A present being canceled does not essentially imply that it’s unhealthy. In actual fact, a few of the best TV shows of all time had been as soon as thought of flops, however discovered an viewers following years after they ended. Exhibits can come to an finish for a wide range of causes, together with rankings and behind-the-scenes modifications, no matter their high quality.
Sure TV shows that ruled the world while airing had been later canceled, pulling the rug from beneath audiences and leaving everybody confused. At a time when so many reveals get cancelled with out being given a good probability, it is price taking a look at sequence that, regardless of their quick run, had been in a position to depart their mark on tv.
6
Arrested Growth (Authentic Run)
3 Seasons, 2003-2006
8/10
- Launch Date
-
2003 – 2019-00-00
- Community
-
FOX, Netflix
- Showrunner
-
Mitchell Hurwitz
-
Jason Bateman
Michael Bluth
-
Portia de Rossi
Lindsay Bluth Fünke
Arrested Growth targeted on the Bluth household, a bunch of overly wealthy socialites who spent most of their time avoiding accountability, apart from center little one Michael (Jason Bateman). Whereas Arrested Development was canceled after season 3, it did return over seven years later, however seasons 4 and 5 had been nowhere close to the identical commonplace. Nevertheless, seasons 1 to three had been excellent.
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Each episode was rife with recurring gags, and there was barely a second that glided by with out one other hysterical joke being fired off. The present’s earlier content material created a number of the easiest memes on the web, and Arrested Development’s Bluth family members, like Lucille (Jessica Walter), will eternally be remembered for quotes corresponding to “Good for her.”
In these episodes, many unbelievable moments caught with audiences eternally. The Motherboy competitions, Gob (Will Arnett) making an attempt to throw a letter into the ocean, and Maeby’s (Alia Shawkat) secret life as a film producer had been all superbly humorous gags, and what made them even higher was that they weren’t simply one-off jokes; they grew to become staples of the present.
|
Arrested Growth Season |
Rotten Tomatoes Ranking (As Of June 2025) |
|---|---|
|
Season 1 |
100% |
|
Season 2 |
94% |
|
Season 3 |
100% |
|
Season 4 (Fateful Penalties Remix) |
25% |
|
Season 5 |
55% |
It was gutting when Arrested Growth was initially canceled in 2006, particularly because the rankings weren’t horrible, not less than compared to another reveals that stayed on the air longer. Arrested Growth didn’t have the cult following that it has now when it was initially broadcast, however it did obtain essential acclaim, and it formed the way forward for sitcoms massively.
5
Vicious
2 Seasons, 2013-2016
Ian McKellen’s underrated British sitcom, Vicious, was unfairly canceled after season 2. Vicious adopted McKellen and fellow theater star Derek Jacobi as Freddie and Stuart, respectively, a pair residing in Covent Backyard who continually bickered and spent most of their time with their mates and neighbor, Ash (Iwan Rheon).
Vicious ran for 2 installments on ITV from 2013 to 2015, and after the community introduced the present’s finish, it wrapped up with a ultimate one-off particular in 2016. Vicious was hilarious, however it additionally touched on some extra severe subject material at instances, too. For instance, Freddie and Stuart typically mirrored on their decades-long relationship and the hardships they’d confronted.
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This offered some extremely highly effective messaging, which proved the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Freddie and Stuart had been older characters who had skilled real-life occasions which have impacted the queer group, so it was wonderful to see this matter depicted from their perspective.
Vicious was canceled as a result of slowly declining rankings, and the finale was tailored from the already written season 3.
There was by no means an entire dip in high quality in Vicious. Each episode was humorous, even when the subject modified and targeted on one thing a bit extra profound. From Violet’s (Frances de la Tour) endless relationship issues to Freddie and Stuart’s consideration bouncing between Ash and their seemingly immortal canine, Balthazar, Vicious by no means did not maintain audiences laughing.
4
Human Assets
2 Seasons, 2022-2023
Big Mouth’s spinoff Human Resources solely lasted for 2 seasons earlier than it was sadly canceled in 2023. Human Assets adopted the non-human characters of Huge Mouth (in addition to some acquainted human faces from the primary present, too), who labored on the titular group and had been answerable for sustaining their purchasers’ lives in several areas.
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The creatures and monsters in Human Resources had been arguably much more attention-grabbing on this spinoff than they had been in Huge Mouth, primarily as a result of they’d the display screen time to develop their characters, with out the likes of Nick and Andrew taking over all the main focus. Maury’s being pregnant storyline was a very outstanding subplot, particularly because it gave audiences extra context on his relationship with Connie.
