Culture

“There was more story to tell”: Fans react to Netflix cancelling Glamorous

By Sam Damshenas

16th November 2023

Glamorous fans are in mourning after the series was “unceremoniously” cancelled by Netflix.

On 15 November, the streamer announced that Glamorous, Shadow and Bone, Agent Elvis, Farzar and Captain Fall will not be returning for new seasons.

The decision was reportedly made in the wake of the WGA and SAG-Afrtra strikes, with sources at Variety claiming it stemmed “from various reasons including performance and impact from the strike — as the industry evaluates production schedules, scheduling shifts, etc.”

Glamorous follows Miss Benny’s character Marco Mejia –  “a young gender non-conforming queer man” – who is recruited by the legendary “supermodel of the world” Madolyn Addison (Cattrall) for a job at her cosmetics company of the same name.

The ensemble cast also includes Zane Phillips, Jade Payton, Michael Hsu Rosen, Ayesha Harris, Graham Parkhurst, Damian Terriquez, Diana-Maria Riva, Kaleb Horn, Lisa Gilroy, Mark Deklin, Nicole Power and Ricardo Chavira.

While the series received a mixed response from critics upon release, it was lauded for its unabashed queer representation – with many comparing it to Ugly Betty. 

When we spoke with the aforementioned stars earlier this year, they celebrated the show for refusing to explore the various plights faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, from coming out to abuse slash death and other lovely elements of queer torture that we’ve become accustomed to on-screen.

“Something really great about the show is that Marco never faces homophobia unless it’s from the queer community’s internal issues,” said Miss Benny. “And that was really important to me as an actor because characters are often called slurs, getting bullied or coming out to their parents, and it can become really exhausting when that’s all the representation you see.”

Rosen added: “What I love about our show is that it’s about love. It’s a show about kindness. It’s a show about being true to yourself and being proud to be who you are, and the joy of being queer and different.

“If there is drama or pain, it’s self-internalised. But, Glamorous is so intent on documenting the triumph, like the win in the battle towards pride and queer joy. I’m so proud to be part of that. Every time you see a prestige hit show or movie about queerness, it’s about insurmountable obstacles and fear.”

Fans immediately took to social media to criticise Netflix for the axe, with one tweeting: “That show was very joyful and a lovely successor to Ugly Betty once it found its flow.”

Describing Glamorous as a “fun world,” another noted how there was “more story to tell”.

Check out the reactions below.