'The Society' Creator On Netflix Series’ Cancellation: 'Upsetting And Abrupt'

"The Society" creator Christopher Keyser is upset over Netflix's "abrupt" decision to cancel the show because they spent the past months preparing to get back to filming.

"We spent the last bunch of months getting ready to go back again, dealing with all the COVID protocols," Keyser told Variety.

"And then I got a call from Netflix saying, ‘We have made this decision.’ It was obviously pretty upsetting and abrupt."

Keyser also shared that he and co-executive producer Pavlina Hatoupis spent the rest of Thursday and Friday calling the cast and crew to prepare them before the cancellation news broke.

A source with knowledge on the situation told the outlet that "The Society" was well-received. However, it was canceled because the COVID-19 protocols would affect its budget and schedule. The budget for TV shows and movies are going up due to protocols that need to be followed to ensure the cast and crew's safety.

"We were dealing with Netflix and the rise in the budget and all of that kind of stuff. There were ongoing conversations — we knew that there were challenges for this," Keyser said about the changes.

"I can’t pretend I’m surprised. I know we had many months of conversations about the challenges of producing in this environment.”

A Netflix spokesperson didn’t comment on the show’s cancellation.

On Friday, Netflix announced that it would no longer renew “The Society” and “I Am Not Okay With This” for a new season.

"We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with second seasons of ‘The Society’ and ‘I Am Not Okay With This,'" Netflix said in a statement.

"We’re disappointed to have to make these decisions due to circumstances created by COVID, and we are grateful to these creators, including: Jonathan Entwistle, Christy Hall, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen and Josh Barry at 21 Laps Entertainment for ‘I Am Not Okay With This;’ Chris Keyser, Marc Webb and Pavlina Hatoupis for ‘The Society;’ and all the writers, casts and crews who worked tirelessly to make these shows for our members around the world.”

In a video shared on Instagram on Friday, "The Society" star Kathryn Newton said she was heartbroken over the cancellation because they were expecting to go back for season 2.

Meanwhile, in a post on Twitter, she said the petition to save the series made her feel "so happy" and she also signed it.