Netflix shows are all global hits, until they're not

On a conference call last October, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos described the hip-hop drama The Get Down as a success, like the booming streaming service’s other popular shows.

Eight months and 11 episodes later, The Get Down is history, a flop after one season on the world’s largest paid video service. The sci-fi thriller Sense8, another of the company’s lavish productions, was scrapped after two seasons.

The back-to-back cancellations caught Hollywood by surprise. Netflix has defied convention by offering no inkling of how many people watch its shows and claiming just about everything is a hit. That’s vexed