Picture: Netflix
Both seasons of the dance reality-TV series Netflix Original title Baby Ballroom are set to depart Netflix globally (excluding the United Kingdom) in July 2023 as its rights come up for renewal.
Produced in Britain, two seasons of the reality series tracked the cutthroat world of kids’ ballroom dancing were produced over the course of 15 episodes. The series followed the ambitious instructors, proud parents, and pint-sized performers waltz out to win. The dance studio the show focuses on, The Zig Zag Dance Factory, founded in 1994 by Warren Bullock & Jane Phillips, continues to operate today.
Channel 5 aired the series in the UK in April 2017 and 2018, with Netflix scooping the exclusive global rights in 2018, releasing season 1 on February 1st, 2018, and the second season coming a few months later on July 10th, 2018.
The show is now set to expire in full on Netflix on July 11th, 2023, with your last day to watch being July 10th.
Netflix in the United Kingdom eventually licensed the series in full (although notably without any Netflix Original branding) and will keep the series for at least another year. Our intel suggests that both seasons of Baby Ballroom will leave Netflix UK on June 4th, 2024.
Why is Baby Ballroom leaving Netflix?
As we’ve covered numerous times, Netflix Originals doesn’t necessarily mean that Netflix owns the show indefinitely. Instead, this was what we refer to as an acquisition, albeit on an exclusive basis.
Over the past few years, dozens of Netflix Originals have been removed from the platform. That trend will continue with even some of Netflix’s biggest hits like Ozark, Orange is the New Black, and even Lucifer, potentially leaving in the years to come.
Given that the show is quite low-profile, we’re not expecting any other streaming platform to pick it up likely, meaning it’ll be impossible to watch in most countries following its Netflix removal.
For more on what’s leaving Netflix in the US in July 2023, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix. We’re also covering multiple other regions’ removals too.
Will you miss Baby Ballroom when it leaves Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
