Deserved More
Look, oftentimes when a show is canceled after just one season, it's because it isn't very good. But, there have been many times when a network has decided, for one reason or another, not to renew a good series. And it is those that we wanted to talk about here. I mean come on, Baby Talk got renewed in the early 90s—and if that terrible show got a second season then these shows deserved at least that! Right?
Freaks And Geeks (1999-2000)
Created by Paul Feig, executive produced by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini and Busy Philipps—how was this not a great show? Well, the answer is, it was a great show—but low initial ratings and issues between the network and the creators led to it getting canceled after just 12 episodes.
Don't believe us? The fact that it keeps showing up on "greatest TV shows of all time" lists is proof that Freaks and Geeks deserved more seasons.
NBC, Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
Undeclared (2001-2002)
After Freaks and Geeks was canceled, Apatow tried again the following year, this time moving from high school to college and from the 1980s to present-day early 2000s. Also like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared starred some future big names (Seth Rogan, Charlie Hunnam, and Jay Baruchel—as well as Jason Segel for seven episodes).
And once again we have a smart and funny show that was canceled after one season but deserved many more.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (2006-07)
To say that there was a lot of hype around this show is an understatement. Aaron Sorkin's look behind the scenes at a Saturday Night Live-esque show had all the makings of a hit. The writing was smart, funny, and quick—all the hallmarks of a Sorkin series. One of the issues was that the stuff that was supposed to be funny on the sketch show wasn't that funny. However, Sorkin deserved a chance to fix it—given how good the rest of the show was. There was so much long-term potential with this one.
NBC, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007)
The Dana Carvey Show (1996)
We all remember the amazing work Dana Carvey did on Saturday Night Live—but how many remember that three years after leaving SNL, he starred in his own comedy sketch show that was arguably just as good? The Dana Carvey Show had Louis CK and Charlie Kaufman on the writing staff and starred Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert along with Carvey and others.
The show was a little too edgy and controversial for network TV, but fans will never forget it. It deserved way more than it got.
ABC, The Dana Carvey Show (1996)
Firefly (2002)
Joss Whedon has had a lot of success in television and film, but Firefly is the one that fans always look back at with longing—wondering what could've been. At least they got the Serenity movie. But TV Guide is on their side—ranking it 5th on their "shows that were canceled too soon" list.
The Brothers Sun (2024)
This action comedy starring Michelle Yeoh was a must-see when it premiered on Netflix in 2024. Funny, dramatic, and full of cool action scenes, this gangster family series was well deserving of its 84% Rotten Tomatoes score. It was also well deserving of a second season. But it didn't get it.
Netflix, The Brothers Sun (2024)
Vinyl (2016)
Co-created by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger (among others), with the pilot directed by Scorsese, Vinyl made a splash when it premiered on HBO in 2016. In fact, HBO was quick to renew the series for a second season. A decision they later reversed course on—which kinda makes it even worse.
Missing (2012)
Ashley Judd starred in the ABC mystery thriller as Rebecca "Becca" Winstone—a retired CIA agent who's drawn back into the world of international conspiracy when her son goes missing in Europe. This one was pure thriller fun that ABC gave up on after the first 10-episode season.
FlashForward (2009-2010)
This 2009 show, starring Joseph Fiennes, was a high-concept sci-fi series about a worldwide event that causes nearly every person on earth to simultaneously lose consciousness for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During the blackout, people see visions of their lives six months into the future. An interesting concept that was done well, but not well enough to keep it on the air beyond season one.
And speaking of the first season—it ended with a big "flashforward" cliffhanger that fans never got closure on.
My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
The series that launched the careers of Claire Danes and Jared Leto and made the name Jordan Catalano for teen girls everywhere. My So-Called Life was loved by fans and critics but there just weren't enough of them watching for the executives at ABC. It did good ratings, but not good enough.
To quote the show's creator Winnie Holzman, "The show ended at a point that it was still all potential". Well, the show deserved to live up to all that potential with more seasons.
ABC, My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
Bodyguard (2018)
The series broke viewership records in the UK and did massive numbers on Netflix as well. We're cheating a little with this one since the show was never canceled—and six years later, there is still talk of a possible second season. It obviously deserves it, but if it will ever happen—that's another question.
Dead Boy Detectives (2024)
Apologies to fans of the show—I know the show's cancellation is still a fresh wound for many. The one season that aired on Netflix has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and the show won the Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato Award for the Best Fantasy Series of 2024. None of that was enough to get a second season though.
There are fan initiatives going on to try and bring the show back, but so far, it hasn't bore any fruit.
Netflix, Dead Boy Detectives (2024)
Gypsy (2017)
This 2017 Netflix series starred Naomi Watts as Jean Holloway, a psychologist who secretly infiltrates the private lives of her patients using the name Diane Hart. The psychological drama is smart and engaging and delves into ideas of truth and happiness. Watts is excellent as always and it would've been really interesting to see where the show could've gone. But Netflix said no to a second season.
