Cancelled TV Shows People Desperately Miss, Ranked
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A show doesn’t just have to be good to keep itself on the air. Some of the most critically acclaimed and well-written shows have been the victim of network cancellations, leaving legions of fans outraged and heartbroken. And fans are still salty about their favorite shows being cancelled years — or even decades — later.
Whether it’s because of dropping ratings, high budgets or just completely stupid network decisions, these shows were cut off before their prime, and their audiences never recovered. These are the 35 most-missed cancelled television shows of all time, ranked in order of which ones we miss the most.
35. ‘Angel’
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Years: 1999-2004
No. of seasons: 5
No. of episodes: 110
While “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans may not have been completely happy with its final season, at least the show ended on its own terms. “Angel” wasn’t so lucky. The WB Network abruptly drove a stake through the spin-off show’s heart after its fifth season, catching showrunner Joss Whedon and his entire cast and crew off guard. “I felt we had hit [our stride] in our fifth year — and then we got cut down,” Whedon told Entertainment Weekly shortly after the show was cancelled in 2004.
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34. ‘Reno 911!’
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Years: 2003-2009
No. of seasons: 6
No. of episodes: 88
“Reno 911” was a fantastic show. But it also sort of deserved to be cancelled.
In season five, the show killed off the main characters of Clementine Johnson, James Garcia and Cherisha Kimball, and replaced them with actors who never had the chance to find chemistry with the rest of the cast. There seemed to be some internal dispute about which led to the firings — co-creator Thomas Lennon, who also played Lt. Dangle, told Entertainment Weekly, “I agree. It was a mistake. But it was also just in a sort of passionate creative time, it’s like being in a band. I guess that’s the closest I can equate it to. But certainly, I regret it in hindsight.”
In the interview, which also included co-creator Ben Garant, who also played Travis Junior, the two said if they had a chance to wrap things up, they would have done a “Twin Peaks”-style murder story. But in the end it would turn out to be a hallucination of Lt. Dangle’s brought on by an anti-smoking drug.
But fans might be able to get some closure. Yet another new streaming network, Quibi, will be rebooting the show in 2020, although it’s not clear which cast members will be returning in addition to Lennon, Garant and Kerri Kenney-Silver (who played Trudy Wiegel). Quibi will cost $5 per month without ads, $8 without.
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33. ‘Dead Like Me’
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Years: 2003-2004
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 29
“Dead Like Me” was Bryan Fuller’s first foray into being a showrunner. It would also be the first of several of his failed television shows.
“Dead Like Me” followed 18-year-old Georgia Lass, who dies and then joins a cohort of grim reapers tasked with aiding the dead into the afterlife.
Trouble began early, and Fuller quit the show five episodes into season one.
“The experience with MGM-TV and their lack of professionalism and savvy made it really difficult. It's not like being in Iraq but it was like being at war. I lost weight. I had arguments where they would tell me I didn't know what a pretty woman looks like because I'm a gay man. It was the worst type of gross old boy studio experience you could imagine. They were constantly trying to strong arm me. It was the worst experience of my life,” Fuller said in a 2005 interview.
But even without Fuller’s involvement, fans thought “Dead Like Me” was taken from them too soon.
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32. ‘Gargoyles’
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Years: 1994-1996
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 52
The biggest downfall of “Gargoyles” was that it simply could not live up to Disney’s stratospheric expectations. The Mouse wanted “Gargoyles” to rival “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” in ratings; pretty much any show that went up against that mega-hit would be doomed to fail.
But as a piece of animation, “Gargoyles” is embolic of the 1990s’ Golden Era of Saturday morning cartoon shows, right along with “Batman: The Animated Series.” The show was “a blend [of] Shakespeare, Arthurian legend and Celtic history,” writes David Baldwin at Den of Geek. It was a high-concept show (for a kids cartoon) that could attract adults with enough action and cool-looking Gargoyles to keep kids entertained. Disney cancelled it after two seasons, and ABC picked it up for a third but changed it to “The Goliath Chronicles,” but by then it had lost its core writing team.
