Netflix has decided not to continue with Good Times: Black Again, ending the animated reboot after a single season. The show, which launched on April 12, 2024, faced significant criticism and failed to build a large enough audience to meet the streaming service’s renewal targets.
News of the cancellation was confirmed in November 2025. The series lasted less than two years on the platform. It was canceled alongside other adult animated shows, including Exploding Kittens and Twilight of the Gods, as Netflix made decisions about its original programming slate.
What Led to the Cancellation Decision
A major reason for the cancellation was the show’s performance with viewers. According to industry reports, Good Times: Black Again collected a total of 5.4 million streams. It earned 3.3 million views in the first half of 2024 and added another 2.1 million by mid-2025. While the series briefly entered Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 list after its premiere, this level of viewership was ultimately not enough to justify the cost of producing a second season.
Netflix uses internal benchmarks to decide whether a show continues. The streaming service compares a series’ viewing numbers against its production expenses. For Good Times: Black Again, the engagement metrics fell short of these internal renewal criteria. The show’s failure to sustain momentum after its initial release was a key factor in the decision.
Intense Criticism and Cultural Backlash
Beyond the numbers, the show was surrounded by significant controversy from the moment its first trailer was released. Good Times: Black Again was an adult animated reimagining of the beloved 1970s sitcom Good Times. The original series, which aired from 1974 to 1979, was celebrated as television’s first Black two-parent family sitcom. It blended humor with meaningful social commentary on issues like poverty and racism.
The reboot, however, was met with immediate and strong disapproval from several civil rights organizations. Groups including the NAACP, the CEMOTAP, and the December 12th Movement publicly condemned the series. They criticized its content as relying on harmful stereotypes, arguing it presented an obscene, sexualized, and violent portrayal of African Americans that dishonored the legacy of the original show.
In 2024, CEMOTAP co-chairs sent an open letter to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos expressing “outrage.” They condemned the show for its portrayal of Black people and for what they saw as disrespectful references to historical and religious figures.
This organized criticism included public demonstrations. In June 2024, CEMOTAP led a protest outside a Netflix corporate office in New York City.
Audience and Critical Reception
The response from everyday viewers and professional critics was largely negative. On social media platforms like Facebook, many fans of the original series expressed deep disappointment. A common sentiment was that the reboot misused the respected name of the classic sitcom.
One Facebook user commented, “I was under the impression that they were making the original Good Times into a cartoon… they could’ve kept it as a new cartoon instead of calling it Good Times”. Another asked, “Who watches the actual good times show and thought THIS would be an accurate depiction of it??”.
While the show had a few defenders who found it creative or intentionally over-the-top, the overall online conversation was critical. Some viewers on Reddit pointed to specific characters, like a drug-dealing infant, as examples of the show’s confusing and offensive humor. The negative chatter online grew over time, overshadowing the show’s content.
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The Original Show’s Legacy and the Reboot’s Intent
The challenge for the reboot was immense because of the high regard for the original Good Times. The classic sitcom, created by Mike Evans and Eric Montes and executive-produced by the late television legend Norman Lear, broke new ground in the 1970s. It focused on the Evans family living in a Chicago housing project and was praised for its empathetic and human portrayal of a working-class Black family navigating systemic challenges.
The new series was developed as a “spiritual sequel,” following a fourth generation of the Evans family living in the same iconic apartment, 17C. Showrunner Ranada Shepard stated the team aimed to create a show that “pushes boundaries” and deals with modern-day issues in the style of adult animated series like The Simpsons or South Park.
Shepard explained that animation was chosen to allow more creative freedom. “We can play in this world a little bit more,” she said, giving examples like visually showing a character’s conversation with God. The voice cast included well-known actors like J.B. Smoove, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jay Pharoah, and Marsai Martin.
Norman Lear, who passed away in December 2023, was involved as an executive producer and even recorded a voice cameo for the eighth episode, which became his final acting role. Other high-profile executive producers included Seth MacFarlane and NBA star Stephen Curry.
A Common Fate for Netflix Animated Series
The cancellation of Good Times: Black Again is part of a broader pattern at Netflix. The platform has become increasingly selective with its animated adult content, often canceling series after one season if they do not meet specific viewership and engagement goals quickly. The same November 2025 announcement that ended this reboot also canceled Exploding Kittens and Zack Snyder’s Twilight of the Gods, showing a stricter approach to renewals across the board.
For Good Times: Black Again, the combination of failing to attract a large enough audience and generating sustained negative controversy proved too much to overcome. The show’s ten episodes remain available to stream on Netflix, but the story of the Evans family will not continue beyond its first season.
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