13 TV Shows That Were Canceled Way Too Soon

It’s always the way, isn’t it? You find a new TV show, fall in love with it, and then it gets canceled. Whole communities have sprung up over rage for a show cruelly snatched away before its time.

It’s even worse when a show gets canceled on a cliffhanger, as many of the below were. There’s a particular sting when the story never even gets finished. Let’s take a look, in alphabetical order, at the most beloved canceled shows that are gone but not forgotten.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte promised a new story from the world of Star Wars. It focused on a pair of twins (Amandla Stenberg), one a former Jedi and one a would-be Sith, and their separate paths as they uncovered a nasty truth about the Jedi Knights who disrupted their childhoods.

But because the show starred a Black main character, it was immediately review-bombed by a certain crowd. Unfortunately, those same people then got to crow when Disney canceled the show due to low viewership. It was a bitter blow for fans who actually wanted to spend more time with the characters, and plenty are still mad at Disney for that decision. The cancellation may not have actually been intended to bend the knee to racists, but it sure felt like it at the time.

The Baby-Sitters Club

The cancellation of Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club still stings, because it was such a wonderful show for young girls. It had many things to say about American society but explained them in a way that was accessible to teenagers. It didn’t put a foot wrong, it received critical acclaim… and then it was gone.

Creator Rachel Shukert was as disappointed as the rest of us were. “I don’t know what [Netflix] wanted that they didn’t get,” she said in an interview with Vulture. “It seems like girls are expected to go straight from Doc McStuffins to Euphoria.” Netflix now has a well-deserved reputation for shooting down great shows in their prime.

Final Space

Final Space was a beautiful animation that was simply never given the chance it deserved. Executives at TBS pushed the show to have more lowbrow humor when Final Space was at its best when it was purely dramatic. And then the worst blow of all came. Final Space was canceled due to the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. and written off for tax purposes. It was devastating for creator Olan Rogers.

So, now you simply can’t watch Final Space anywhere unless you pirate it. It’s just one more example of the unfair and anti-art streaming system that exists right now. The only silver lining is that Rogers did eventually get permission to finish up the story via a graphic novel.

Firefly

For years this was the number one answer whenever anyone asked, “What canceled show would you like to see come back?” Not so much anymore, though, as people are more aware now of the problematic elements of the story, and creator Joss Whedon has been disgraced.

But despite everything, it’s still galling how Fox treated Firefly. The show was doomed from the start because Fox executives insisted on airing the episodes out of order. They then canceled it after just ten episodes, leaving fans livid. Yet, Firefly got a better conclusion than a lot of canceled shows – there was a wrap-up movie, Serenity, which was met with critical acclaim.

GLOW

GLOW told the story of the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling, and it was acclaimed by critics. After three seasons, a fourth one was all ready to film, and then COVID-19 happened. And the complications that arose from that killed the show, as Netflix couldn’t figure out a way to continue filming safely and inexpensively.

“COVID has killed actual humans. It’s a national tragedy and should be our focus. COVID also apparently took down our show,” creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch told Deadline after the cancellation. “There’s a lot of sh**ty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don’t get to see these 15 women in a frame together again.”

Hannibal

All things considered, it’s amazing Hannibal lasted as long as it did. It was dark, twisted, and gruesome beyond belief. But it did what it did amazingly well and soon picked up a cult following.

That cult following persists today, despite the show being canceled due to low ratings. Many hope the show might get a revival one day, and indeed both the main actors, Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, want to return. But if it never does, at least it ended in a pretty satisfying way.

Kaos

Kaos is one of the more bizarre Netflix cancellations. The Jeff Goldblum-led show, which presented a comedic modern-day take on Greek mythology, was canceled less than two months after it dropped.

Many people pointed out at the time how ridiculous this was. A show didn’t have time to build up a fanbase in just over a month, and it was unfair of Netflix to expect it to. But in the cutthroat world of streaming, no one listens to that kind of complaint.

The Last Man On Earth

The Last Man on Earth had a simple premise: What if you thought you were, well, the last man on Earth? After a virus wipes out the population, Phil Tandy Miller (Will Forte) believes this has happened to him. But then people keep showing up… and they don’t like him one bit.

The Last Man on Earth is Forte’s masterpiece. It was equal parts funny, devastatingly sad (most of the planet is dead after all), and intelligent. Alas, it was canceled after four seasons and ended on a cliffhanger. For a TV show that made so much of having closure, fans never got it in the end.

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My Name Is Earl

One of the most infamous cliffhanger cancellations of all time. My Name Is Earl ended just as everyone’s favorite repentant list-maker Earl (Jason Lee) was learning some new truths about himself and his family, and it never got a true finale.

Show creator Greg Garcia did eventually reveal what he had in mind for the ending, though. During a Reddit AMA in 2013, he told a fan that it would have involved Earl discovering that multiple other people were making their own lists to repay people they’d wronged. “So at that point he was going to tear up his list and go live his life. Walk into the sunset a free man. With good karma and finally at peace with what he’s accomplished,” Garcia said. So at least the ending is out there, even if we’ll never get to see it.

Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death took the internet by storm when it was released in 2022. It had a diverse cast and a queer love story which fans adored. But its huge fanbase wasn’t enough to save it. It was canceled by Max in 2024.

Those who loved OFMD were spurred into action and a massive campaign kicked off in an attempt to save the show. There was a Change.org petition, a billboard in Times Square, and even an airplane with a banner flown over Hollywood. But all the high-profile efforts, sadly, amounted to nothing.

Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies was a sweet, fairytale-like show that deserved much better. It was all about a man named Ned (Lee Pace) who could bring dead people back to life with a touch, but doing so meant another person nearby would die and another touch would kill the resurrected for good. When Ned brings back his one true love Chuck (Anna Friel), he must navigate never being able to touch her again.

Unfortunately, not enough people tuned in. The show was canceled because of low ratings (though it did get an epilogue to wrap things up), and despite literally everyone wanting a revival, one hasn’t happened yet.

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone, based on the novels by Leigh Bardugo, seemed to be out of the cancellation woods by the time its second season was underway. But no. Despite a huge fanbase and good reviews, Netflix canceled the show and its proposed spinoff.

Fans were furious and began a campaign right away. They raised money for two billboards to draw attention to their cause, But, as was the case with Our Flag Means Death, it simply didn’t work, and fans remain disappointed to this day.

Warrior Nun

Warrior Nun picked up a huge fanbase thanks to its strong story and queer representation. When the show was canceled despite great scores, fans immediately wondered if it was axed because of the queer representation. Enraged, they started a campaign to get the show back.

And, for once, it actually seemed to work. Thanks to the huge swell of support, it was announced in 2023 that Warrior Nun would, hopefully, be revived as a movie series. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes of that.

And those are 13 TV shows that were canceled way too soon.

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