Jordan Peele reportedly wants to reboot “Gargoyles” — so start binging it on Disney+, and give the Mouse the numbers it desperately craves.
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31. ‘Party Down’
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Years: 2009-2010
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 20
“Party Down” had a cast full familiar faces and garnered critical praise, but it couldn’t pull in enough people for Starz to keep it on the air (its finale drew a 0.0 rating in the 18-49 demo with a total of 74,000 viewers). Adam Scott’s departure to “Parks and Recreation” and Jane Lynch leaving for “Glee” didn’t help, either. The show’s creators are still hopeful that they can get some kind of way to “bring the gang back together” for the cult classic show.
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30. ‘Pitch’
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Year: 2018
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 10
“Pitch” is a fictional (so far) tale about the first woman to play in Major League Baseball. But it aired on Fox, which has a dismal batting average for keeping worthy TV shows on the air, and was cancelled after one 10-episode season. However, it may be getting a second chance now that Disney is in charge.
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29. ‘Whites’
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Year: 2010
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 6
A little-known but scathingly funny British show about an executive chef at a country house hotel, “Whites” was cancelled after one short season despite its stronger-than-average ratings. The show’s star, Alan Davies, was so angered by the show’s treatment that he nearly quit his long-standing gig as a permanent guest on “QI.”
While BBC won’t be renewing the show, there was talk of “Whites” getting a do-over in America as an NBC show starring Will Arnett, although it’s unclear if that’s still happening.
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28. ‘The Last Man on Earth’
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Years: 2015-2018
No. of seasons: 4
No. of episodes: 67
This post-apocalyptic comedy was well reviewed and oddly comforting, despite its setting. The show ended on a cliffhanger, too, with the main cast being surrounded by a whole new group of survivors.
Before its cancellation in 2018, the show was nominated for five Emmy awards.
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27. 'Midnight, Texas’
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Years: 2017-2018
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 19
Following the massive success of “True Blood,” NBC picked up the “Midnight Texas” book series from Charlaine Harris for a new show. While critical reception was mixed, the show developed a devoted fan base, which fell in love with the fictional town and its supernatural residents. Sadly, it was cancelled after just two short seasons. Following its cancellation in December of 2018, Universal Television was reportedly shopping the show to other outlets but we haven’t heard anything positive yet.
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26. ‘The Tick’
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Year: 2016-2019
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 22
“The Tick” may have been a good show, but it had a horribly mismanaged budget. The show cost $5 million per each 22-minute episode, yet still managed to look like a B-movie (which fits the tone, but still — $5 million?). Creator Ben Edlund attempted to shop the show around but has yet to find a new home for the dim-witted superhero.
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25. ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’
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Years: 2015-2018
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 30
Fans rejoiced when a new iteration from “The Evil Dead” universe came in the form of “Ash vs Evil Dead,” which brought back Bruce Campbell, chainsaws and boomsticks. But Starz wasn’t the right place for it — the show plummeted in ratings by season three, with only 174,000 people watching the show’s final episode. To add insult to injury, Campbell said he was “retiring” from playing Ash.
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24. ‘American Vandal’
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Years: 2017-2018
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 16
Netflix flushed this true-crime mockumentary about two high schoolers searching for juvenile turd burglars (literally) and phallic-symbol-drawers after just two seasons. However, the show may appear elsewhere; Deadline reported in late 2018 that CBS may be interested in renewing the show.
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23. ‘Whiskey Cavalier’
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Year: 2019
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 13
ABC cut “Whiskey Cavalier” “at the 11th hour” according to Deadline, apparently due to the show’s big budget and sought-after stars. Maybe Lauren Cohan will pop back up on “The Walking Dead” at some point. That show might never die.
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22. 'Community'
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Years: 2009-2015
No. of seasons: 6
No. of episodes: 110
“Community” was lucky to have run for six seasons. Dan Harmon was fired after season three, and the fourth season suffered (it was also when Chevy Chase was quit-fired). Harmon was hired back on for season four, but the show was cancelled after season five, only to be picked up by Yahoo! Screen for one season. But then Harmon decided not to do another “Community” season — although ultimately it wouldn’t matter, because Yahoo! Screen would shut down six months later. Fans are still waiting for that movie.
