Season 1
8 episodes Nov 30, 2023 7.2
Overview
A special forces team thwarts a deadly plot in Sin City and parties accordingly. But when the real threat emerges, they must sober up to save Las Vegas.
Seasons
1 listed- Status
- Canceled
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 8 episodes
- First aired
- Nov 30, 2023
- Last aired
- Nov 30, 2023
- Network
- Netflix
Latest episode: S1 E8 Last Call (Nov 30, 2023)
Cast
10 people
Reviews
5 min readHangover as Apocalypse
There’s a very particular smell to Obliterated in the opening stretch: sunscreen, gun oil, tequila, and that faint whiff of desperation you get when a show is trying very hard to convince you it’s having more fun than you are. I mean that both as a complaint and, at moments, as a compliment. latestnetflix.com's read is that the series arrives with the easy insolence of a party that’s already gotten out of hand, which is fitting for a Netflix action-comedy built around a special forces team trying to save Las Vegas after first celebrating as if the danger were already over.
It’s a premise that understands the basic American dream of Vegas — excess first, consequences later — and then stretches it into eight episodes of chaos, flesh, and hangovers.
What made me curious before I even started the show was the context. This is a Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald production — the trio behind Cobra Kai — and you can feel that same instinct for fusing genre with self-aware nostalgia. But where Cobra Kai turned teen-movie memory into something oddly tender, Obliterated goes the other way: it takes the action-movie body count and smears it with liquor, club lighting, and a kind of adolescent loudness that can be funny right up until it becomes exhausting.
That tension is the show’s defining pulse. It wants to mock the entire idea of a cool, competent covert-ops team even as it asks us to believe they’re the last line between civilization and annihilation.
The conversation around the series, unsurprisingly, has mostly been about whether that tone works. Some viewers wanted a straight action thriller and got a hangover farce instead; others expected a joke machine and found something messier, more uneven, and occasionally sharper than the premise suggests. The show’s real gamble is that it treats partying as both celebration and failure.
These people have saved the day before, or at least they’re trained to. But once the vodka and cocaine and whatever else enter the bloodstream, competence becomes a memory, and the body itself starts to betray them. That’s a smart comic idea.
It’s also, in practice, a fragile one. You can only make the joke that someone is too drunk to function so many times before you start wishing the series trusted its own action more than its punchlines.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsNetflix’s Obliterated Burned Bright—Then Fizzled After One Season
The high-octane action-comedy Obliterated arrived on Netflix in late 2023 with a premise built for chaos: a ragtag special forces team saves Las Vegas from a terrorist plot, only to realize the real threat emerges after they’ve partied too hard to notice. Created by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald—the trio behind Cobra Kai—the series promised a mix of adrenaline, humor, and ensemble chemistry. But despite its star-studded cast and the pedigree of its creators, Obliterated was canceled after just one season, latestnetflix.com maintains, leaving fans wondering what went wrong.
A Star-Studded Cast, But a Short-Lived Run
Obliterated assembled a mix of rising and veteran talent, headlined by Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf, The Secret Circle) and Nick Zano (Legends of Tomorrow). The ensemble also included Terrence Terrell (The Chi), Paola Lázaro (The Walking Dead), and C. Thomas Howell (E.T., The Outsiders), alongside relative newcomers like Kimi Rutledge and Alyson Gorske. The cast’s dynamic was central to the show’s appeal, blending action chops with comedic timing—a formula that worked for Cobra Kai but didn’t quite translate here.
Netflix released all eight episodes of Obliterated on November 30, 2023 
. By February 2024, the streaming giant had pulled the plug, making it one of the shortest-lived series from Hurwitz, Schlossberg, and Heald . The cancellation came as a surprise to some, given the creators’ track record, but industry sources suggested the show’s performance didn’t meet Netflix’s expectations.
**Why Was Obliterated Canceled?**
The exact reasons behind the cancellation remain unclear, but a few factors likely played a role:
- Mixed Reception: While the premise was high-energy, early reviews were divided. Some praised the cast’s chemistry and the show’s self-aware humor, but others found the plot convoluted or the tone uneven. Without strong critical or audience buzz, Netflix may have seen limited long-term potential.
- Streaming Competition: Late 2023 was a crowded time for Netflix, with heavy hitters like The Crown and The Fall of the House of Usher dominating attention. Obliterated may have struggled to stand out in a packed release slate.
- Budget vs. Returns: Action-comedies often require significant investment in stunts, effects, and cast salaries. If Obliterated didn’t draw enough viewers to justify its budget, Netflix may have opted to cut its losses early.
TVLine reported the cancellation in February 2024, noting that Netflix had "determined they are not moving forward" with a second season . The decision left the cast and creators without a clear path forward, though no official statements from the show’s team have surfaced since.
What’s Next for the Cast?
With Obliterated shelved, its stars are already moving on. Shelley Hennig has a busy slate, including upcoming projects like The Last Stop in Yuma County, while Nick Zano remains a fixture in DC’s Arrowverse. Terrence Terrell and Paola Lázaro have also lined up new roles, ensuring their post-Obliterated careers stay active.
For fans, the cancellation stings, especially given the show’s potential. The first season ended on a cliffhanger, leaving key plot threads unresolved. While revivals and pickups by other streamers aren’t unheard of, there’s no indication Obliterated will get a second chance—at least for now.
A Missed Opportunity?
Obliterated had all the ingredients for a breakout hit: a proven creative team, a charismatic cast, and a premise ripe for binge-watching. Yet, in the cutthroat world of streaming, even well-crafted shows can flame out quickly. For now, Obliterated joins the growing list of Netflix one-and-dones—a series that burned bright but faded faster than its creators (or fans) hoped.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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