(Credits: Netflix)

Netflix has a way of surprising viewers with renewals every now and then, and 2025 has seen a slew of them so far. However, this may come as a surprise as well as a disappointment to many that the streamer has decided not to order a second season of one of the most beloved entries of the year, the military coming-of-age comedy-drama series Boots.

The news comes two months after the eight-episode season premiered on Netflix. According to an exclusive Deadline report, the cancellation was far from straightforward.

The series, which boasts 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and viewers, was very well received within the streaming domain. Boots reportedly also received internal support, with Netflix holding discussions with series studio Sony Pictures Television during its analysis of long-tail viewership tally.

To amplify the probability, Sony TV extended the options on several key cast members earlier in August, including Miles Heizer, Dominic Goodman, Liam Oh, Keiron Moore, Angus O’Brien, Blake Burt, and Rico Paris.

“Its timing is related to the series’ major delay as the cast options are set to expire,” the August Deadline report said, citing sources. “The options of several cast members have not been extended, which I hear was due to creative reasons, based on where the showrunners plan to take the story in a potential second season.”

But as the tabloid puts it, given Netflix’s strict terms of exclusivity, it’s virtually out of question for an outside studio to shop a series following its cancellation by a streamer.

For those uninitiated with Boots, Andy Parker has created the series based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine. It tells the story of closeted Cameron Cope, who joins the unexpected world of the Marine Corps with his straight best friend, Ray McCaffey. The series takes place in the 1990s, when it was illegal for queers to be part of the US Marine Corps.

The coming-of-age drama explores the hardships of boot camp through the lens of Cameron, who also inadvertently finds unlikely alliances on his journey, while coming to terms with his true self.

The show was originally given the green light in May 2023, and cameras began rolling that summer itself. However, filming had to be paused one week into it due to the Hollywood strikes. Production restarted in March 2024 and concluded in August of the same year. After this, it took a year for Boots to get scheduled.

When Boots finally premiered this year, it amassed an average of 9.4million views within the first full week of its release. But the voyage unfortunately comes to an end now with Netflix drawing the finishing line.