First Kill stars Imani Lewis, 23, and Sarah Catherine Hook, 27, spoke out on Instagram after the show was canceled on Aug. 2. The actresses who starred in Netflix’s queer vampire series posted on-set photos and heartfelt messages about the show ending. Imani, who played Cal Burns, and Sarah, who played Juliette Fairmont, shared kind words to their fans who supported them on the one-season series.
“Forever honored. Forever grateful,” Imani wrote in her post. “To know that this show has touched so many of you is all I could ever ask for. Thank you for letting me portray so many of your beautiful truths through Cal. I pray I served you well. Till our next adventure…but you never forget your first.🩸-CB🖤.”
Sarah said in her post, “So many of you connecting with Juliette means more to me than words can say. Thank you to all who loved & supported our special show. Love you forever, Jules ❤️.”
First Kill premiered on June 10 and is based on the short story of the same name by Victoria Schwab. The show followed teenage vampire Juliette (Sarah) who is ready for her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family. She sets her sights on new girl in town Cal (Imani), who turns out to be vampire hunter from a family of celebrated slayers. Lost alum Elizabeth Mitchell also starred as Margot, Juliet’s mother. Emma Roberts was one of the executive producers.
Viewing numbers for First Kill was reportedly the main reason for the show’s cancellation. Although the series surpassed 100M hours viewed in its first 28 days of release, that wasn’t enough to meet Netflix’s “thresholds for viewing and completion of episodes,” according to Deadline. The show also received lukewarm responses from critics and received a 58% approval rating score on Rotten Tomatoes.