10 Great TV Shows That Got Cancelled After Just 1 Season
Some of these need to come back ASAP.
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00:00 Television might seem like a factory of dreams for us who watch it, but in reality it's
00:04 a cold and unforgiving business.
00:06 Dozens of pilots are written and pitched on a weekly basis, and only a small percentage
00:10 of them actually makes their way to the screen.
00:13 And even when the pilot makes it, there's no guarantee that the series will be a success,
00:17 or even that it will have any sort of a meaningful run.
00:20 Ratings dictate the destinies of all shows, and they can sometimes be cruel even to the
00:24 most talented and creative artists.
00:26 So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, and here are 10 great TV shows that got cancelled
00:31 after just one season.
00:34 10.
00:35 Invasion
00:36 Invasion was a science fiction show created for ABC by Sean Cassidy, a veteran TV producer
00:41 most notable for his work on American Gothic and Cold Case.
00:45 Featuring an ensemble cast led by William Fickner, Eddie Cibrian, and Kari Matchett,
00:50 the show focused on the inhabitants of a small Florida town who get invaded by parasitical
00:55 aliens in the aftermath of a big hurricane.
00:58 It was well received by critics at the time, but it never really got the viewership it
01:01 deserved, partly because of the unfavourable time slot - it aired right after Lost - and
01:07 partly because of the hurricane themes that were maybe a bit too much too soon after the
01:11 Katrina events in New Orleans.
01:13 Looking back on it now, it's easy to understand why the critics loved it.
01:17 The concept was fairly simple, but it was well written, it had a great cast of interesting
01:21 and layered characters, it also had a great feeling of mystery - watching it felt like
01:25 you were slowly peeling off the layers of the story episode by episode.
01:29 It was initially planned to have five seasons, but it ended up with 22 episodes in total,
01:34 and with 16 years now gone, it's highly unlikely we'll see more of it.
01:39 9.
01:40 Good Girls Revolt
01:41 Based on the 2013 Lynn Povich book, Good Girls Revolt tells the real-life inspired story of
01:47 female employees of a New York magazine in the 1960s.
01:50 The show was created by Dana Calvo for Amazon Prime Video, and it starred Genevieve Angelson,
01:56 Anna Camp, and Erin Darg, among others.
01:58 Because of the time period and the general aesthetic of the series, it was often compared
02:02 to Mad Men by critics.
02:04 However, in the ten episodes that made it to the screen, Good Girls Revolt never really
02:08 reached the polished look or the nuanced delivery of the Matthew Weiner classic.
02:12 But the foundations were good, and there was potential for the series to go up a level,
02:16 but it never got the time to.
02:17 The folks at Amazon were impatient and ultimately cancelled it in December 2016, citing low
02:23 viewership figures as the reason.
02:25 One glimmer of hope for its revival lies in the fact that the rights are owned by Sony,
02:29 and there have been reports that they are trying to sell it elsewhere.
02:32 8.
02:33 The Black Donnellys
02:35 This drama debuted on NBC in 2007, but it never really took off despite having some
02:40 serious name recognition behind the camera and a very talented cast.
02:45 It was conceived by Paul Haggis and Robert Maresco, the duo who won an Academy Award
02:49 for Crash.
02:50 It was about four young Irish-American brothers who get involved with organized crime while
02:55 living in present-day New York City.
02:57 It was a subject very close to Haggis, as he grew up in London, Ontario, where the original
03:02 Donnelly family is from.
03:04 Serious themes like racism, classism, and crime were explored without much filter, and
03:08 that made for a very immersive viewing experience.
03:11 While it sounds like something that could find its home on HBO or Netflix, The Black
03:15 Donnellys was unusually graphic and violent for network television, especially for the
03:20 time, and that was probably what doomed it from the start.
03:23 NBC gave up on it after just six episodes, opting to pull it from their programming and
03:28 release the remaining seven on their website on a weekly basis.
03:32 Needless to say, that put the final nail in the coffin.
03:35 7.
03:36 Almost Human
03:37 This promising cyberpunk cop drama was created by sci-fi veteran J.H. Wyman and starred the
03:44 dynamic duo of Carl Urban and Michael Ealy, and even had J.J. Abrams attached as an executive
03:50 producer.
