TL;DR
- Netflix canceled Boots, a gay Marine Corps dramedy and Norman Lear’s final project, despite strong audience engagement.
- Rumors swirled that the Pentagon’s criticism of the show as “woke garbage” led to its demise.
- CEO Ted Sarandos denies politics played any role, insisting it was a business decision.
- Fans remain furious and confused given the show’s popularity and cultural impact.
- The series featured an all-queer principal cast and creative team and became a rare queer military narrative.
For months, queer TV lovers and military drama fans alike have been demanding answers about Netflix’s baffling decision to ax Boots — the breakout gay Marine Corps dramedy that went viral, earned critical love, and marked the final creative work of television legend Norman Lear. And now, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has finally spoken… only to leave everyone with more questions.
At the Directors Guild of America Awards, Variety’s Marc Malkin didn’t waste time. He confronted Sarandos with what viewers have been whispering since the day Boots was dropped: Did politics kill the show?
Sarandos insisted, “Absolutely not,” brushing off the theory that the Pentagon’s public tantrum — including Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson calling the show “woke garbage” — had anything to do with the series’ abrupt end.
Instead, the streamer’s leader gave the classic Silicon Valley shrug: metrics, metrics, metrics.
“These decisions are about audience relative to cost,” he said. “Do people push play? Do they finish it? Does it keep growing? Those decisions are made every day.”
That may sound reasonable… until you remember Boots outperformed several Netflix shows that were renewed, trended for weeks, and maintained a fandom so loud it could shake a barracks wall. “Heartbreaking,” Sarandos admitted — though fans might argue “infuriating” fits better.
A Queer Cast for the History Books
Part of what made Boots a sensation was its unapologetically queer DNA. Based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, the series featured five out gay actors — Miles Heizer, Max Parker, Sachin Bhatt, Angus O’Brien, and Jack Cameron Kay — delivering the type of on-screen gay military representation that Hollywood usually treats like contraband.
Behind the scenes, queer creatives like showrunner Andy Parker, writer Dominic Cólon, and director Peter Hoar ensured the show didn’t just wink at the LGBTQ+ community — it saluted us with full ceremony.
It was bold. It was fresh. It was Norman Lear’s last act of cultural rebellion. And then, two months after launch, Netflix quietly pulled the plug.
Politics or “Business”? The Debate Rages
Despite Sarandos’s confident dismissal, the timing still reeks of Pentagon discomfort. After all, how often does the Department of Defense publicly attack a TV show for being too queer? But according to Netflix, the U.S. military’s grumbling had zero impact.
Fans? They’re not convinced.
Viewers have pointed out that Netflix has become notorious for canceling queer-led shows despite strong engagement — Warrior Nun, First Kill, Glamorous, Everything Sucks! — and the list goes on like a rainbow graveyard.
So when a Pentagon official slams a queer Marine show and Netflix cancels it shortly after… the optics are not giving “pure coincidence,” Ted.
Why Boots Mattered for LGBTQ+ Audiences
Boots wasn’t just a show — it was a breakthrough. It gave queer service members a place on screen, capturing the awkward, tender, hilarious truth of trying to survive the military closet. It showed gay men as heroes, not liabilities. And it dared to queer the hypermasculine mythology of the Marines, a space long treated as sacred by conservatives.
Its cancellation doesn’t just sting — it feels like a reminder that queer joy, queer excellence, and queer history still get cut before they finish the mission.
Sarandos may say the choice was “all business,” but for LGBTQ+ viewers, the loss feels personal.
If the audience numbers mattered so much, maybe Netflix should consider the other metric: impact. And Boots had it in spades.