Some TV shows drag on endlessly until they’re just a hollow carcass pretending to still be alive. But on the opposite side, there’s TV shows who die tragically young. Whether because of poor ratings, poor management, bad luck or pure executive evil, some genuinely good shows go down the drain, leaving unanswered questions, unresolved plotlines and dangling character arcs in their wake. Fans can only pick up the pieces and mourn.
Of course, it would probably be an impossible proposition to list every beloved and/or good TV show canceled too soon, especially when stuff like “good”, “beloved” and “too soon” are so subjective. So feel free to talk about any shows that didn’t make the list in the comments. Cry together and let the healing begin.
In The Flesh
The BBC series In The Flesh was canceled after only two short seasons, despite being (what I consider to be) the most interesting take on zombies in midst of this undead boom. The show explored what would happen if zombies could be “cured” (i.e. their rabid hunger and mindlessness suppressed by medication- they’re still undead) and the stigma these “Partially-Deceased Syndrome” sufferers would face in society afterwards and the conflicts that would arise as a result.
The show unflinchingly explored prejudice in a way that paralleled real world events and unlike a lot of fantasy series that explore prejudice through metaphor, it actually allowed the main character to be a member of the minority group ialluded, avoiding the potential bad implications of “okay let’s explore homophobia but without having to actually deal with gay people” would cause.
The main character of In The Flesh is a guy who likes guys and it’s pretty clear a lot of people in his town hated him even before he became a zombie- it just adds more layers to the situation. Though in contrast, it should be noted of the metaphors in the show also seem to parallel to race too, and there are no heroic characters of color.
The show did deal with issues like suicide, depression, grief and post-traumatic stress in a very heartfelt manner- and many fans were inspired by it to share their own stories and support each other. But sadly, the show was canceled. Some say it was due to low ratings, while others say homophobia, but whatever the reason, it’s a shame that such nuanced, unique take on genre was vanquished so soon while lesser zombie media continues to lurch and groan.
Young Justice
The superhero cartoon Young Justice was struck down after two seasons, despite a newly expanded cast and lots of new stories to tell. The story featured a huge roster of teenage superheroes banding together to save the world. It was well-animated and filled with drama. And it featured not-often-adapted fan favorite DC heroes like Bart Allen as Impulse, Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle and Icon and Rocket from Milestone Comics. Many were hoping the third season would finally bring even more neglected heroes to the small screen- Stephanie Brown made a cameo in the last season that seemed to promise more and poor Cassandra Cain has yet to be featured in any media adaptation.
But alas, it was not to be. A third season of Young Justice was taken off the table. Recently, however, the show has been picked up by Netflix and show creators are advising fans to watch it as much as possible to motivate Netflix to consider financing a third season.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Everyone was expecting the Green Lantern: The Animated Series to be a terrible story, much like the movie that it was clearly created to coincide with. But what it turned out to be instead was a heartfelt and solid superhero story with intriguing characters, compelling storylines and tragic explorations of loss. But the Green Lantern movie seems to have taken this show down with it, as it was also canceled after its second season. It was a case even more grievous than Young Justice, as the creators chose to end the whole thing on what is perhaps the most depressing cliffhanger ever animated.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Ah, this really takes me back, so permit be some nostalgia on this one. I remember watching this with my parents as a teenager- my Dad was a huge Terminator fan and Mom and I were always game for it as well. I can recall adoring this super intense, awesomely acted series that followed Sarah Connor and her son once again trying to prevent a terrible future that kept me on the edge of my seat every episode.
Despite its first season being the highest rated new show of the year, it was canceled after its second season. Like many on this list, it ended on a massive cliffhanger, with the main character traveling forward in time to find everything around him was changed. The cult following the show had gained threw a fit and a movie followup was even considered…but it didn’t happen. We got Terminator: Genesys instead. Cleary this was a great decision by the powers that be.
