The Pulse Cancellation: Why Netflix's First US Medical Drama Failed to Meet Viewership Data Expectations
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In recent years, Netflix has embarked on an effort to experiment more with genres that have traditionally performed well on cable and broadcast television. One result of this strategy was Pulse, which stood out as Netflix’s first-ever US-based medical drama. Developed by co-showrunner Zoe Robyn and executive producer Carlton Cuse, the series premiered 10 episodes on April 3rd, 2025. Although it was not Netflix’s first medical drama globally—international titles like Hospital Playlist and Breathless had preceded it—Pulse represented a significant foray into a popular, high-stakes genre for the US market.
However, despite coming from established talent and launching with a relatively strong start, the series failed to secure a renewal. On July 2nd, 2025, just ahead of the holiday weekend, the news dropped that Pulse had been canceled alongside another series, The Residence. The ultimate reason for the decision, as confirmed by sources, was unequivocal: the numbers. The swift Pulse cancellation offers a stark lesson in the rigorous metrics that define success—and failure—in the modern streaming landscape.
The Rise and Swift Fall of Netflix’s New Medical Drama
While Pulse enjoyed the novelty of being the platform’s inaugural US medical drama, its initial strength proved unsustainable. The series saw a "flailing performance in the weeks that followed its launch". The confirmation of its cancellation arrived publicly in July 2025, though the cast and crew were reportedly informed well over a month earlier, sometime in May or June. This early notification meant that the actors were already "up for new jobs" before the official announcement was made.
The medical drama genre is fiercely competitive, and Pulse reportedly faced intense pressure. One source suggests that the series was overshadowed by a competing show, The Pitt, which contributed to its failure to meet stringent viewership expectations. Adding to the competitive environment, the show struggled with fundamental creative issues.
The Unforgiving Metrics: Viewership Data That Sealed the Fate
The core reason for the premature conclusion of Pulse was its inability to sustain the required viewership data. Netflix’s renewal decisions are complex, hinging on factors visible to the public, like total hours watched and total number of views, as well as invisible metrics, such as completion rates and budgets.
Analyzing the Viewership Drop
The weekly Netflix Top 10 lists provided the earliest indicators of concern regarding Pulse's stability. The series managed to feature in the global Top 10 list for only four consecutive weeks before falling off. During this period, the show accumulated 162.10 million hours watched, which equated to 20.20 million views.
A deep dive into the week-to-week performance reveals the crucial flaw:
• Week 1 (March 30th to April 6th, 2025): 52,000,000 hours viewed (6,500,000 views). Rank 3.
• Week 2 (April 6th to April 13th, 2025): 68,100,000 hours viewed (8,500,000 views). A 31% increase.
• Week 3 (April 13th to April 20th, 2025): 25,800,000 hours viewed (3,200,000 views). This represents a catastrophic drop of 62% from Week 2.
This dramatic 62 percent fall in viewership between the second and third weeks indicated a failure to retain the audience it had initially attracted. While the series managed to appear in the weekly Top 10s of 82 countries (out of 91 possible regions), its overall cumulative views placed it perilously low when compared to other recent Netflix debuts.
Comparative Performance and Ranking
When comparing the four-week performance of Pulse against other Netflix titles, the viewership data confirms its weak position. Out of a list of 15 recent debuts, Pulse ranked 11th with 20.2 million cumulative views.
This placed it behind other highly visible cancellations:
• The Residence (also canceled): 22.9 million views.
• Obliterated (one of Netflix’s most-watched cancellations): 24.4 million views.
The figures clearly demonstrated that Pulse was underperforming relative to renewed titles, and even lagged behind some other highly publicized cancellations. In the hyper-competitive environment of streaming, where renewals often hinge on metrics 14 days post-release, Pulse's faltering retention signaled danger early on.
Creative and Critical Flaws
While the financial metrics were the decisive hammer, the series also suffered from poor critical and audience reviews, which likely exacerbated the declining engagement reflected in the viewership data. The reviews were mixed, ultimately failing to secure widespread approval:
• Rotten Tomatoes: A 48% rating from critics and 58% from audiences.
• IMDb: A slightly better score of 6.8/10.
A major factor contributing to the low viewer engagement was the perceived quality of the content itself. According to one source, the show's cancellation was attributed to two specific creative shortcomings: bad medical information and implausible plotlines. These weaknesses negatively impacted the audience’s willingness to stick with the story. Coupled with poor critical reception and broader storyline issues, these factors made the show a difficult investment to justify when the numbers began to drop.
Behind the Scenes: A Planned Future That Never Materialized
Despite the disappointing performance metrics, there was a concerted effort toward a second season. Co-showrunner Zoe Robyn and executive producer Carlton Cuse had developed the medical series, and there were active plans for a follow-up season. During the promotional campaign for Season 1, the cast and crew openly discussed their intentions for continuing the storyline.
Furthermore, an early positive indication of continued investment came from the WGA, which listed Season 2 of PULSE in its database. This meant that scripts were actively being developed, showing that Netflix had invested early in a potential second season. However, this positive early step ultimately did not translate into a greenlight, emphasizing that streaming services base renewal decisions strictly on post-launch performance.
Interestingly, while Pulse was canceled, executive producer Carlton Cuse remains in business with Netflix. He is currently teaming up with Robert Langdon to adapt Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets into a new TV series.
🔖 Key Takeaways
The Pulse cancellation serves as a prime example of the high bar set for new original content on major streaming platforms.
🗝️ Numbers Rule: The decision to axe the series was driven fundamentally by failing viewership data, including hours viewed and completion rates.
🗝️ Retention Failure: The most critical warning sign was the massive 62% drop in viewership between Week 2 and Week 3, indicating poor audience retention.
🗝️ Creative Weakness: Specific creative flaws, including bad medical information and implausible plotlines, directly hurt viewer engagement. The series also suffered from poor critical ratings (48% on Rotten Tomatoes).
🗝️ Low Ranking: Pulse's cumulative views (20.2 million) placed it low compared to other first-season debuts, justifying its cancellation based on industry benchmarks.
🗝️ No Guarantee: Even early investment in scripts (WGA listing for Season 2) cannot save a show if the public reception and retention metrics fail to meet expectations. The ambitious project of launching Netflix’s first US medical drama ultimately succumbed to the harsh reality of streaming performance benchmarks.
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