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21. ‘Colony’
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Years: 2016-2018
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 36
A post-apocalyptic alien invasion drama, “Colony” was the No. 1 scripted cable series on Thursday nights for its first two seasons. But then the show had to move production to Canada because it didn’t qualify for California tax credits, which changed the storyline. Then the show was moved to Wednesday nights and ratings dropped, but it still seemed to be a premature move by USA to cancel the series so soon.
People on Twitter are still using #savecolony to beg someone (anyone!) to bring the show back for at least one more season.
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20. ‘My So-Called Life’
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Years: 1994-1995
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 19
An entire generation of older millennials and younger Gen Xers still haven’t forgiven ABC for its failure to pick “My So-Called Life” up for a second season. The series created breakout roles for Claire Danes, who played angst-ridden main character Angela, and Jared Leto, who played her distant and rebellious on-again-off-again love interest as Jordan Catalano.
The cancellation of “My So-Called Life” caused the first-ever online campaign to save a television series, according to Mel Magazine. Fans created a group called Operation Life Support and raised $2,580 in 1995 (about $4,800 today) in order to place a full-page letter in Variety to the president of ABC Entertainment asking for the show to be renewed. In total, Operation Life Support raised $90,000 (about $152,000 today) but was ultimately fruitless. “My So-Called Life” had flatlined for good.
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19. 'Freaks and Geeks'
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Years: 1999-2000
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 18
It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly 20 years since “Freaks and Geeks” premiered on NBC. While the Paul Feig/Judd Apatow comedy launched the careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen and Linda Cardellini (among others), the show only lasted for 18 episodes. Fifteen years after its cancellation, Rogen confronted the producer who canned the series.
“I overheard someone say the name of the guy who canceled ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ I know his name, obviously, because we’ve talked about how stupid he is for the last 15 years,” Rogen told HuffPost Live. “He was like, ‘You know, Judd wouldn’t listen to my notes.’ I was like, ‘The notes probably were stupid. He oddly dug in and kind of tried to justify it.”
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18. ‘Hart of Dixie’
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Years: 2011-2015
No. of seasons: 4
No. of episodes: 76
“Hart of Dixie” had four seasons and a total of 76 episodes, but its last season was cut short after The CW decided to pull the plug on this light-hearted series about Zoe Hart and the town of Bluebell’s residents. The network gave “Hart of Dixie” only 10 episodes to wrap the show up, and while the show did tie things in a neat little bow, fans still craved more of this feel-good rom-com. Those looking for more of the same might want to check out “Virgin River” on Netflix, which is pretty much the exact same plot and even some of the same cast.
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17. ‘Constantine’
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Years: 2014-2015
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 13
The hard-drinking British occult detective from the “Hellblazer” comics finally got a live-action television show, but it was exorcised from the airwaves far too soon. The show only lasted 13 episodes before NBC cancelled it, although the character and the actor who plays him, Matt Ryan, would go on to make appearances in other shows within the DC Cinematic Universe. Most recently he popped up on “Lucifer,” which will run through season five.
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16. ‘Quantum Leap’
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Years: 1989-1993
No. of seasons: 5
No. of episodes: 97
NBC cancelled “Quantum Leap” 26 years ago, and fans are still salty about it. The time-travelling, body-hopping Dr. Sam Beckett was given a final episode — kind of. Showrunner Donald Bellisario was told to write an episode that could serve as the series’ final episode in case the show wasn’t renewed, so he did. In fact, he wrote two endings to the show. Footage of an alternate ending, where Beckett would indeed could have leaped home, surfaced in mid-2019. Check out the rare footage here or here.
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15. ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’
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Years: 2008-2009
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 31
Before she played cunningly cold-hearted Cersei Lannister on “Game of Thrones,” Lena Headey received critical acclaim for her role as Sarah Connor in “The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Despite a strong core fan base, ratings declined, and “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” became yet another husk added to Fox’s pile of killed TV shows.
