After one season, Netflix cancelled its live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation, but star Danielle Pineda believes the series deserved better.
2021's Cowboy Bebop starring Pineda, John Cho, and Mustafa Shakir was based on the cult favorite 1990s Japanese anime series of the same name.
The first season spanned ten episodes and ended on a cliffhanger, leaving audiences wondering what would happen next, but it never came as Netflix cancelled the series shortly afterward.
Cowboy Bebop Star Addresses Netflix Cancellation
While attending the red carpet for her new film The Accountant 2, Cowboy Bebop's Danielle Pineda (who played Faye Valentine) commented on the series' abrupt cancellation by Netflix.
In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Pineda began by stating she has "so many thoughts on this subject," and said she believed studios should "do a better job at valuing [anime] IP," particularly something like Cowboy Bebop (or A:TLA and One Piece which Netflix also owns live-action adaptations of) which is "a special thing:"
"I feel like those animations, they mean so much to people, and they're so personal, and I think people really connect to when they watched it and the point of their lives. And so, I just feel like, and I'll say this, having been in one, I think that those studios, they need to do a better job at valuing that IP. It's really special. And people on 'Bebop,' they worked very, very hard, but it's just a special thing."
Netflix's Cowboy Bebop was ultimately divisive when it released, with some fans outraged by certain changes to the source material, and others appreciative of the live-action attempt (the series gained 45% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Pineda added that she understood "why fans felt the way that they did," but also added that she felt the show deserved another season to "prove [itself]:"
"And I understand why the fans felt the way that they did, but I also think that there's a lot of really cool, wonderful things that we did. And I also wish that we could have gotten the second season. You know, sometimes you just need one season to get things going, and then you prove yourself."
Pineda also received a lot of backlash following Cowboy Bebop's release and wanted to clarify a video she made "poking fun at [herself]" which was interpreted incorrectly by some audiences online:
"I want to clarify something. So, years ago, when the franchise came out on Netflix - I was shooting a movie in Puerto Rico, and I was goofing off, and I made some — I'm not used to anyone watching my videos—And I made this, dumb video, kind of poking fun at myself, because I was getting all of these DM's from people saying, like, 'You're terrible and you're fat. Go away.' Just like, awful, awful messages.
So I just made this, like on-a-whim [Instagram] Story, just joking about the fact that, like, 'Sorry, guys, I'm sorry I was cast.' And I used the word 'fans' when I meant to say 'trolls,' and then it caught wind. And everybody was like, 'She's hating on the fans.' And I was like, 'This is getting lost in translation. I'm responding to trolls, not fans.' And it got really swept up anyway. I just had to put that out there."
Is There Hope For Cowboy Bebop Season 2?
It's been over three years since Netflix canceled its Cowboy Bebop series, and there's been very little talk about a revival. Occasionally, rival networks will pick up a beloved show after its cancellation, but it seems Netflix did not shop the Cowboy Bebop series around for other buyers. Hence, it has lain dormant.
Given the mixed response to Season 1 of Cowboy Bebop and its ultimate cancellation, it's unlikely that another season of the same show would be greenlit. Netflix has seen success with some of its more recent live-action anime adaptations, like Avatar: The Last Airbender (which has been renewed for second and third seasons), and One Piece (which is coming back for another season).
A more likely scenario is that, in the future, Netflix might attempt a different adaptation of the Cowboy Bebop IP (if the stars align).
For years fans have hoped that the original Cowboy Bebop anime may get a revival, but director Shinichiro Watanabe is focused on his new series Lazarus, and star Koichi Yamadera (the voice of Spike) has opposed the idea of any spin-offs due to the passing of some of the key creatives on the original series.