It was a giant shock when Netflix introduced Human Assets’ cancellation. The present was doing nicely ratings-wise, and Huge Mouth was certainly one of Netflix’s hottest titles on the time, too. Nevertheless, the explanation for this was that Human Assets’ tales could be carried out into the final two installments of Huge Mouth, and they also didn’t really feel the necessity for each reveals.
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Whereas this made sense to a point, it was nonetheless disappointing. Human Assets was a unbelievable watch, and whereas it was useful to have seen Huge Mouth to know it, it wasn’t fully crucial, both. Plus, with Big Mouth’s ending approaching on the time, it could’ve made extra sense to proceed Human Assets to make sure each character obtained a satisfying conclusion.
3
Freaks And Geeks
1 Season, 1999-2000
Whereas rewatching Freaks and Geeks reveals some harsh realities, it was nonetheless thought of an ideal TV present to many, even with its flaws, and each episode was nice. Freaks and Geeks was a tremendous title that adopted a bunch of youngsters, together with Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) and Ken Miller (Seth Rogen), as they tried to navigate highschool.
The tales of Lindsay and her titular group of mates had been stellar. Freaks and Geeks was incessantly praised for its realism and a spotlight to element. The way in which it depicted the hardships and struggles of every of the characters was fascinating, and basically, Freaks and Geeks was an unimaginable coming-of-age title.
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Freaks and Geeks brilliantly tackled severe subjects like teen being pregnant and drug use, however the present’s astounding comedic undertones by no means distracted from the topic at hand. It solely ran for one season, which was why it was so irritating that Freaks and Geeks was canceled.
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Though there have been solely 18 episodes of the present, which wrapped up in 2000, Freaks and Geeks grew to become a cult traditional over the next years. It was by no means made precisely clear why the present was canceled, however it appeared prone to be because of the awkward time slot, which didn’t assist the rankings, and there have been additionally some artistic variations behind the scenes, too.
2
Pushing Daisies
2 Seasons, 2007-2009
Pushing Daisies ended 16 years ago, however audiences have continued to recollect it fondly. Pushing Daisies adopted Ned (Lee Tempo), a pie-maker who had an odd means which allowed him to deliver again the lifeless, however provided that another person died of their place, or so long as he prevented touching them for a second time.
The present was famend for its odd visuals and distinctive type of storytelling, with a darkish comedic undertone that stored issues attention-grabbing. Even with the grim subject material, Pushing Daisies’ light-hearted environment received audiences over, and it was additionally one of many causes the present grew to become a cult traditional.
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Numerous the present’s story targeted on the primary character reuniting together with his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (Anna Friel), who died rather than his mom, and Ned working alongside PI Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), by reanimating homicide victims to search out out who killed them. Pushing Daisies, annoyingly, was a TV show canceled right when it was becoming great.
Pushing Daisies was nonetheless wonderful all through, however the present was really reaching its peak upon cancellation. Sadly, this was attributed to the author’s strike of 2007-2008. The strike impacted how the present was written, which subsequently affected the rankings whereas it was on the air.
1
Firefly
1 Season, 2002-2003
Although Firefly got some closure with Serenity, it was nonetheless irritating that the present was canceled within the first place, and compelled to wrap itself up with a follow-up movie. Firefly grew to become a legendary title within the TV world years after it aired solely a mere 11 episodes, which adopted the 9 passengers and crew members of the titular ship.
Firefly took audiences into the long run to the 12 months 2517, and was set within the deep depths of area after the fallout of a civil battle, which might see the characters trek to completely different planets and techniques. The present was tacky, feel-good, sci-fi enjoyable, and whereas it wasn’t essentially the most polished title ever, that didn’t imply it wasn’t nice.
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The Firefly cast of characters had been distinctive and well-defined, and witnessing Nathan Fillion because the captain of the ship, Mal Reynolds, was a deal with for everybody concerned. Regardless of there being 14 deliberate episodes of Firefly, solely 11 had been broadcast. Firefly was canceled as a result of low rankings, however this was out of the present’s management.
One ridiculous Firefly decision made by Fox was to air the episodes out of order. Naturally, this made it tougher for audiences to comply with what was taking place or who the characters had been.
It additionally didn’t assist that Firefly was an costly title to make, and Fox failed to know what the tone of the present was, too. Fortunately, DVD gross sales and a cult following helped its legacy, which then led to Serenity.