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14. ‘Luke Cage’
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Years: 2016-2019
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 26
A travesty of Netflix’s 2018 purge of Marvel shows was “Luke Cage,” which Netflix gave only two seasons. Each of Netflix’s Marvel shows cost about $4 million per episode to make, and the expenses outweighed the gains for Netflix. But the financials get even more convoluted than that. Since Disney owns the rights, Netflix also had to pay licensing fees to Disney and did not have an ownership stake in those Marvel shows. But try explaining that to “Luke Cage” fans, who just wanted to see the Harlem hero’s story come to an actual conclusion and not an abrupt end.
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13. ‘Deadwood’
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Years: 2004-2006
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 36
“Deadwood” was a ground-breaking show unlike anyone had seen before; it was a brutal western drama with Shakespearean dialogue so thick you would need to re-watch each episode at least twice to catch everything. Unfortunately, it was one of the most expensive television shows ever made, with a cost of $4.5 million per episode in 2004. HBO cancelled the series in 2006 after three seasons. Thirteen years later the network released a two-hour “Deadwood” movie to wrap things up, but it just wasn’t enough.
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12. ‘Anne with an E’
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Years: 2017-2019
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 27
Netflix and CBC teamed up to produce this coming-of-age story based on the 1908 novel “Anne of Green Gables,” but they recently announced the series would be ending after its third season. The show has already aired in Canada, with the third and final season to be released in January 2020 for the rest of the world. Show creator Moira Walley-Beckett wrote an Instagram post saying, “I’m sorry for the sad Netflix/CBC news today I wish it could be different but it cannot. We have reached the end of the red Green Gables road after 3 wonderful seasons.”
But even though the show has yet to air in most of the world, fans erupted on Twitter, begging Netflix to change its mind.
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11. ‘Rome’
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Years: 2005-2007
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 22
Like “Deadwood,” “Rome” was another one of HBO’s amazing-but-also-too-expensive projects that was doomed to fail due to its cost. The show cost around $10 million per episode, thanks to its thousands of historically accurate costumes and massive sets. The show only lasted two seasons, with half of the second season being a rushed mess to wrap everything up. But at least it had an ending.
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10. ‘Santa Clarita Diet’
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Years: 2017-2019
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 30
The strange secret world of zombies in Santa Clarita will never be fully realized, nor shall we get a fitting conclusion to Joel and Sheila’s rather complicated relationship. “Santa Clarita Diet” ended after 30 half-hour episodes and many, many buckets of blood.
“Netflix took a chance on this odd show and for that we will always be grateful. They were supportive, ever positive, and appreciative of our work. Until about noon today. Still, they were just one phone call away from being a perfect studio. Not bad. Everything ends. This was a thing. And so it ended,” said executive producer Tracy Katsky and creator Victor Fresco in a joint statement after the show was quickly cancelled in late April 2019.
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9. ‘Jessica Jones’
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Years: 2015-2019
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 39
An alcoholic private eye with super strength, Jessica Jones charmed audiences with her no-B.S. attitude and hardscrabble style. The show made it three seasons, but was canned under the great Netflix purge of 2018. Fans are still pouring one out for this show.
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8. ‘Hannibal’
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Years: 2013-2015
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 39
Despite a slew of awards, a heaping of critical praise and a devout fan base, “Hannibal” ended on a literal cliffhanger in 2015 after its third season. The show wasn’t even that expensive to produce — with a range of around $750,000 per episode, at least for its first season — but no streaming service or network chose to pick this series up after NBC slashed the show from its lineup.
This is one of those shows that’s perfect to binge watch and much more appreciable in retrospect. But when it aired, the show had horrible viewership by the second season. The third season ended with an average of 1.31 million total viewers, which was one million less than those who watched season two’s finale.
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7. ‘Daredevil’
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Years: 2015-2018
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 39
“Daredevil” was one of the most talked-about shows of the year when it first aired in the spring of 2015. It was a refreshing, more mature look at the superhero genre, and people absolutely loved it. During its initial release, 10.7 percent of all U.S. Netflix subscribers tuned in to watch at least one episode of “Daredevil,” which translated to around 4.37 million viewers.
