Gone To Soon
Often, when a television show is canceled quickly it's because it's not very good. But unfortunately, as we all know, that isn't always the case. There are many examples of really good shows that, for one reason or another, the network or streamer just gave up on—and we want them back! Yes, we understand that for many of these shows, the actors would be much older now and "bringing it back" wouldn't be viable. But we can dream, can't we? Come dream with us.
My So-Called Life: Canceled After 19 Episodes
It won awards, it launched the career of both Claire Danes and Jared Leto—and has been named one of the best teen dramas of all time by multiple outlets. But, as all of us who were teens in the '90s know....they canceled My So-Called Life after just one season.
The Bedford Falls Company, My So-Called Life (1994–1995)
Firefly: Canceled After 11 Episodes
The show became so popular after it was canceled that they made Serenity—a sequel movie that continued the Firefly story. What if they'd just continued Firefly?
Twentieth Century, Firefly (2002–2003)
Freaks and Geeks: Canceled After 12 Episodes
Scheduling mistakes and tension between the network and the creators all helped Freaks and Geeks fail back at the turn of the 21st Century. Regarded as one of the great TV shows of all time and famous for all of the future stars it launched (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps), Freaks and Geeks currently holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
DreamWorks, Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)
Caprica: Canceled After 14 Episodes
The re-imagining of the Battlestar Galactica series in the 2000s was one of the best science-fiction television shows of all time. So, fans were rightly excited when Caprica, a 2010 prequel spin-off series, was announced. Thankfully, the show's creators got it right and created a series worthy of its predecessor. Unfortunately, not enough people watched and it was quickly canceled before the first season was even finished.
David Eick Productions, Caprica (2009–2010)
Boss: Canceled After 2 Seasons
Kelsey Grammer has had very little success outside of his brilliant Frasier Crane character (and Sideshow Bob of course)—and rightly so. Most of the shows he has starred in, besides Cheers and Frasier, have been mediocre, paint-by-numbers sitcoms. But back in 2011 and 2012, there was Boss.
Grammnet Productions, Boss (2011-2012)
Boss: Canceled After 2 Seasons
In this excellent drama, Grammer played Tom Kane—the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder. The show was really well written and allowed Grammer to flex his dramatic muscles in a way many fans had never seen before. The show was well reviewed, with season 2 getting an even higher Rotten Tomatoes score than the first. Unfortunately, its upward trajectory was halted as Starz canceled the series after two seasons.
Grammnet Productions, Boss (2011-2012)
Dark Angel: Canceled After 2 Seasons
James Cameron's first foray into television was this dystopian-future sci-fi series starring a relatively unknown Jessica Alba. The series was also well-received and got pretty good ratings in its first season—and it looked like it would be around for a while. But things changed.
Twentieth Century, Dark Angel (2000–2002)
Dark Angel: Canceled After 2 Seasons
One thing that changed was the show's time slot—moving from 9-10pm on Tuesday in season 1 to 8pm on Fridays for season 2. That, along with some story choices, are generally blamed for the decline in viewers and Dark Angel's eventual cancellation.
Twentieth Century, Dark Angel (2000–2002)
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip: Canceled After 1 Season
A behind-the-scenes dramedy series about the workings of a Saturday Night Live-type show, starring a post-Friends Matthew Perry and created by Aaron Sorkin... Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip seemed almost too big to fail. And yet, that is exactly what it did. Yes, the show had some issues, but with a talent like Sorkin at the helm, we would've loved to see what he could have done with a little more time to grow the show. But we will never know.
Shoe Money Productions, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007)
Dollhouse: Canceled After 1 Season
This Joss Whedon creation had some interesting sci-fi ideas—and for a moment fans thought more Dollhouse was imminent when Fox renewed the show for a second season. However, the network then canceled the series prior to production being finished on said second season.
Twentieth Century, Dollhouse (2009–2010)
Andy Richter Controls The Universe: Canceled After 19 Episodes
Outside of his role as Conan O'Brien's sidekick, the smart and funny Andy Richter has managed to land a couple sitcoms over the years. One of them—Andy Richter Controls the Universe—was really good. Shot as a single-camera show, the series had a very unique style that took it above and beyond your run-of-the-mill situation comedy.
Garfield Grove Productions, Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002–2003)
Andy Richter Controls The Universe: Canceled After 19 Episodes
The series was ahead of its time—and is looked back on very fondly by fans and creators alike. Television director Andy Ackerman said the show was "a year too soon", and Cracked called it an "extremely underrated surrealist sitcom".
Garfield Grove Productions, Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002-2003)
Wonderfalls: Canceled After 4 Episodes
Jaye Tyler works at a Niagara Falls gift shop and receives cryptic messages from various wax animal figurines that push her towards doing good deeds (often reluctantly). Created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller, this series was obviously pretty different and original in its premise—and, unfortunately, wasn't appreciated by enough of an audience at the time to make it past the first season—let alone the first four episodes. Although, getting canceled too soon was something Bryan Fuller would have to get used to.
Twentieth Century, Wonderfalls (2004)
Pushing Daisies: Canceled After 2 Seasons
In 2007, Fuller got another smart, quirky, original series on the air: Pushing Daisies, a "forensic fairy tale" about Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring things back from the dead with his touch (although, there are consequences to his actions). In 2015, Esquire magazine asked fans what TV show they would most like to see brought back and Pushing Daisies got the most votes. Too bad Ned couldn't bring the show back. Or even Fuller's next series.
