Picture: BBC
Netflix is losing some of its major licensed pickups throughout October 2026, with high-performing dramas like Poldark and Dawson’s Creek among the departures. Here’s your early look at the nine shows moving on.
Netflix has a big list of fan-favorite dramas departing its library throughout October 2026. From the 5 seasons of British historical drama Poldark to all 11 seasons of comedy-drama Shameless. In total, there’s over 560 individual episodes of licensed television leaving Netflix throughout October. However, it’s not all bad: the streamer has picked up rights to multi-season favorites like NCIS and Mayor of Kingstown.
Get your first glimpse at what’s coming to Netflix in October here. In this post, we’re walking you through the eight licensed titles leaving Netflix — this is your final opportunity to watch them.
Halo
Leaving Netflix: October 1
Halo is one of the best-loved video game franchises of all-time. The space sci-fi games always felt ripe for a live-action adaptation. In fact, legendary Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was attached to a movie adaptation back in 2005, but the project ultimately fell apart. Years later, Halo finally made the foray to live-action in 2022, with Pablo Schreiber tackling the role as Master Chief. The series aired to a lot of scrutiny from die-hard fans of the games. It made changes that ostracised long-time fans, like the bizarre decision to immediately show Master Chief’s face — something that never happens in the games. It was decisions like these that hindered its initial performance.
Even so, Halo managed to claw back plaudits in a much-improved second season, which switched out the creative team and delivered a pleasing, much less controversial storyline. Overall, the series today stands at a very solid 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In terms of Netflix engagement, Season 1 drew in 149,200,000 total hours viewed since it began streaming on Netflix in 2025; viewership saw a steep drop for Season 2, totalling 25,500,000 total hours viewed.
Dawson’s Creek
HD9Y8X DAWSON’S CREEK, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, 1998-present, yr1, 1998
Leaving Netflix: October 3
6-season drama Dawson’s Creek was one of the most popular teen series from the late 1990s into the early 2000s. Set in a cozy, coastal Massachusetts town named Capeside, the series follows childhood best friends Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes) as they grow from adolescence into adulthood, chronicling their experiences with family, friends, and relationships. The series was regarded for pushing the boundaries on teen television, notably for its groundbreaking LGBTQ+ representation.
Like many classic long-running series, Dawson’s Creek was a fantastic long-term licensed pickup at Netflix. The series landed on the streamer back in November 2020. Since then, it’s been on-and-off Netflix, notably departing in 2022. Between 2025 and H1 2026, all six seasons had a combined 63,300,000 total hours viewed on Netflix. No doubt it’ll be a significant licensed departure.
Nurse Jackie
Leaving Netflix: October 7
Another long-running series that drove immense viewership at Netflix — totalling 114,500,000 hours viewed — is Nurse Jackie. Starring Edie Falco as the titular nurse, the series is set in New York City and follows Jackie as she goes about her duties as an emergency room nurse, occasionally skirting the rules — and the American healthcare system — to perform her job efficiently. The series was a critical darling from the outset, winning five Primetime Emmy Awards from a total of 24 nominations during its 2009 to 2015 run.
The rights to the 7-season series belong to Lionsgate, and Netflix licensed the series in the United States back in October 2025. In that time, it has totalled a very impressive 114,500,000 total hours viewed on Netflix.
Poldark
Leaving Netflix: October 8
Set after the American Revolutionary War, historical drama Poldark first aired back in 2015 and wrapped in 2019. The license of all 5 seasons — consisting of 43 episodes — was renewed in 2025 and arrived on Netflix US on October 8, but exactly one year later, that licensing window is expiring.
Originally airing at the BBC, the show follows Captain Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner), a British soldier who returns to Cornwall from the American Revolutionary War to find his father dead, his estate in disarray — and his lover engaged to another man.
Shameless
Leaving Netflix: October 11
The Gallagher family has been a long-standing success on Netflix, whether we’re taking about the original British series Shameless or the US adaptation. At 11 seasons, if a Netflix subscriber got hooked on Shameless, they were in it for the long haul. It’s licensed titles like this that prove fruitful for Netflix in the long-term. During its time on Netflix, the series has surpassed 2 billion total hours viewed. Suffice it to say, Shameless will be a really significant departure from Netflix’s library.
What we don’t know is where Shameless is headed next. It was licensed to Netflix from Warner Bros. Television. We’ve previously seen their shows — like Friends — move to HBO Max. At the moment, it seems like Shameless could follow that same route, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Detroiters
Detroiters Coming To Netflix
Leaving Netflix: October 16
Both seasons of Comedy Central sitcom Detroiters landed on Netflix on October 15, 2024 on a 2-year licensing widow,
Created by Sam Richardson and Tim Robinson, Detroiters ran for two seasons at Comedy Central between 2017 and 2018 before ultimately being cancelled. The series follows two best friends, Sam Duvet (Richardson) and Tim Cramblin (Robinson), who work for an advertising agency producing low-budget television commercials. The 20-episode series was a relatively low performer at Netflix, drawing in 20,700,000 total hours viewed in its time on Netflix
Parish
Leaving Netflix: October 24
Debuting back in 2024, 6-episode series Parish was headlined by Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito. A crime drama, the series follows morally-grey father Gray Parish, who troubled by the violent murder of his son, embarks on a thrill-ride into the crime underworld, both to protect his family and pay off heavy debts. The series is based on the BBC One series The Driver, written by Danny Brocklehurst.
Sadly, AMC ultimately canceled Parish in October 2024. The series was rated poorly from the outset, boasting a meagre 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its performance on Netflix wasn’t too strong either, drawing in 29,700,000 hours viewed in its 1-year licensing window.
Gossip Girl
Leaving Netflix: October 28
The CW’s Gossip Girl takes viewers back to an era of flip-phones and headbands in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Across over 120 episodes, it’s a staple of teen dramas.
The series has showed up across the streaming-sphere over the years. Nowadays, Max holds the primary rights, but Netflix has licensed the series several times. In fact, Gossip Girl dates back t0 2011 on Netflix. It returned to the streamer in 2024, but is departing again this October. As expected, the 7-season series has drew in incredible viewership figures during its time streaming. Since 2023, it has over 2.3 billion hours viewed on Netflix.
NOS4A2
Leaving Netflix: October 29
AMC tends to strike a chord with its horror dramas — look no further than The Walking Dead and Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire, both of which have been successful licensed titles at Netflix. As for NOS4A2, the two-season horror is a solid watch, adapting the entirety of Joe Hill’s novel across its seasons. Netflix viewers may recognise the name Joe Hill; not only is he the son of Stephen King, but he also wrote the graphic novels that the Netflix series Locke & Key was based on.
NOS4A2 follows immortal man Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto), who feeds off the souls of young children. The complete series landed on Netflix in October 2025, and it has been a strong performer drawing I 66,300,000 hours viewed in that time. There’s still plenty time to watch the full series on Netflix before it departs just before Halloween 2026.
Consider this your last call to watch these series before they leave Netflix!