It's hard to say exactly why there weren't enough people watching Cowboy Bebop to get the show to surpass one season at Netflix, but for Shinichirō Watanabe, who served as director of the original anime series, the problem was that it was too far of a departure from the source material. In any case, the live-action adaptation of the anime was short-lived, getting canceled in 2021 less than a month after its premiere. The show had been in development for years, but just did not live up to Netflix's expectations in the end.

In a new interview with Forbes, Watanabe addressed how he really feels about the live-action version of the story he helped bring to life. He was willing to give Netflix's Cowboy Bebop a chance, speaking about how he was able to screen the series early on. However, Watanabe also says he physically could not get past the very first scene, feeling that it was "not Cowboy Bebop." For what it's worth, he also suggests that the live-action adaptation's shortcomings has only made the original version that much more valuable. From the interview:

"For the new Netflix live-action adaptation, they sent me a video to review and check. It started with a scene in a casino, which made it very tough for me to continue. I stopped there and so only saw that opening scene. It was clearly not Cowboy Bebop and I realized at that point that if I wasn’t involved, it would not be Cowboy Bebop. I felt that maybe I should have done this. Although the value of the original anime is somehow far higher now.”

Related: John Cho Opens Up on Cowboy Bebop Getting Canceled After One Season

Did Netflix Drop the Ball With the Live-Action Adaptation?

Cowboy Bebop Live-Action Series Will Bring the Spirit of the Original Anime to Netflix

Cowboy Bebop is a story that follows a group of misfit bounty hunters traveling through the galaxy on the Bebop spaceship to pursue intergalactic criminals. The live-action adaptation was developed for Netflix by Christopher Yost and featured an ensemble cast led by John Cho as Spike Spiegel. Other main stars included Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, Elena Satine as Julia, and Alex Hassell as Vicious.

While some believe the live-action show dropped the ball, it was not without its fans. A petition was launched after the cancelation with some fans hoping to save the show. Obviously, the petition was not a success, but it did show that the series was not a total dud, managing to bring in more than 154,000 fans to add their signatures.

You can stream the one and only season of the Cowboy Bebop live-action series on Netflix.