After what felt like an eternity, Raising Dion returned in February 2022 for its second season. While the third season of Raising Dion may have been planned in terms of narrative progression, the actors announced on Instagram that the program would not be renewed.
As a result, Raising Dion was discontinued after two seasons. What we do know about the show’s performance and why Raising Dion was most likely canceled is as follows.
Raising Dion is produced by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, which signed an overall picture contract with Amazon Studios in early 2021.
Ja’Siah Young reprised her role as Dion Warren, Alisha Wainwright reprised her role as Nicole Warren, Jason Ritter reprised his role as Pat Rollins, and Sammi Haney reprised her role as Esperanza.
Believe it or not, the series aired on Netflix in October 2019, which means that by the time February 1st, 2022 rolled around, we had been waiting well over two years for the series’ return.
Has Netflix renewed Raising Dion for a third season?
On April 26th, Sammi Haney, who played Esperanza on Netflix’s Raising Dion, confirmed the show’s cancellation.
Performance on such a large-scale performance appeared to be a horrible thing. Additionally, the period between seasons 1 and 2 certainly resulted in a significant decline in viewing. However, as we’ll discuss below, it did result in some people discovering the program for the first time.
Another hint that things were likely to worsen for the program moving ahead was the show’s social media pages going dark on February 1st. This is not always suggestive of anything, given their modest following, but frequently indicates marketing efforts.
Why was Raising Dion canceled?
Netflix has stayed mum about its decision to cancel Raising Dion, although financial difficulties may have been a factor in the show’s premature cancellation.
The fall in Netflix’s stock price resulting from the loss of 200,000 customers resulted in more pain as investors withdrew $1.1 billion in funding.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the streaming service is expected to lose another two million users, which cannot be good news for the brand and its home of binge-worthy entertainment.
If this is the true reason for the termination of Raising Dion, we may see more painful cancellations as Netflix continues to tighten its financial strings.
While Netflix may face some difficult decisions in the coming months (please, no Ginny and Georgia), the decision to reduce the run of Raising Dion was unquestionably a mistake.
Wainwright put it succinctly when she shared her thoughts on Instagram.
“I am sorry that the program will not continue, not just because I will miss working with my incredible cast and crew, but also because I believe Raising Dion accomplished so much for little Black and Brown children and children with impairments,” she wrote.
“I wish we could provide them with further stories set in our amazing Dion universe. My heart breaks for the small children.”
Her thesis summarizes why a program like Raising Dion should have been the furthest thing off Netflix’s cancellation list.
There is so little diversity in the superhero realm, much alone a program with a protagonist character who is black and a child.
While marginalized groups’ presence in this industry is improving (Black Panther, Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, Ms. Marvel, and so on), now is not the time to cut back on this type of material.
We do not get to toss in a few token ethnicities, slap ourselves on the back, and then sit back with a ‘job well-done mentality.
Black and Brown’s youngsters require wholesome and aspirational portrayal. While the likelihood of having mind-moving abilities is quite remote, the prospect of viewing oneself as powerful and fearless should not be.
Not only does Raising Dion speak aspirationally to young Black children, but it also explores Black hardships in an exquisitely beautiful way.
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It did it acceptably without diminishing the facts, assisting youngsters of all races in making sense of the world’s racial prejudices. Few shows succeed in that regard.
To paraphrase Wainwright, Raising Dion successfully championed diversity on numerous levels. It provided disabled people a voice via the vivacious Esperanza, who was unafraid of her limits.
She was not supposed to be imperfect or pitiful but rather to emanate confidence, which mainstream television sorely lacks.
It was also wonderful to see a single Black working mother portrayed as someone who does not need to be justified to be accepted by society. Nicole Warren was courageous in the face of her worries, capable, and in need of little protection.
Due to the film’s surprising ending, we will never learn who the Crooked Man is or how antagonist Pat’s return to the evil side would result in the formidable adversary shown in the post-credits scene. #Sob.
However, it reveals a prosperous Dion in the future. While there is no chance for the Dion-verse to emerge, we may rest certain that he is still cleaning up the neighborhood — one villain at a time.