Why Noah Centineo’s The Recruit Was Canceled At Netflix

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Netflix’s ‘The Recruit‘ is one of their many hit spy adventure series. It centers around the character of Owen Hendricks, portrayed by Noah Centineo, who starts off as a novice lawyer at the CIA. However, his ordinary life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a letter from a former asset, which was supposed to be an initiation task but turns out to become his ultimate career path. As the story unfolds, Owen finds himself traveling around the world and encountering situations he never imagined during his law school days. In the second season, Owen ventures to South Korea, becoming entangled in an espionage plot that leaves ‘The Recruit’ ending on a suspenseful cliffhanger.

Despite a critically acclaimed second season with an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score (a significant increase of almost 20% from the first season), the series “The Recruit” was unfortunately canceled by Netflix. The decision was made within just two months following the season’s premiere, leaving insufficient time for the show to generate further interest or attract more viewers. Although this news might seem unexpected, there are several reasons behind the cancellation of the program.

The Recruit couldn’t keep up with rival shows

The decision to end “The Recruit” stemmed from two factors: Firstly, Netflix already has other shows featuring similar storylines, and secondly, it didn’t garner as many viewers as those competing projects. For instance, “The Night Agent,” launched only four months after “The Recruit,” attracted almost three times the audience and consistently outperformed it on Netflix’s Top 10 list. To illustrate this, during its first four days of streaming, “The Recruit” Season 2 had about 5.9 million viewers, while “The Night Agent” managed to reach 15.2 million people in a similar timeframe with its second season.

Beyond the challenge of going up against “The Night Agent” and other series, there were initial indications that “The Recruit” might not survive beyond Season 2. The original episode count was reduced from eight to six, leaving the creative team with less time to fully develop their narrative. Notably, this reduction in episodes was a decision made by Netflix itself, which is unusual for their six-episode season structure. This move could suggest that Netflix was already contemplating which shows to renew and which ones to cancel early on.

What Noah Centineo has said about The Recruit’s cancellation

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the A24 movie “Warfare”, Noah Centineo spoke candidly about the cancellation of his series “The Recruit”. He expressed a laid-back attitude, saying “it is what it is” and “I guess we move on”. He acknowledged that there were numerous factors influencing Netflix’s decision to discontinue the show, none of which he could control. Centineo added, “Netflix has specific requirements to meet, and I’m incredibly proud of the series, extremely grateful for our dedicated fanbase. We have a devoted cult following. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite align with what Netflix was looking for at the moment.

In simpler terms, Centineo shared that working on the set of “The Recruit” was an enlightening experience for him. He stated, “I got to see firsthand how a show is produced, and I believe this was the most educational part for me.” This suggests he might be considering moving behind the camera in the future, as he has already directed a music video and his time on “The Recruit” seems to have ignited an interest in the technical aspects of Hollywood. Regardless, Centineo’s future looks promising, with multiple projects underway, such as the 2025 film titled “Our Hero, Balthazar.

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2025-06-01 00:32