Terminator Zero won't be back for a second season. Despite earning high praise from critics and fans for its first season, the anime series has been canceled by Netflix, according to creator and writer Mattson Tomlin.
"It was cancelled," Tomlin confirmed on X. "The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it. I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in season’s 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is."
Produced by Production I.G, No Brakes, Skydance Television, and Netflix Animation Studios, Terminator Zero existed as a standalone story within the continuity of the Terminator movie franchise. Instead of focusing on the Connor family, as most of the movies do, the series followed a new cast of characters in Japan.
The story primarily takes place in 1997, as Judgment Day is approaching, and follows a scientist developing an advanced AI meant to rival Skynet. Naturally, a Terminator is sent back in time to eliminate him, while a resistance fighter travels back to protect him.
2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity.
Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he’s hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future, which forever alters the fate of his three children.
Thankfully, Terminator Zero tells a mostly self-contained story, resolving its central conflict without ending on a massive cliffhanger. That said, the finale clearly leaves room for more, setting up larger consequences and potential future storylines within the Terminator timeline. It’s a satisfying conclusion for anyone still considering a watch, even if a few lingering character arcs and thematic threads feel like they were meant for a second season.
Tomlin followed up with another post that suggested he may one day share the plans he had for what could've been a full five season run for Terminator Zero.
"Maybe someday I’ll do a big thread about the plans I had for the full five season run. The series finale was special and it was part of my pitch to get the job. I’ve written all of the season two scripts and outlined pretty much all of season three," he wrote.
Terminator Zero boasts an impressive 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus that reads: "Shedding the skin of past Terminator incarnations to tell a sophisticated sci-fi saga of its own, this visceral anime proves its mettle." Even with general audiences, it sits at a mostly positive 79% on the Popcornmeter.
While many reacted negatively towards Netflix for canceling the show, Tomlin showed great appreciation for being given the opportunity to at least make it.
"Netflix was really great about supporting the show and giving me tremendous creative freedom to do what I wanted to do. Good partners," he wrote. "The show was expensive and very time consuming. The only way they could justify it was if the audience showed up for it, and they just didn’t."
Tomlin revealed that Netflix offered to let him create two or three more episodes to wrap up the story, which he declined.
"I felt the story I wanted to tell was much longer, and the finale of season one actually left things in a good place," he explained. "But they didn’t have to offer that. Good partners here."
To me, this says more about the current state of the Terminator franchise than the work of Mattson Tomlin and Production I.G. They created an incredible show, but unfortunately, it is based on a franchise that no longer seems to have the audience it once did.