Absentia: Canceled FBI Thriller Series Becomes Global Netflix Hit 8 Years Later

Canceled 3-Season FBI Thriller Series Is Now A Global Streaming Hit On Netflix 8 Years Later Elena Nenkova/©Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection By  Matthew Rudoy Published 35 minutes ago Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.  Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Eight years after its debut and four years after being canceled, Absentia is a global streaming hit on Netflix. The series follows Emily Byrne (Stana Katic), an FBI agent who disappears and is presumed dead while hunting a serial killer. However, six years later, she is found alive, without any memories of what happened, before her life is once again upended.

Now, Absentia season 1 is in the ninth spot on Netflix's global streaming charts. It has spent three consecutive weeks in the Top 10 after coming to the streaming platform on November 14. During this time, Absentia has been viewed for 33.1 million hours, with an additional 4.5 million in the past week.

Along with being ninth overall on Netflix's global charts, the thriller series is in the Top 10 for 54 different countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Australia, and New Zealand.

This achievement is even more impressive during the week when all five Stranger Things seasons are in the Top 10 following the debut of season 5, volume 1's episodes. The only shows in the global Top 10 other than Absentia and Stranger Things are Kevin Hart: Acting My Age, Missing: Dead or Alive? season 2, and season 1 of Mark Rober's CrunchLabs.

Rank

Show

1

Stranger Things season 5, volume 1

2

Kevin Hart: Acting My Age

3

Stranger Things season 1

4

The Beast in Me

5

Stranger Things season 4

6

Stranger Things season 2

7

Missing: Dead or Alive? season 2

8

Stranger Things season 3

9

Absentia season 1

10

Mark Rober's CrunchLabs season 1

After Absentia seasons 1 and 2 released on AXN, season 3 was exclusively a Prime Video show. While the series didn't continue after season 3, Katic clarified that it was meant to end at this point. She and the show's creative team considered ideas to extend the story, but did not pursue this any further. Check out what Katic previously said below:

Although we've danced with the idea of continuing the tale, Absentia was always meant to be only three seasons, and I couldn't think of a better note to end on.

In addition to Katic, Absentia's cast features Patrick Heusinger as Nick Durand, who is Emily's husband and an FBI agent. Cara Theobold plays Alice Durand, who got married to Nick during the six years Emily was believed to be dead, while Angel Bonnani plays Detective Tommy Gibbs, who investigates whether Emily is a murderer.

All three seasons of Absentia are now streaming on Netflix, allowing viewers the chance to see the story in its entirety. There are ten episodes in each season and most episodes are between 40 and 45 minutes long.

Absentia is the perfect Netflix show to binge-watch, especially for fans of the thriller genre. With more Stranger Things season 5 episodes being released in December, it will likely continue to dominate the streaming charts, but Absentia still has a chance to stay in the Top 10 if the high viewership continues.

Absentia

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Crime Drama Mystery Release Date 2017 - 2020-00-00 Directors Oded Ruskin, Kasia Adamik, Greg Zglinski, Adam Sanderson Writers Gaia, Violo, Matt Cirulnick

Cast

See All

• Stana Katic
• Matthew Le Nevez
• Patrick Heusinger
• Cara Theobold

Genres Crime, Drama, Mystery Creator(s) Gaia, Violo, Matt Cirulnick Powered by Expand Collapse

• Absentia

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