Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has denied suggestions that queer army drama Boots was cancelled by the streamer because the US Pentagon called the show “woke garbage”.
Boots starred actor Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, a closeted queer teen who impulsively signs up to a military corps boot camp to escape his oppressive home life.
Netflix released the series in October and it became a sleeper hit, slowly climbing the platform’s top 10 chart. By December Netflix had cancelled the show and fans’ hopes of a second season were dashed.
Variety chatted to Sarandos this week and he denied that the show got the axe due to a bizarre spray from the Pentagon after its release.
“Absolutely not,” he said when asked if the US government’s criticism had influenced its cancellation.
“These are all business decisions based on audience relative to the cost of the show. Do the people who push play watch it until the end? Do they give it a couple of thumbs up? Does it keep growing?
“All those things. That decision is made every day.”
Sarandos went on to say that he was “a fan” of Boots and stressed any decision to cancel a show is “heartbreaking” for the Netflix team.
“The beauty of why people get upset when you cancel a show is because they love them,” he said.
“That’s the best part of our business, is that people really love the product. It’s heartbreaking to cancel any show ever, particularly a show that [late US producer] Norman Lear brought to me.”
US Pentagon’s homophobic spray boosted Boots’ popularity
Last October, days after the Boots premiered the Pentagon, which houses the United States’ Department of Defence, said in a statement to US media that the show had an “ideological agenda”.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said that the US military “doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight” and complained that Netflix was feeding “woke garbage to their audience and children”.
However, the Boots cast and crew took the Pentagon’s sledge as a badge of honour and showrunner Andy Parker said the free publicity boosted the show’s popularity.
Boots, which is set in the 1990s, was based on a true story. The show was adapted from Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine: One Boy’s Journey Through Bootcamp To Manhood.
The book chronicled White’s real-life experience of being in a US military boot camp in the 1990s, during the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ era. The now-repealed policy banned military personnel from disclosing if they identified as queer.
Greg Cope White told Variety via Instagram, “Thank you for caring about our show and asking him.”
‘I will cherish it for the rest of my life’
Members of Boots’ ensemble cast said they were also disappointed to find out the promising show had been cancelled.
Heizer wrote on Instagram at the time he was “sad to report” the show wasn’t returning.
“I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support they gave this show. It truly shattered my expectations, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” he said.
“Thank you to the LGBTQ community that came before me who fought for a world where a show like this could get made,” he continued.
“I grew up so afraid of what being gay would mean for my life. So to be on the other side of that, feeling so uplifted and supported, is still insane to me.
“Yes, I’m pretty disappointed we won’t be returning. But the friends I made and being called woke garbage by the pentagon are things I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
Watch Boots if you haven’t already on Netflix.
Source: https://qnews.com.au/netflix-boss-denies-axing-boots-over-woke-garbage-backlash/
