Netflix still can?t figure out how to make talk shows work

Filed under:Not all TV formats work on streamingOn Tuesday, comedian Hasan Minhaj announced that after two years and six seasons, Netflix canceled Patriot Act. Despite the unexpected axing, it’s a symptom of a larger ailment: streaming can do many things better than traditional broadcast television. Patriot Act is different from a Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon-type program or even some of the other more timely shows Netflix tried to get off the ground, including The Break with Michelle Wolf and The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale. The Break with Michelle Wolf, The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale, and Chelsea were all canned after one or two seasons; Norm Macdonald Has a Show, The Fix, and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman haven’t generated the consistent type of online hype Netflix needs for people to return to the streaming service for those specific shows week after week. Patriot Act’s cancellation, then, isn’t a comment on Minhaj’s show — objectively one of Netflix’s best.