Lee and his family.
The show’s English-language cast features Andre Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, Sumalee Montano, Armani Jackson, Gideon Adlon, Carter Rockwood, Rosario Dawson and Timothy Olyphant.
Skydance Television and Netflix Animation Studio produced the series. Tomlin executive produced with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. Masashi Kudo directed.
