Netflix Just Canceled ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘The Punisher’

Reported by WIRED:

Hello, and welcome to a slightly-late-because-of-President’s-Day presentation of The Monitor, WIRED’s look at all that’s good (and sometimes bad) in the world of pop culture. What’s up for today? Well, Netflix just cancelled its last two Marvel shows, the creator of #OscarsSoWhite is going to the Oscars, and there still isn’t gender parity in Hollywood. Go figure.

So Long, Jessica Jones and The Punisher

In a decision that most observers figured was inevitable, Netflix announced Monday that it’s cancelling Jessica Jones and The Punisher—the last two Marvel shows left on the streaming service. The cancellations come on the heels of Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Defenders getting the axe last year. Marvel parent company Disney is planning to launch its own streaming service, Disney+, later this year, and will—presumably—be consolidating all, or most, of its content onto one platform.

The Creator of #OscarsSoWhite Is Going to the Oscars

April Reign, the woman who created the #OscarsSoWhite movement in 2015 in response to the lack of diversity amongst Oscar nominees, has accepted an invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to attend this year’s ceremony on Sunday. “I feel immense pride and a sense of coming full circle, back to where it all began,” Reign told The Hollywood Reporter. Yes, indeed, it’s about time.

Women Led More Films in 2018, But…

And finally, some encouraging (and disappointing) news about the state of women in Hollywood. According to a new report from the San Diego University Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, 31 percent of the movies released in 2018 were led by women. That’s up from the 24 percent of movies with female protagonists in 2017, and 29 percent in 2016. But, there’s a catch: The study also found women only had 35 percent of the speaking parts in the 100 top-grossing movies of 2018, up just one percentage point from 2017.