Why Netflix scrapped Fate: The Winx Saga season 3 and revival hopes
Netflix cancelled Fate: The Winx Saga season 3 due to a combination of high production costs, a slight drop in viewership for season two compared to season one, and a change in programming strategy at the time. The show’s story has since continued in a new graphic novel series.
Source: UGC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Fate: The Winx Saga was cancelled after two seasons by Netflix in late 2022, confirmed publicly by its showrunner.
- Declining viewership trends and higher production costs likely contributed to the decision.
- Netflix did not renew the show, and there’s no official plan for Season 3 on the platform.
- The show will continue as a graphic novel, and so far, one volume of Fate: The Winx Saga has been released.
Fate: The Winx Saga summary
Genre | Supernatural teen drama, fantasy |
Number of seasons | 2 |
Number of episodes | 13 |
Country of origin | United Kingdom/Italy |
Original language | English |
Release date | 22 January 2021 |
Original network | Netflix |
Based on | Winx Club animated series by Iginio Straffi |
Created by | Brian Young |
Main characters | Bloom, Stella, Aisha, Musa, Terra |
Series status | Cancelled after two seasons |
Why Netflix cancelled Fate: The Winx Saga Season 3
Netflix officially decided not to move forward with a third season of Fate: The Winx Saga. Showrunner Brian Young announced the cancellation on Instagram on 1 November 2022, shortly after Season 2 was released. He wrote:
This is not fun news to share, but Netflix have decided not to move forward with Season Three of Fate: The Winx Saga. This is especially tough because I know how many of you loved this season. It’s a heartbreaking silver lining, but a silver lining all the same.
He continued:
I’m so proud of everyone who worked on the show, and so happy we got to tell the stories we did. Our cast and crew put in a ton of hard work creating this world and these characters. I’m grateful for each one of them, and for all of you for watching. It’s been an amazing four years. Hopefully we’ll see each other again in the future! So much love.
Source: UGC
While the second season was a top-performing title on the streamer globally for a couple of weeks, generating 161 million hours viewed, this was a significant drop-off from Season 1’s performance. Key factors contributing to the decision include:
- Viewership decline: Season 1 was a big success and reached about 57 million household views in its first 28 days. However, Season 2 attracted fewer viewers, even though it stayed in Netflix’s Top 10 for five weeks. The drop in viewers likely did not meet Netflix’s high standards for renewing the show.
- Production costs: According to Cancelled Sci Fi, making a third season would have been more expensive to produce due to rising talent costs and Netflix’s cost-plus model. The move from Netflix U.S. to Netflix U.K. may have affected how strongly Netflix backed the show. Also, as a fantasy series, the heavy use of visual effects made production very costly.
- Netflix’s Strategy: The show was cancelled in late 2022, a time when Netflix was ending many of its original series. During this period, Netflix had little patience with shows that did not perform extremely well. Even shows with decent results were dropped if they did not meet very high expectations.
Source: UGC
Winx Club creator Iginio Straffi spoke about the cancellation in an interview with Variety, saying he was not sure why the show did not receive a third season.
The numbers were a bit lower than the first season, but that’s also due to the competition, which was different from two years ago. From what we are given to understand, there were several considerations that Netflix made. They ranged from economic ones, of course, given that the third season would have cost more than the preceding ones due to rising talent costs, and the fact that there was a drop in numbers. But I don’t really know.
Revival hopes and current status
A live-action revival of the series appears to be a long shot, but the franchise has found a new way to resolve the cliffhanger ending of season two. The story is officially continuing in a series of graphic novels, with the first volume, Fate: The Winx Saga Vol. 1: Dark Destiny, released in August 2024.
These novels, written by Olivia Cuartero Briggs and with illustrations from Christianne Gillenardo-Goudreau, are intended to pick up the unresolved plot lines left by the TV show’s cancellation.
Source: UGC
The show’s executive producer and creator of the original animated series Winx Club on which it was based, Iginio Straffi, took to Instagram to announce that he is working on a brand new, high-budget, computer-generated (CG) animated series reboot and a "big budget Winx movie" that aims to return to the core values and visual style of the original cartoon. He wrote:
Fate has been an exciting adventure, a great achievement, and a hit watched by millions globally, reconfirming the power of the Winx world. I am working on many exciting Winx projects in the near future, some of which I take so much joy in sharing with you. First off, a brand-new CG Winx animated series reboot is going into production. Yes, a reboot that I promise to sweep you back to the Winx world.
He continued:
Stay tuned to know more about it and where to find it. The second piece of news is about my long-time dream to produce a big-budget Winx movie that all of you deserve. For all the love you have given to Winx, I am working hard, hoping to bring you a top-quality movie where you can experience the Winx world, embracing once again all the core values of what this iconic brand has meant for you.
Source: UGC
A look at Fate: The Winx Saga cast
The main cast of Fate: The Winx Saga features the five fairies of the Winx Suite and the specialists they interact with at Alfea. Below is a list of the main actors across the series’ two seasons:
- Abigail Cowen as Bloom
- Hannah van der Westhuysen as Stella
- Precious Mustapha as Aisha
- Eliot Salt as Terra Harvey
- Elisha Applebaum as Musa
- Danny Griffin as Sky
- Sadie Soverall as Beatrix
- Freddie Thorp as Riven
- Robert James-Collier as Saul Silva
- Eve Best as Farah Dowling (Season 1)
- Lesley Sharp (Season 1) and Miranda Richardson (Season 2) as Rosalind Hale
Frequently asked questions
Will there be a season 3 of the Winx Saga?
There will not be a Season 3 of Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga; the series was officially cancelled by Netflix in November 2022
What is Fate: The Winx Saga season 3 release date?
There is no Fate: The Winx Saga Season 3 release date because Netflix cancelled the series.
Why did Winx Fate get cancelled?
Fate: The Winx Saga was cancelled by Netflix, primarily due to a combination of high production costs and viewership that did not meet Netflix’s high benchmarks for such an expensive television show.
Where can I watch Fate: The Winx Saga?
Fate: The Winx Saga is a Netflix Original series, so all two seasons are available to stream exclusively on Netflix.
Wrapping up
Netflix cancelled Fate: The Winx Saga season 3 primarily due to high production costs and a slight decline in Season 2 viewership, occurring during a period in late 2022 when the platform was cancelling many shows without explosive growth. However, the story’s unresolved plot points will be concluded in a new graphic novel series, starting with Dark Destiny.
READ MORE: What We Do in the Shadows Season 7 cancelled: here is why
Briefly.co.za published a piece explaining why What We Do in the Shadows will not return for season 7. Reports indicate that season 6 will serve as the show’s final chapter, bringing the acclaimed vampire comedy to a close.
The move was driven less by low ratings and more by a deliberate, creative decision to conclude while at its peak. It also speaks to the show’s legacy and how the final season aims to tie up major storylines for its much-loved characters.
Source: Briefly News