03:51 However, that still wasn't enough to help it reach more than a single season.
03:55 The premise of Almost Human is this.
03:57 In the year 2048, the crime rate has risen so much that there was no way for the police
04:02 to stay on top of it, so they decide to pair each of their human officers with an android
04:06 one.
04:07 The plot was thin and exposition-heavy at first, but there was enough action and excitement
04:11 to keep you entertained and kickstart the series until it found its footing.
04:15 That was unfortunately never the case, as Fox cancelled it after only 13 episodes.
04:20 Since the episodes were largely self-contained, Almost Human still has a high rewatchability
04:25 value.
04:26 The interplay between the two main characters is very entertaining, and even now, nine years
04:30 after it debuted, the visual effects look stunning.
04:33 6.
04:34 Everything Sucks
04:36 This parody of classic teen dramas was authored by Ben York Jones and Michael Mohan, and its
04:41 only season was released on Netflix in February 2018.
04:45 The story is set in a town fittingly called Boring - a real place, by the way - in 1996,
04:51 and it follows a group of high school students as they navigate the issues of sexuality,
04:55 identity, and belonging.
04:57 On the surface, it might seem like a typical coming-of-age drama, but its intentional overuse
05:01 of genre tropes and cliches hints that the show is not taking itself too seriously.
05:06 Ironically, even though it's supposed to be a parody, the characters come off as more
05:10 believable and realistic than they normally do in shows like this, and that's where
05:14 the main strength of Everything Sucks lies.
05:16 Unfortunately, the characters were never given enough of a chance to be fully fleshed out,
05:20 so after just 10 episodes, some of them seemed more like sketches than actually developed
05:24 characters.
05:25 This is especially true for the supporting roles.
05:28 In the end, Netflix decided to cancel any further production just two months after it
05:32 was first streamed, stating that not a lot of people watched it beyond the first episode.
05:37 5.
05:38 Awake
05:39 Kyle Killen created this police drama with a fantasy twist that features the brilliant
05:43 Jason Isaacs in the leading role.
05:46 Even though it received nearly universal critical acclaim, its low ratings meant that NBC pulled
05:51 the plug after a single 13-episode season.
05:54 Awake has a very unique and interesting premise.
05:57 In the first episode, Michael Britton, a detective, gets into a car accident with his wife and
06:02 son.
06:03 After the accident, he keeps jumping between a reality in which his wife died and one in
06:06 which his son died.
06:08 Utterly confused by this, he tries to piece it all together and figure out which one of
06:11 those is the actual reality.
06:13 The series is carried by an excellent performance from Isaacs, and if it wasn't for that,
06:18 it probably wouldn't even make this list.
06:20 He manages to strike the perfect balance between a heartbroken family man dealing with his
06:24 pain and a detective who gets lost in his work.
06:27 However, the clever writing and great acting were not enough to attract a significant audience,
06:31 and Awake went off the air in 2012.
06:34 4.
06:35 Freaks and Geeks
06:37 Freaks and Geeks has now become a staple of every "cancel too soon" list.
06:42 Created in 1999 by Paul Feig and more famously executive produced by Judd Apatow, this cult
06:48 classic lasted only 18 episodes, but it created a legacy that is still going strong.
06:53 A textbook example of a good coming-of-age story, Freaks and Geeks brings the perfect
06:57 combination of comedy and drama.
07:00 Its characters seem like genuine people who you might have gone to high school with, and
07:03 the show leverages that nostalgia to get you invested in the storylines.
07:08 Apart from great writing, the characters benefit from a very talented cast who breathe life
07:13 into them.
07:14 People like James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel were virtual unknowns at the time,
07:19 but used the show as a springboard for their careers.
07:22 Sadly, the production was notorious for constant creative differences and conflicts between
07:27 the creators and the network, and that culminated in its cancellation halfway through the first
07:32 season.
07:33 However, that wasn't the death of the Freaks and Geeks legacy.
07:36 Far from it.