Jinks/Cohen Company, Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
Hannibal: Canceled After 3 Seasons
Fuller developed and was the showrunner for Hannibal on NBC—a series based on characters from the Thomas Harris series of Hannibal novels, starring Mads Mikkelsen as Dr Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy as FBI agent Will Graham. Although the series received strong critical acclaim, the low viewership numbers finally led to its cancellation after 39 episodes. But could it return?
Dino De Laurentiis Company, Hannibal (2013-2015)
Hannibal: Canceled After 3 Seasons
While there is no official word, there has been a lot of speculation about Fuller trying to get the rights to The Silence of the Lambs novel, to use it as a basis for a possible fourth season. So, we can at least hold out a little hope.
Dino De Laurentiis Company, Hannibal (2013-1015)
Rome: Canceled After 2 Seasons
Rome aired on HBO in the mid-aughts and was highly praised by critics. It also got very good viewership numbers for the premium cable network. Unfortunately, it also cost a whole lot to produce—and it was for that reason that the series only ran for two seasons (it had originally been planned as a five-season series). With the amount of money spent on some series these days, you'd think bringing this one back would be a no-brainer.
HD Vision Studios, Rome (2005_2007)
Carnivàle: Canceled After 2 Seasons
Like Rome, Carnivàle was another HBO series from the 2000s that ended multiple seasons prior to what the creators had originally planned. Carnivàle started out strong—with the first episode setting viewership records for the network and the first season also doing well in that regard. However, the audience fell off in season 2 and that was that, leaving fans to only imagine what the show could have been for the six seasons they had originally planned.
The Nine: Canceled After 1 Season
Nine strangers become linked together when they are all held hostage during a bank robbery. The story takes place in the present day as well as via flashbacks to the event as more information is slowly revealed. While the ratings weren't good, those who did watch The Nine were definitely hooked and left in the lurch when the show was abruptly canceled. Also, for what it's worth, it does have a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Weinstein Company, Nine (2009)
The Brothers Sun: Canceled After 1 Season
The Brothers Sun hit Netflix with a good amount of hype around it in 2024 and the quality of the show lived up to the hype. With action, comedy, drama, and Michelle Yeoh, the series was a great family drama/fish out of water/triad gang amalgamation with great writing and performances. It looked like it had everything needed to get a second season... Then Netflix canceled it.
Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, The Brothers Sun (2024)
Stumptown: Canceled After 1 Season
We were so close to getting this one back! Stumptown was all set to get a second season, and had been renewed by ABC, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The resulting shutdown in production and anticipated delays led the network to reverse their decision and just cancel the series. Stumptown wasn't Covid's only television victim either.
The District, Stumptown (2019-2020)
The Society: Canceled After 1 Season
When everyone else disappears, a group of teens must figure out how to survive and function as a community in this teen mystery drama that landed on Netflix in 2019. Fans got into the series and Netflix planned to give them more when they initially renewed The Society for a second season. However, due to the pandemic, the streamer "made the difficult decision not to move forward" with the second season.
High Fidelity: Canceled After 1 Season
Like the 2000 film, the High Fidelity television series is an underrated gem. Like the film, the series sees our protagonist revisit their past relationships through the lens of music and pop culture. In the movie, said protagonist was played by John Cusack, while the television series gender-swapped the role and had Zoë Kravitz take the lead. Despite strong reviews, Hulu said good-bye to the series after just one season.
Touchstone, High Fidelity (2000)
Gypsy: Canceled After 1 Season
This one might be a little controversial given the generally unfavorable reviews the series received. However, the psychological thriller drama television series starring Naomi Watts was much more interesting then many of the reviews give it credit for—and the 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes leads us to believe many of you agree with us on that.
Bunheads: Canceled After 1 Season
Following the success of Gilmore Girls, one of Amy Sherman-Palladino's next moves was creating Bunheads—bringing her wit and snappy banter to a show about a Las Vegas showgirl who ends up teaching at her mother-in-law's ballet school. The series got great reviews and has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a 94% audience score. And yet, ABC Family shut it down after just one season.
ABC Family, Bunheads (2012-2013)
Happy Endings: Canceled After 3 Seasons
Happy Endings is one of the funniest sitcoms of the 21st Century. There, we said it—and this is what Rolling Stone said: "the most underrated, under-watched series on TV, that may also be the funniest". However, despite the high-quality and critical acclaim, Happy Endings never managed to grab a big audience. But those of us who watched it...loved it. We agree with Vulture, who called ABC's cancellation of the series, one of the "worst TV decisions" of the 2012–13 television season.
Fan Fare, Happy Endings (2011-2013)
Sense8: Canceled After 2 Seasons
If you are new to Netflix, you probably missed this one. However, back in the mid 2010s, Sense8 was a huge series on Netflix. A sci-fi drama created by The Wachowskis and J Michael Straczynski (the guy behind Babylon 5)—come on, how does that not sound crazy intriguing? And not only were many of us intrigued, we fell hard for this one. Netflix saw great streaming numbers and touted how high the binging and re-watching numbers were as well. But they weren't good enough.
Anarchos Productions, Sense8 (2015-2018)
Sense8: Canceled After 2 Seasons
While the series had plenty of hype, a strong and obsessed fan base, and strong reviews, the viewership numbers were, according to Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, not good enough to justify the series' high production costs. The streamer canceled the series after the second season. This led to fan outrage, online petitions and calls for #RenewSense8—and while the series didn't get the renewal we all wanted, it did get something.
Anarchos Productions, Sense8 (2015-2018)
Sense8: Canceled After 2 Seasons
In June of 2018, one year after the announcement that the series had been canceled, Netflix dropped a two-hour Sense8 special episode—designed as a series finale. It wasn't the full renewal many of us wanted, but at least it was something to wrap it up.
