print
Page 1 of 3
Despite a heap of critical acclaim, Southland got the axe earlier this week. NBC gave fans the kind of surprise that happens all too often when smart TV shows are still trying to find an audience. We wanted to look back on other TV series that were canceled too soon. A half-dozen networks are represented here, but it seems like Fox and ABC are the quickest to give up on great television. A couple animated shows—Futurama and Family Guy—managed to survive the first cancellation, and it’s still possible that Southland will find a home on cable. But those are the exceptions. These 15 classic shows all died too young.
Andy Barker P.I.
(32 episodes; Sept. 26, 2007 – April 8, 2009; NBC)
Before Jason Schwartzman was privately investigating without a license in Bored to Death, Andy Richter and Arrested Development’s Tony Hale did things the suburban-strip-mall way in this half-hour comedy. Andy Richter Controls the Universe was another short-lived gem on Fox in 2002-03.
14. Jericho
(29 episodes; Sept. 20, 2006 – March 25, 2008; CBS)
Fans rallied to bring Jericho back after its first cancellation, but they were more successful at rallying the loyal base than converting casual viewers, and it CBS killed the post-apocalyptic drama a second time in 2008. Now all we’re left with are the hopes that NBC’s Day One doesn’t suck.
13. Wonderfalls
(13 episodes; March 12, 2004 – Dec. 15, 2004; Fox)
Prior to Pushing Daisies, Star Trek writer Bryan Fuller co-created the equally quirky Wonderfalls in which an overeducated sales clerk received strange advice from inanimate figurines. After only four episodes and a confusing time-slot change, Fox gave up on the show, and the single season finally aired on Logo in the summer of 2005.
12. Love Monkey
(8 episodes; Jan. 17, 2006 – May 16, 2006; CBS, VH1)
After Ed, Tom Cavenaugh briefly starred in a quirky dramedy as a record-label exec who left a major label to work at an indie upstart. It was fun, particularly since it delved into familiar territory for those of us at Paste. After three-episodes which featured cameos from Ben Folds, Aimee Mann and James Blunt, CBS pulled the plug, and VH1 aired the remaining five episodes.
11. Dead Like Me
(29 episodes; June 27, 2003 – Oct. 31, 2004; Showtime)
The grim reaper is an 18-year-old directionless college drop-out named Georgia Lass whose post-life boss is a bank robber who died in the 1920s played by Mandy Patinkin. But, sadly, her on-air life was even shorter.
Eight TV Shows That Hung On Too…
The 40 Best TV Theme Songs of…
10 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows
20 Best TV Characters of the Past…
Eric Estrada & Mini Me + My…
Seven Things to Remember for SXSW 2011
Three Cheers for Duality: A Playlist
Seven Tweeters To Follow At SXSW 2010
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Movies of the Decade…
Guess the Album We're Obsessed With
Our Favorite Musicians-Turned-Authors
The Fifty Best Living Directors
The 10 Greatest Anti-Heroes: #4 The Dude
Justin Townes Earle - Do I Ever…
Seabear - Lion Face Boy
Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers -…
Jolie Holland - Mexico City
Justin Nozuka - Think I'm In Love
No Deadwood?
Arrested Development and The Black Donnellys.
No one remembers Sledge Hammer? (1986 - 1988)
been watchinhg Freaks and Geeks at work the last couple weeks and the show is amazing. the characters get better from episode to episode. i am so sad to be getting near the end and knowing there won't be new episodes coming out.
Wonderfalls should be a LOT higher. Pound for pound Fuller's best show. I love seeing Twin Peaks, Arrested Development Dead Like Me, Firefly, Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies. Jericho, Studio 60 and especially Love Monkey, on the other hand, I would have no problem seeing ejected in favor of Deadwood, Carnivale and The Middleman.
Nowhere Man, on UPN, starring the great Bruce Greenwood.
John in Cincinnatti
Freaks and Geeks...what a kind-hearted show. It didn't leave ANY character a cliché, but managed to flesh out the humanity in even the most apparently unsympathetic characters. *Sigh.* Beloved, and missed.
Studio 60 started well but faltered. It was not Sorkin's best work by far. Having said that perhaps the brilliance of 30 Rock made Studio 60 seem comparatively worse than it was.
Twin Peaks wasn't canceled soon enough. It was originally supposed to a be a six show finite series. It's success led to it getting an extension, then a renewal into a regulat series. That premise was stretched so thin it popped.
