Netflix's 2-Part Musical Series With An All-Star Cast Is One Of Its Most Underrated Shows

Although Netflix has a lot of shows with impressive casts, one of the streaming service’s most promising offerings never got a chance to show off its full potential thanks to the show’s swift cancellation. For every franchise that Netflix promotes to its full potential, there is at least one other show that the streaming service seemingly sends out to die. While the Stranger Things franchise spawned a spinoff and the single most expensive season of TV ever made in its final outing, 2020’s I Am Not Okay with This couldn’t even get a second season.

Not only was I Am Not Okay with This another story of a young girl with telekinetic powers navigating the tribulations of small-town girlhood, but the series was also a blend of character drama and supernatural mystery, just like Stranger Things. I Am Not Okay With This was even produced by Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy, but this still was not enough to salvage the show. Similarly, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth only lasted three seasons, despite the offbeat fantasy show’s boundless potential and its considerable critical acclaim.

However, neither of these shows suffered a fate quite as ignominious as that of the period musical The Get Down. Created by Hollywood legend Baz Luhrmann, The Get Down was an attempt to bring the glitz and glamour of Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby, and Romeo + Juliet to the small screen. Set in the Bronx during that exciting, innovative era when hip-hop and disco were emerging as massive musical movements, The Get Down focused on Justice Smith’s “Books” Figuero, an ambitious teenage musician who grows up to become an iconic rapper and MC.

The Get Down Should Have Never Been Canceled So Early

The show’s older version of Books was played by Hamilton star Daveed Diggs, while his rapping was provided by one of the genre’s greatest heavyweight talents, Nas. However, this was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to The Get Down’s astounding cast list. A pre-Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Shameik Moore starred as Books’ alluring but unpredictable friend Shao, while future superstar Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played the local disco kingpin and fly guy, Clarence "Cadillac" Caldwell.

With Jimmy Smits, Jaden Smith, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Corrigan, Julia Garner, Eric Bogosian, and Mamoudou Athie as the real-life rapper and iconic MC Grandmaster Flash, The Get Down has one of the most impressive casts ever assembled for a small-screen project. What made the show’s shockingly brief 11-episode run all the more disappointing is the fact that, unlike so many of Luhrmann’s overstuffed feature films, the project theoretically had sufficient screen time to truly flesh out these characters and their vibrant, immersive world.

The Get Down Was A Wholly Original TV Show

A quick-witted, warmly nostalgic, but still urgent and original series, The Get Down had the potential to be truly great. With a massive budget of $120 million, the Netflix series felt as flashy as any of its director’s iconic earlier movies, and unlike Netflix’s later flop Zero Day, its astounding cast wasn’t wasted. Everyone got a chance to shine in the show’s eleven episodes, and the story of Books’ ascent and the perils his friends faced in NYC’s ‘70s music scene were unpredictable and enthralling.

As a truly original show with a fresh premise and a superb cast, The Get Down had the potential to be a sprawling musical hagiography of ‘70s New York that took advantage of the streaming format to flesh out its heroes in more depth. Sadly, this never came to be. Canceled after only one season, The Get Down was shut down before the show could show its true potential, and its 11 episodes now feel mostly like a colorful, impressive, but unfulfilled promise.

Release Date 2016 - 2017-00-00

Network Netflix