Netflix has canceled its talk show Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj after two years and 39 episodes.
The host announced the show’s end on Twitter on Tuesday morning. “What a run,” he wrote. “Patriot Act has come to an end. I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game.”
The show’s final episode debuted June 26. Netflix picked up the show in 2018 with a 32-episode order, then extended it by seven more installments this year. The 39 episodes ran over six cycles.
Netflix removed an episode of the show from its library in Saudi Arabia in 2019, in which Minhaj criticized the Saudi government over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The company said at the time it was responding to a “valid legal request.” Minhaj was not a fan of the decision, saying, “Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube.”
The talk genre remains a challenge for Netflix, whose on-demand model and all-at-one release schedule for most of its series run counter to the daily or weekly rhythms of topical shows.
Netflix weighs viewing versus. the cost of a show in making renewal decisions, though the company only selectively releases viewership data. Patriot Act joins the likes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (which will air its final episodes later this year), Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show, Turn Up Charlie, V-Wars and October Faction in being canceled at the streamer this year.
Minhaj’s full announcement of Patriot Act‘s end is below.
What a run. @patriotact has come to an end. I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game. My 2 babies were born and grew up with the show. TY to @Netflix and everyone who watched. Now it’s time to return these screens to Best Buy 😎 pic.twitter.com/4s4TrsKWe6
— Hasan Minhaj (@hasanminhaj) August 18, 2020
