Losing a great television series is like losing a best friend that you never get to say goodbye to. I’m not talking about when a show gets to end on its own terms; these are the ones that were canceled, sometimes before they ever had the chance to wrap things up.

While some canceled shows get to come back (Arrested Development, Futurama), these never really had the chance, aside from a brief return years later through a reboot or new season.

Pushing Daisies

I’m starting with the one that hurt me the most.

Pushing Daisies is one of the most imaginative, beautiful, and entertaining shows I’ve ever seen. There was truly nothing else like it on television, but sadly, it was a victim of the 2008 Writers’ Strike. The show lost momentum and could never recover.

My Name is Earl

Despite not breaking into the mainstream like other NBC series of its era (cough, The Office), My Name Is Earl was a steady performer for NBC.

However, due to miscommunications between NBC, who aired the show, and 20th Century Fox, who produced the show, the series ended on a cliffhanger and never got a proper send-off.

Freaks and Geeks

Before Judd Apatow and friends were a household name, they gave us the beautiful one-season NBC sitcom Freaks and Geeks.

This is the type of show that, if made today, would be an instant sensation that would thrive in the streaming world, powered by the relatability of its characters, unlocking core memories from our youth. Oh, it’s pretty funny, too. Sadly, it never found an audience, and the first season is all we got.

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My So-Called Life

Honestly, you can rinse and repeat everything I just said for My So-Called Life.

Critical darling with one season and a talented cast that, again, never found an audience.

Mindhunter

David Fincher and Netflix original series go together like milk and cookies. Fincher helped launch House of Cards, but his superior show is Mindhunter.

Yet we got a full run of House of Cards that stumbled its way to a proper send-off, while two perfect seasons of Mindhunter are all we got before cancellation.

Hannibal

The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best films of all time, thanks in part to the Hannibal Lecter character.

Perhaps that’s why we keep seeing countless projects greenlit despite most of them failing to compete with the iconic 1991 film. One project did, though, and that’s the Bryan Fuller series Hannibal.

Between this and Pushing Daisies, it’s clear that Fuller might just be unlucky.

Firefly

The poster child for a television series canceled before its time.

Joss Whedon’s Firefly was a critical darling and cult classic that never had the time to find an audience. At least we got 2005’s Serenity out of it.

Quantum Leap

Sure, the modern reboot was okay, but it pales in comparison ot the original series starring Scott Bakula that ran from 1989 through 1993.

Its season five finale is heartbreaking, though, because it left some plot points up in the air as the studio hadn’t made it clear beforehand whether or not the show would have been canceled.

Santa Clarita Diet

I guess Netflix was too busy spending too much money on a bloated Stranger Things budget?

I have no idea why Santa Clarita Diet was so abruptly canceled after its third-season cliffhanger, other than, you know, Netflix being Netflix.

Twin Peaks

I still cannot believe we got a third season of Twin Peaks, even if, in typical David Lynch fashion, it presented more questions than it answered.

I’m still miffed that the original run only had two seasons, and equally frustrated that ABC made Lynch and Mark Frost solve the mystery of Laura Palmer’s murder. The second season suffered for it, and I’d argue that’s why it was canceled despite the show rediscovering its groove by the end of the original run.

Deadwood

Like Twin Peaks, we were able to spend some extra time in the world of Deadwood thanks to the 2019 movie.

Still, there were several seasons worth of good television waiting for us in the 2000s if they had the chance to keep the show running. Sadly, the show never really made it to the mainstream audience, relegating it to a cult classic HBO that was on the outside looking in compared to something like The Sopranos.

Better Off Ted

Despite clever writing and biting satire, Better Off Ted failed to find a dedicated audience.

Perhaps it was the lack of star power in the cast, but I’d wager it’s ABC’s poor advertising for the show. I was glued to my television in the late 2000s. I saw countless promos for so many failed ABC shows, yet not a single promo for Better Off Ted.

Last Man on Earth

No matter how beloved and acclaimed Last Man on Earth was (spoiler: it was highly acclaimed), and no matter the star power behind the show (spoiler: there was a lot of star power behind it), it never had a chance.

The show’s high production value was too costly, and since it never found a mainstream audience, Fox canceled the series after a season four cliffhanger.

Party Down

During the COVID-19 lockdown, I noticed more and more people talking about an old Starz sitcom called Party Down. Oh my god, this show was fantastic. The cast, featuring Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Lizzy Caplan, and Martin Starr, is amazing. The writing is hilarious. This has all the makings of an all-time great series.

So why was it canceled? Well, for starters, there’s the fact that nobody heard about the show for who knows how long; it aired from 2009 through 2010 and had incredibly low ratings. But hey, it got a revival in 2023, so we’re thankful for that.

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