Two sources tell THR that a problem with The Boroughs was its expensive production budget. That is true: The Boroughs costs about $10 million per episode, one said. Another said the real number is “materially higher.” Netflix weighs viewership directly against cost when making pickup and cancellation decisions, and though The Boroughs did well, it wasn’t quite Wednesday.
But the quiet-part-out-loud here is that the Duffer Brothers ditching Netflix for a four-year deal at Paramount seems to have rubbed high-ranking Netflix executives the wrong way, the first source told THR. The relationship there has been “tough” since Matt and Ross “embarrassed” the streamer by leaving, the source said. A source close to Netflix denied the accuracy of that characterization, and says this was simply a business decision.