P.S.: that diner does serve damn fine cherry pie. And coffee. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, stop in for a meal. It'w worth it.
http://twedescafe.com/
One that we left off, that definitely should have been in there:
Picket Fences: With a wonderful cast (Tom Skeritt, Kathy Baker, Don Cheadle, Ray Walston, Fyvush Finkel and more) playing great characters caught in bizarre and often-hilarious circumstances (spontaneous combustion, cows giving birth to human babies, bodies in freezers, etc.), David E. Kelley's followup to L.A. Law was fearless. It was one of the few dramas with substantive consideration of religion, sexuality, medical ethics and any number of thorny subjects.
I second Freaks and Geeks. I miss that short lived show.
I also think Deadwood should be on here. Have you seen that show? Amazing.
Where's Kings and The Black Donnellys???
i dunno why twin peaks is on this list -- it was further out in the galaxy than hubble when it ended.
sports night, my so-called life and pushing daisies will forever be missed, but ... why isn't cupid on this list? jeremy piven gave a brilliant -- funny, heartbreaking, puzzling, thoughtful -- performance in that show.
I second Cory. Kings was (and still is on Hulu) fantastic. I'm told it was canceled because it was simply too expensive to produce.
The cost shows in the quality, though.
Generic list, consider Kyle XY which featured an awful season cliff hanger as the final episode.
I dare someone to suggest "E.R." or "Guiding Light" :)
Carnivale
I second the Cupid comment. That show had tons of potential that we never were able to see come into fruition.
I also think Everwood got shafted, but maybe I'm just biased because I adored Ephram too much.
I'm not understanding why the networks aren't giving quality shows enough time to build an audience anymore. Some of the top ten shows of all time took quite awhile to gain viewers - i.e. Friends, The Office. And Seinfeld didn't even gather a huge following until its fourth season!
I've only seen the first season, but Deadwood was indeed a great show.
Andy Barker, PI only had 6 episodes.
Loved the Black Donnellys. One of my favorite TV shows ever was Shannon's Deal - created by the great John Sayles. It had a terrific ensemble cast including Jamey Sheridan, Eizabeth Pena, Richard Edson. My favorite shows from the past few years - Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and The Riches - all cancelled :(
Deadwood!
So, regarding prematurely canceled show no.11 ("Dead Like Me"): some of Youtube clips have no sound (such as episode no. 1-5) - are you gonna fix that?
Once & Again
Arrested development was one of the all time gr8 comedies,i can watch it on dvd over & over,lets hope word of a movie version of it is legit
Uh, i don't see "The Riches" on there
Two that are on my list are Clone High, Spaced, and Clerks.
Clone High only ran for 13 episodes The final episode is perhaps the biggest cliffhanger in TV history. After 12 episodes of Abe Lincoln fawning over Cleopatra, and being utterly clueless to advances of Joan of Arc, he finally is faced with the choice between Cleopatra and Joan... and we never find out who he picked because the show was canceled - this may be a good thing, but I still want more!
Spaced was written by and starred Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson. It was a hilarious show that only lasted 2 seasons, 7 episodes each.
Only 2 episodes of Clerks ever aired and they weren't even aired in their entirety (ABC is a bunch of chuckle-heads). You can find all 6 episodes that were made on the Clerks: Uncensored DVD.
Yes, two of these are cartoons.
Three that are on my list are Clone High, Spaced, and Clerks.
Clone High only ran for 13 episodes The final episode is perhaps the biggest cliffhanger in TV history. After 12 episodes of Abe Lincoln fawning over Cleopatra, and being utterly clueless to advances of Joan of Arc, he finally is faced with the choice between Cleopatra and Joan... and we never find out who he picked because the show was canceled - this may be a good thing, but I still want more!
Spaced was written by and starred Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson. It was a hilarious show that only lasted 2 seasons, 7 episodes each.
Only 2 episodes of Clerks ever aired and they weren't even aired in their entirety (ABC is a bunch of chuckle-heads). You can find all 6 episodes that were made on the Clerks: Uncensored DVD.
Yes, two of these are cartoons.
The Book of Daniel should be on the list. NBC gave in to pressure and canceled it but it was a unique show with great characters. Watch the DVD.
Oh come on now. I agree with (virtually) every show on the list (okay, with one or two exceptions -- but ONLY one or two). Yet what about NOW AND AGAIN?!?!?!
That show DEFINITELY belongs on this list (and it's not really debatable, IMO). NOW AND AGAIN just got better and better -- picking up steam the entire season, with a stellar blend of great characters, drama, humor, scripts, directing, etc.
SURELY I'm not alone in this opinion!
Carnivale:what a magnificent show; shame it lasted for only 2 seasons; head and shoulders above "smart" shows like "Lost".