07:37 Just a couple of years later, Apatow would create Undeclared, a spiritual successor to
07:41 it that featured some of the same cast and followed the characters through their college
07:45 life.
07:46 3.
07:47 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
07:49 Aaron Sork impended this comedy-drama for NBC in 2007, but despite having a lot of talent
07:56 both behind and in front of the camera, it only lived for one season.
08:00 Studio 60 depicted a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a sketch comedy show
08:04 and had an intriguing combination of drama, comedy, and meta-comedy.
08:08 The pilot was incredibly well-received, with critics praising the directing and the performance
08:12 of Matthew Perry in particular.
08:14 But after the pilot, things started going downhill.
08:17 The writing would start to fluctuate in quality, often going from satire to self-satire and
08:22 losing that self-awareness that is crucial in a show like this.
08:25 The ratings would drop with every episode, and soon enough, the writing was on the wall.
08:29 NBC would shift it around in different time slots, eventually deciding to not pick it
08:34 up for a second season.
08:36 Despite this, Studio 60 ranked so high on our list for a simple reason.
08:40 When it was good, it was really good.
08:42 The talent involved was so bright that it would shine through even when the direction
08:47 of the show was unclear.
08:48 And in those instances when everything clicked and everything was on the same page, Studio
08:52 60 was a hell of a watch.
08:54 We can only regret that it wasn't given more time to define its direction and plant
08:58 its feet firmly on the ground.
09:01 2.
09:02 Trophy Wife
09:03 Released on ABC in 2013, this delightful comedy from the minds of Emily Halpern and Sarah
09:08 Haskins was a revelation of refreshing humour in a genre that had been stale for a long
09:13 time.
09:14 Trophy Wife follows Kate Harrison, played by the wonderful Marlon Ackerman, as she leaves
09:18 her party girl lifestyle behind after falling in love with and marrying a middle-aged man.
09:23 Parallels with The Modern Family were obviously drawn, but Trophy Wife had an identity of
09:27 its own, largely based on goofy but believable characters, clever irony, and great chemistry.
09:33 It was a sitcom in format, but it avoided falling into the usual tropes by respecting
09:37 its audience and not underestimating it.
09:40 It was intelligent but not conceited, it was funny but not over the top.
09:44 Its only major flaw is its unfortunate title, which undersells the plot and reduces Ackerman's
09:49 character and performance to something it's not.
09:51 For whatever reason, the folks at ABC didn't seem to appreciate Trophy Wife enough and
09:55 kept putting it in the least attractive time slots, which kept it from reaching a greater
09:59 audience and practically doomed it.
10:02 1.
10:03 Firefly
10:04 Not sure what you expected, but number one was always going to be reserved for Firefly.
10:08 While Sweden's cult classic premiered on Fox in September 2002, and despite only lasting
10:14 for 14 episodes, it fostered a devoted audience that would help it expand its legacy beyond
10:19 television.
10:20 For those who are unfamiliar with the plot, Firefly follows a renegade crew aboard a small
10:25 spacecraft 500 years in the future, travelling the unknown parts of the galaxy, trying their
10:30 hardest to avoid different warring factions as well as the authorities.
10:34 The crew is played by a hugely talented ensemble cast that includes Nathan Billion, Gina Torres,
10:40 and Alan Tudyk.
10:41 Whedon originally intended the show to have a seven-season run, but Fox executives were
10:45 not happy with the low ratings and binned it after only 11 of the 14 episodes had aired.
10:51 Despite this, Firefly went on to enjoy a second life post-cancellation, first developing a
10:56 fandom after being released on DVD.
10:58 An entire Firefly media franchise would later be developed by Whedon & Co.
11:02 Its highlight was the 2005 feature film Serenity, but beyond that, numerous comic books, video
11:08 games, and novels were produced.
11:10 There probably isn't a better example in history of a show being able to create an
11:14 entire universe based solely on the support of its fans, with no help from the network
11:19 that first aired it.
11:21 And that concludes our list.
11:22 If there are any you think we missed, then do let us know in the comments below.
11:25 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:29 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
11:33 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:35 I've been Ellie with What Culture, I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see ya real