Why Is ‘Jessica Jones’ Ending? Netflix Canceled Show Before Season 3 Premiere

“Marvel’s Jessica Jones” Season 3 premieres Friday, and the season finale will serve as the series finale. Netflix canceled the series months ago.

Typically, Netflix doesn’t cancel shows before they air. In cases like “Orange is the New Black,” the creative team decides it is time to end, but that didn’t happen with “Jessica Jones.” Instead, it was canceled when Netflix axed the last of its Marvel Television shows.

The cancellations started last fall with “Iron Fist” and then “Luke Cage,” and it seemed like they might just be ending shows with low ratings. When “Daredevil” was canceled weeks later, it was clear that Netflix wasn’t just killing the less popular shows. They were cutting ties with Marvel. “Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher” were canceled in February (which was after the former wrapped filming Season 3).

Disney, which owns Marvel, is gearing up to launch Disney+ in November, a direct competitor to Netflix. After acquiring 20th Century Fox, the Mouse House also has a majority stake in Hulu.

It isn’t just about competition, though. Money is a big factor, and Marvel shows are expensive. Netflix had to pay a steep licensing fee to Disney since they don’t own the rights to those characters. With fewer viewers tuning in every season, several outlets report that Netflix wanted to cut down Marvel seasons from 13 to 10 episodes, addressing a common criticism that the seasons are too long. Marvel reportedly rejected that idea.

Beyond just individual seasons, Netflix generally doesn’t want its shows to go on too long. According to Deadline, the streaming platform generally doesn’t see much value in having their original series exceed 30 episodes total.

There have also been creative issues. A lot of the shows have switched showrunners. “Daredevil” had different people at the helm every season, and “Iron Fist” also switched showrunners between seasons after a critically panned first outing. “Jessica Jones” would have had to switch showrunners if renewed since Melissa Rosenberg announced she’d step down.

Though the emergence of Disney+ may have factored into the cancellation, don’t expect the new streaming service to revive the series right away. Netflix reportedly had a clause stating the characters can’t appear on another service for at least two years.

In any case, fans still have the final episodes of “Jessica Jones” to enjoy. Season 3 premieres Friday on Netflix.

This also isn’t the end of Marvel Television by a long shot. Disney+ will have several TV shows from Marvel Studios featuring characters like Loki, Scarlet Witch and Falcon. Meanwhile, Hulu has several Marvel TV shows in the works in addition to “Runaways,” which is heading into Season 3. ABC has “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and Freeform has “Cloak and Dagger.”