Fans of Netflix’s cult favorite sci-fi drama series Sense8 have long been excited that the show will do something never done before by an original Netflix series: Return from cancellation. And as of Friday, June 8, the two-hour finale is available to stream on Netflix. The special was directed by Sense8 creator Lana Wachowski and promises to give fans a proper conclusion to the series.
The series about eight people connected through cosmic ways was canceled by Netflix weeks after its second season premiered. Wachowski credited “the passionate letters, the petitions, the collective voice that rose up” from the legion of die-hard Sense8 fans with the show’s revival, according to the heartfelt letter she shared on the show’s official Facebook page.”Improbably, unforeseeably, your love has brought Sense8 back to life.” This is quite surprising since the show’s official Facebook page informed fans days after the show’s cancellation that their petitions and messages were heard but not enough to bring the show back to Netflix.
The letter not only revived hope of Sense8‘s return to our lives but also gave the most definitive answer as to why it was canceled in the first place. In the letter, Wachowski stated Netflix did “love the show as much as we do, but the numbers have always been challenging.” She did not clarify if the numbers she was referring to were low viewership data, the expensive production cost, or both. Either way, that point is now moot in the face of the show’s return and opportunity for closure.
Despite the finality of its brief return, there’s still a sliver of hope that Sense 8 could continue on even further. At the time of its revival from cancellation, Wachowski would not rule out even more Sense8 in the future, writing, “After that … if this experience has taught me anything, you NEVER know.”
The new two-hour special is the second of its kind in the series. Two days before Christmas in 2016, Netflix released a two-hour holiday special called Happy F*cking New Year.
Sense8 was part of Netflix’s cancellation spree that saw fan-favorites The Get Down, Marco Polo, and the star-studded drama Bloodline canceled within eight months of each other. Unfortunately for fans of those other series, they have not enjoyed the swift resurrection that Sense 8 received.
Update on June 8: The series finale is available on Netflix.
