Has your favorite TV show ever gone off the air? There’s nothing worse than a show getting canceled when you’re enjoying it, especially if things are left on a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, if a series isn’t attracting the ratings that the broadcaster wants it to, then it risks being given the boot. It’s a shame that decisions like this are made, especially given some of these shows were definitely canceled before their time.
Futurama
Matt Groening may be known as the man behind the Simpsons, but he’s had other shows too. Most notably Futurama, a futuristic animation that was canceled a handful of times during its run. Initially culled after four seasons, the show was brought back for several TV movies, before then returning again on a new channel. After two new seasons on Comedy Central, Futurama was once again axed for the final time.
It’s a shame that broadcasters never really believed in the show. It found a suitable middle ground between The Simpsons and Family Guy regarding its more mature content, and was incredibly smart in its humor. Not to mention that its characters were some of the more remarkable on an animated show.
Sense8
Sci-fi web drama only managed two seasons before it was canceled, and fans weren’t happy. The show was one of the more popular Netflix original series, with many viewers bingeing it all in one go. It was that good. However, despite its popularity and the talk of a third season, the streaming site announced that it wouldn’t be bringing Sense8 back.
The loss of the show is disappointing, especially because the writers did such a great job of bringing the characters to life. Even when the storylines went too far into the unreal, the characters were able to pull everything back to reality. There are few new shows that have been quite as compelling as this. Luckily, fan reactions to the cancelation were so strong that a new two-hour finale will air in June 2018 to tie everything up.
Twin Peaks
If you’re talking about shows getting canceled on a cliffhanger, then you have to include Twin Peaks. After just two seasons, the mystery drama came to an end, but viewers weren’t satisfied. You can’t have the main character get possessed by a demon in the final moments of the show and then leave everyone hanging.
The cancelation came about after the show revealed who was responsible for the death of Laura Palmer. Ratings dropped after viewers had the answer to the series biggest mystery, so the network cut their ties. Fortunately, 25 years later, Twin Peaks was brought back for a limited season to tie up loose ends. Even so, we should never have had to wait that long just to resolve the cliffhanger.
Firefly
Out of all the shows on this, Firefly had the shortest run. It only managed one season and was canceled after just 11 episodes had aired, despite the fact that viewers loved it. DVD sales of the series were incredibly high, and many people got behind campaigns to bring the show back. Their support was so strong that the series returned in other formats, including the sci-fi movie Serenity and a collection of comic books.
The success of the show post-cancelation showed execs that they were wrong to cancel Firefly before it’s time. Few other series put such a random assortment of characters together and made it work. There was so much possibility for the show, especially given how it blended the sci-fi and western dramas in a way that surprisingly worked. It had as much potential as creator Joss Whedon’s other show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but just wasn’t given the time to shine.
It’s always disappointing when a show is canceled prematurely. We have to remember sometimes that even though we like something, other people might not. However, as these series show, we aren’t always alone in disagreeing with a decision to give something the ax.
