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Noah Centineo’sThe Recruithas become Netflix’s latest cancellation victim, possibly due to the show’s relative identity crisis. Just a month after season two premiered, the streaming giant decided to axe the spy adventure series, triggering a wave of speculation from fans.
Like many abruptly canceled shows,Netflixdid not provide an official statement explaining its decision. Typically, these terminations stem from issues like overspending, low viewership, or poor reviews. However,The Recruitmay have been axed due to competition from anothersimilar Netflix series —The Night Agent.
Netflix CancelsThe RecruitAfter Just Two Seasons
DidThe Night AgentCost The Show’s Future?
On June 27, 2025, actor Colton Dunn, who plays Lester Kitchens inThe Recruit, announced on social media that the series had been canceled. Show creator Alexi Hawley later confirmed the news in a heartfelt letter. He reflected on his experience working with the cast and crew, and making the two seasons. Hawley didn’t saywhy Netflix canceledThe Recruit, but he suggested the show always struggled to get made. Still, he remained hopeful about a possible movie continuation.
The Recruit’scancellation sparked outrage on social media, with fans calling Netflix’s decision unfair. Many blamed the streaming platform for releasing it too close toThe Night Agent.Season 2 ofThe Recruitpremiered on June 02, 2025, less than a week afterThe Night Agent’ssecond season’s debut on January 23. Given the similarities between the two shows, fans believe that this scheduling overlap may have hurtThe Recruit’srenewal chances. And they might just be right.
AreThe Night AgentAndThe RecruitThe Same?
Similar Premise, Different Styles & Characters
Fans who have watchedThe Recruit,The Night Agent, or both can easily distinguish the two. While they share a similar setting, their tones and styles are distinct.The Recruitis a more lighthearted spy drama, whereasThe Night Agentleans toward a serious,Jack Ryan-style action thriller.
In terms of premise,The Recruitfollows Owen Hendricks, a CIA lawyer caught in global political chaos, whileThe Night Agentcenters on Peter Sutherland,an FBI agentpulled into a high-stakes government conspiracy. Even their protagonists are vastly different. Hendricks is a rookie fighting to survive, whereas Sutherland is a highly trained agent on a mission.
The issue isn’t about which show came first or whether one copied the other. It’s about how first-time viewers decide what to watch on Netflix. To a newcomer browsing the platform,The Recruit,andThe Night Agentmight seem like two similar espionage shows, making it easy to pick just one to binge. While Netflix (and every other streaming service) is packed withspy thriller series, the problem here is that these two nearly identical properties had the same number of seasons (so far) and were released at almost the same time.
Why Did Netflix CancelThe Recruit?
The Night AgentIs Way More Popular
The Night Agentcompletely outperformedThe Recruitin terms of popularity, and the numbers don’t lie. The Gabriel Basso-led series currently ranks seventh onNetflix’s most-watched shows of all time, with 98.2 million views. Even without considering lifetime views, the gap between the two series was evident early on.According toTheWrap,The Recruitseason 2 opened with 5.9 million views in its first four days, but quickly fell out ofNetflix’s Top 10. It trailed behindThe Night Agentseason 2, which pulled in nearly triple the viewership with 15.2 million views in its second week and dominated the charts.
A show’s budget usually plays a big role in whether viewership numbers matter, but at $5 million per episode,The Recruitwasn’t anexpensive projectfor a high-end series. However, it was produced by Lionsgate Television (as Entertainment One) and only later acquired by Netflix. The licensing fees and legal complexities are more complicated than for in-house Netflix originals. With only modest viewership, Netflix may have canceledThe Recruitsimply to avoid the extra hassle.
WillThe RecruitHave A Season 3?
Show Creator Wants To Continue The Story
Netflix cancelingThe Recruitdoesn’t mean the show is completely over. In his announcement letter, Alexi Hawley made it clear he’d love to continue, saying they’d be there “in a heartbeat” if given the chance for “two seasons and a movie.” Season 1 tookNoah Centineo’s characterto Russia, while season 2 moved him to Seoul. It was likely that the CIA lawyer’s international journey would have continued even further. FollowingThe Recruit’s season 2 finale, Hawleyspoke toTVLineabout his wish to allow Owen to mature and grow as a character.
This job at the CIA isn’t the same as college or law school. There are real consequences to his actions, and it was important for us to really show him struggling with that. It’s not just all fun games. People get killed.
Did Netflix’s Scheduling DoomThe Recruit?
Numbers don’t always define quality, and Netflix has proved that time and again.The Night Agentis a solid show, and initially, it even seemed better thanThe Recruit, but the latter improved significantly in season 2. Neither show is a masterpiece, butThe Recruitarguably had more room for a third season, whileThe Night Agentdipped slightly.
One possible reason for this is thatThe Night Agent’s first season wasbased on a novel of the same name, but the author never wrote a sequel centered on Peter Sutherland. As a result, season 2 was entirely original material. Regardless, both shows targeted the same audience and were released just a week apart. Many viewers were still finishingThe Night AgentwhenThe Recruitpremiered, which hurt its chances. Netflix should have given them more time between releases.