Firefly
I’d likely be drawn and quartered if I didn’t include this show on the list- to say it has a cult following seems like an understatement. Joss Whedon’s space-western series about a renegade crew of smugglers only lasted eleven episodes, but gained such an intense following (calling themselves browncoats) that it got a follow-up movie, Serenity, where in typical Whedon Fashion a bunch of characters were killed off. It also spawned comics and an RPG. With funny dialogue and a cast with great chemistry, it’s easy to see why people latched onto the show, and though it remains dead, fans keep it alive in their hearts and the cast still regularly comes together of conventions.
Pushing Daisies
Bryan Fuller’s Pushing Daisies was a fun, bright and quirky show about grisly murders. The main character, Ned, was someone who could raise the dead if he touched them- but only for a minute. If he resurrected them for any longer than that, someone nearby would die in their place. And also, if he ever touched that person again, they would once again die, permanently this time. Ned often helps a detective friend out with his powers, touching the corpses of murder victims and interrogating them about how they died. But then one of those murder victims happens to be his childhood friend and first love and Ned is faced with quite a moral dilemma…
This was a series with a great concept that was used in a really fun (and sometimes moving) way. It combined oddball relationship dramedy with murder-mystery flawlessly and the cast of characters was fantastic. And it was canceled after two seasons, leading to a ridiculously abrupt ending that was essentially the show throwing up its hands and saying “we want to tell you more stories but we can’t, so”. The series has received a ton of awards and critical acclaim, including seven Emmys, and proposals for continuation, from miniseries to movie to musical, have been kicked around several times, but so far, no dice.
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans cartoon got five seasons, which is fairly respectable for an animated series, but it also left a lot of unresolved questions in its wake and was another series that ended on a semi-depressing cliffhanger. It sent me-as-a-child into a spiral of despair (I was a mega-fan and in fact, this cartoon is what got me interested in superheroes in the first place.)
Most tragically, it also left Starfire as the only member of the team who didn’t get a seasonal arc devoted to her. Poor girl.
(This is partly the show’s fault- while the second season arc was mostly focused on Terra, Beast Boy was heavily involved, so it would have made sense to let Starfire have the fifth season rather than focusing on him again, but nope.)
A “reboot” series with the same case, called Teen Titans Go was created, but it has little in common with the old series besides that cast, sharing no continuity with it and the characters being wildly different.
Jericho
This post-apocalyptic series focuses on an isolated town rebuilding in the wake of a nuclear attack. Once again, this is a series where it seems like an understatement to say the fans are devoted. The story of its first cancelation is infamous- when it wasn’t renewed after the first season, fans sent 20 tons of nuts to the network. The series was renewed for another season but failed to pull in ratings and was canceled again, much to fans’ despair. However, it did receive a comic book followup.
Dead Like Me
This is yet another Bryan-Fuller helmed series that was much beloved and met a sad fate after two seasons (though to be fair, Fuller left pretty early on). The series focuses on a woman named George who, after dying-via-falling toilet seat, gets a job collecting souls as a grim reaper. The dramedy explored death in depth and dealt with how George’s family struggled in the wake of her demise. There are conflcting reports on whether the series had low ratings at the end, but its premiere was among Showtime’s most popular. There was a direct to TV movie followup.
Wonderfalls
Bryan Miller seems to have a curse on him. Wonderfalls was a dramedy focusing on a woman who received instructions to help people in need from talking animal figurines. This show with a weird premise was gained passionate fans and critical acclaim quickly- unfortunately, the network chose to change the time slot with very little notice and it didn’t even last five episodes.
Invader Zim
This much-remembered cartoon about an alien bent on taking over the world and a young paranormal investigator trying to stop him was cancelled before its second season even finished. Both critics and fans loved it however- it received an Emmy award, an Annie award and World Animation Celebration Award. A comic book follow-up launched in 2015.
Almost Human
Fox tends to be where series go to die, as Almost Human and many others on this list show. The series had an interesting premise: human police officers having to have robot partners and the conflict that causes. It garnered some interest, but to the lamentation of those who saw its potential, it was canceled after one season.