“The Rats” is coming back on Netflix and it will return as a movie!! No one saw this coming, this series was considered dead after its cancellation, but now is getting an official ending, and we love it, thanks you, Netflix! They have decided to give it a second chance just when the streaming competition is fiercer than ever. As my grandma would say, “here, if who doesn’t run, fly.” And of course, when you have a story with such a devoted community behind it… you can’t just abandon it like that, friend!!
The Rats wasn’t an immediate success, at first, it went fairly unnoticed, one more of their catalogue. But, sometimes happens “a miracle” when canceled, viral clips, social media recommendations, people talking about it nonstop… and suddenly, boom, a new phenomenon. Netflix noticed and wasn’t going to just sit still, right? So here they are!
Netflix changed its mind
It’s happened several times before. They cancel shows with very active fanbases and then have to backtrack (we hate this). That’s what happened with Sense8 and Lucifer, for example, which found in movies an elegant way to wrap up their stories without reopening huge productions.
In the case of The Rats, the creators already had an ending planned, but at the time they couldn’t convince the platform. Time and social media have worked in their favor, so now they’re preparing a feature film that promises to tie up all the loose ends and give fans the closure they’ve been waiting for.
The power of the fans
If there’s one thing that’s been made clear in recent years, it’s that audience pressure matters a lot!! Social media campaigns, viral hashtags, spikes in views after a cancellation… all of that counts. The “revival” of The Rats began on TikTok and Twitter (now X), with fragments of the series spreading and eventually reaching Netflix, as they expected.
The platform had already been looking for ways to retain its subscriber base and slow the migration to other services, and this was the perfect opportunity to please fans and put itself back at the center of the conversation.
What do we know about the new movie?
We don’t know much about it still, but we know production is underway. The original creative team is back (thankfully) which means it will keep its original essence (at least, we expect it…)
The movie will start exactly where the series left off, aiming to wrap up all the pending storylines, and wait, because they aren’t ruling out a potential spin-off to continue exploring other perspectives.
Is it a new strategy?
Netflix is testing the idea, yes, ending series with “express closure” films to gauge if real audience interest justifies continuing. It’s cheaper, less risky, and if it works, it can become gold.
For fans, this opens up hope for all those shows that were cut short without an ending, because now they might finally get answers, even if in a different format.
Netflix loves its audience
Netflix is the king of cancellations, and many viewers end up feeling like they waste hours on shows that never get a proper ending. With The Rats, they’re trying to make users feel like “they’re being heard”.
What is clear here is that Netflix wants better numbers, and The Rats has positioned itself on social media as a strong candidate to deliver it.
It has the perfect combination, nostalgia, fans, and business vision, the perfect mix! Netflix chose to listen to its audience, thankfully, maybe this is the beginning of a new trend, preparing express endings for all those shows that left us hanging!