But then, in 2018, after its third season had wrapped up, Netflix cancelled the show. Most people initially thought the ax came because of the looming Disney+, which would finagle the rights away from Netflix. But it wasn’t. Netflix discarded “Daredevil” on its own, most likely because of lower ratings and high costs.
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6. ‘The Punisher’
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Years: 2017-2019
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 26
“The Punisher” might be the most tragic casualty of Netflix’s 2018 purge. It’s possible that “Luke Cage,” “Daredevil” and maybe even “Jessica Jones” might end up on Disney+ in some capacity because those shows might be able to be molded into PG or PG-13 ratings. That’s not possible with “The Punisher,” a show where brutality and violence are vital to the show’s main character and central themes. Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle may be gone for good.
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5. ‘Dark Matter’
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Year: 2015-2017
No. of seasons: 3
No. of episodes: 39
Fans of “Dark Matter” were blindsided by the show’s cancellation in 2017 after the third season. The show ran on SyFy, but it wasn’t an original show for the network; it was an acquisition. This meant that SyFy couldn’t monetize the show as well as it would have liked. Couple that with the network investing in original programming, and “Dark Matter” was left to be jettisoned from SyFy’s lineup despite its solid ratings.
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4. ‘Pushing Daisies’
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Years: 2007-2009
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 22
This “forensic fairy tale” about a pie-maker who can bring dead things back to life with a touch was never fibrillated after its second season. Ten years later, fans are still upset that the show came to a premature end in 2009. The show’s lead actor, Lee Pace, has gone on record to say he would be happy to return to the show if it were revived. “Pushing Daisies” creator Bryan Fuller is also on board to continue the “Pushing Daisies” story, especially without manufactured television morality from 2007.
“We couldn’t even pass a message to Paul Reubens [who played Oscar Vibenius] through the sewer because it was deemed disgusting by an ABC exec,” Fuller told Vanity Fair. “I think of all the crazy [s***] that’s been on TV in the 10 years since and I think passing a note in the sewer is probably the least offensive thing ever.”
Fuller even pushed for “Pushing Daisies” to take ABC’s “Rosanne” timeslot when it was cancelled in 2018, but the studio didn’t take him up on it.
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3. 'Timeless’
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Years: 2016-2018
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 28
NBC cancelled “Timeless” after its first season, renewed it for a second season, cancelled it again, and then brought it back for a two-part finale. But that wasn’t enough for the “Timeless” fan base, also known as Clockblockers. Following the show’s second season cancellation, fans raised $21,000 to fly a #Savetimeless banner over the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, which likely influenced NBC’s decision to bring the show back for the two-part send-off. Yet this show is one of the most-missed shows in recent memory, and fans are still hoping for a streaming service to give the show another chance.
A Person on the Internet Says...
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2. ‘The OA’
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Years: 2016-2019
No. of seasons: 2
No. of episodes: 16
Fans took to Twitter with the hashtags #SaveTheOA and #TheOAisReal after Netflix cancelled their beloved show after two seasons in August 2019. They raised $5,520 for a billboard ad in New York City’s Times Square, and one fan even went on a hunger strike protest outside of Netflix’s office in Hollywood. Around 90,000 people have signed a “Save the OA” petition on Change.org. There’s certainly enough die-hard support for a third season of “The OA,” but will Netflix be willing to shell out the cash?
A Person on the Internet Says...
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1. ‘Firefly’
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Year: 2002
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 14
There is no cancellation that has caused such long-lasting outrage than that of Fox’s decision to kill “Firefly” after just one season. There was so much left in the world to explore, so much left to do with the character. Diehard “Firefly” fans adopted the Browncoat name, likening themselves to the Independents fighting against the Alliance-like Fox network.
Fans will never, ever get over this cancellation and have been holding out hope for a reboot to this day, despite showrunner Joss Whedon explicitly saying he’s done with “Firefly.” Unfortunately, “Firefly” is corpsified, although no less attractive upon each rewatch.
A Person on the Internet Says...
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