I Am Not Okay With This (2020)
We are not okay with Netflix canceling this coming-of-age black comedy after just one season. The streamer cited "circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic" as the reason for the show's quick end.
Netflix, I Am Not Okay with This (2020)
Everything Sucks! (2018)
Set in the town of Boring, Oregon in 1996, this Netflix teen dramedy lived up to said niche—being both very funny and dramatic in its dealing with teen issues, from growing up to mental health. It sucked that Netflix gave up on it after only one season.
Netflix, Everything Sucks! (2018)
Terra Nova (2011)
A family escapes the dystopian present to set up a colony 85 million years in the past. Produced by none other than Steven Spielberg, this sci-fi drama was uber-hyped back in 2011. The potential was there and it won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series. But Fox decided not to renew the series and so we are only left to wonder.
High Fidelity (2020)
Based on the novel and the 2000 film adaptation, the 2020 version of High Fidelity starred Zoe Kravitz as the music and pop culture obsessed top-five list making protagonist. The show was fresh and fun, but Hulu canceled it without giving a reason. The least they could've done is put out a top five reasons they didn't renew it.
Rubicon (2010)
This one started off real strong, becoming the most-watched debut of any AMC series up to that point. However, series creator Jason Horwitch left over creative differences and the show was canceled four months later. We will always wonder what would've happened had he stayed on—or maybe come back for a second season.
Limitless (2015-16)
Was it the best show ever? No. But the series, based on the Bradley Cooper film, was fun with the cool enhanced-brain-power premise that had limitless options for where season 2 could've gone (had it been renewed, that is).
Wonderfalls (2004)
From an average series that had potential, we jump to a great show that lived up to its potential in the first season. Part fantasy, part comedy and part drama, Wonderfalls was an original and quirky series set in a Niagara Falls gift shop where the various animal figurines direct sales clerk Jaye Tyler to help people. It's as wonderfully odd as it sounds and we loved it.
Forever (2014-15)
Fans pushed hard for ABC to reverse their decision to cancel this series about an immortal New York City medical examiner—but to no avail. Nothing lasts forever and Forever only lasted one season.
Hello Ladies (2013-2014)
Stephen Merchant created this series for HBO, based on his stand-up show. Hello Ladies follows a socially awkward Brit trying to find love in Los Angeles. HBO canceled this funny series after one season—and while it definitely deserved more, at least it got a feature-length film to give fans some closure.
EZ Streets (1996-97)
This brilliant crime drama created by Paul Haggis only got through eight episodes before CBS pulled the plug. The series was dark and smart and gritty and probably a little ahead of its time. Although, it did win the Television Critics Association Award for Program of the Year. If only the network had given it a little more time to find its audience.
The Green Hornet (1966-1967)
Come on. Bruce Lee alone should be enough reason why we wish there were more than just one season of this 60s superhero series.
ABC, The Green Hornet (1966-1967)
Police Squad! (1982)
One of the great comedy cop shows, Police Squad! was the precursor to the great Naked Gun movies from the late 80s and early 90s. The fact that they made three hit films just goes to show how deserving the series was for at least a second season (if not more).
John From Cincinnati (2007)
David Milch is one of the greatest television writers of his generation and created or co-created some of the best TV shows of the last 40 years, including NYPD Blue and Deadwood. However, he has also been the man behind some of the best—yet quickly canceled—shows as well... Including the magical realism surfing drama John from Cincinnati.
The show was unlike most anything on television at the time and even the HBO audience took time finding it. By the time the first season ended, it was getting better ratings than some episodes of Deadwood. But unlike Deadwood, HBO gave it the axe the day after the season one finale. Totally undeserved.
HBO, John from Cincinnati (2007)
Luck (2011-2012)
A few years later, Milch was back with the horse racing drama Luck, starring Dustin Hoffman and with a pilot directed by Michael Mann. HBO picked this one up for a second season right away. However, after three horses died during filming, HBO changed their mind and that was it.
Sunny (2024)
This 2024 Apple TV+ series starring Rashida Jones was a wonderfully original and engaging black comedy mystery about a woman in Japan who receives a domestic robot from her husband's company after he and their son disappear on a plane. They definitely had more story to tell after the first season—but we will never know what it was.
Stumptown (2019-2020)
Five years after How I Met Your Mother ended and a year after the New Girl finale, Colbie Smother and Jake Johnson joined up in the crime drama television series Stumptown. We aren't the only ones who feel like the series deserved a second season. So did ABC when they renewed it in May of 2020. However, with all the delays due to the pandemic, the new season would not have been ready until April of 2021, so ABC just canceled it instead.
Any More?
We probably missed a few deserving candidates. So, let us know what one-season series you feel most deserved a renewal (instead of the cancellation notice they got).
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