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{{trope}}{{page should be category}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"We made a land where crap is king and the good don't last too long."''
|'''''[[Spock's Beard]]''''', "The Good Don't Last"}}
An intelligent, well written show, usually a subtle blend of comedy and drama, beloved of a devoted [[Fandom|group of fans and critics]]. So why did it never have a chance? (Or at best, struggled in the [[Ratings]] for a couple seasons.)
Well, either the mainstream just isn't interested in this show, or the network never even gives it a chance to build an audience (usual [http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/080226.html translation]: it's on [[
If the show is lucky enough to be shown on a cable network in reruns, it may build up a bigger following there than it ever had in its first run.
The observant reader will note that the vast majority of '''Too Good to Last''' shows are from the
There's always been an emphasis on ratings in television, but it seems to have become much more pronounced since the early 1990s. It is widely commented upon that ''[[Cheers]]'' was ''dead last'' in the ratings among all regular series in its first season (
Another theory is that the advent of the Internet and the explosion of cable channels has made it harder for these too-soon
For those shows that manage to pull out a few seasons with plenty of network problems before going under, check out the ''Exception'' section at the bottom of this page. The main entries are about shows that barely managed to get out a single season, if that. Incidentally, some shows end up being canceled only to be [[Uncanceled]] by the network or do a [[Channel Hop]].
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Unfortunately, the viewers are never told "What would have happened next", because the now unemployed/transferred writers will want to [[Recycled Script|recycle their unused ideas into their next job.]]
* Contrast with:
** [[Long Runners]], where a show can last for a long time
** [[British Brevity]], where a show was always intended to have a short run.
** [[Seasonal Rot]], when the duration of the show has far overstayed its welcome
** [[Franchise Zombie]], where the show goes past the time creators wanted to, and its quality may suffer as a result.
* Compare with:
** [[Awesomeness Withdrawal]], a feeling often accompanying this.
** [[Second Season Downfall]], where a show ''is'' permitted to keep going but subsequently proves to have used up most of its potential in that first season.
** [[The Firefly Effect]], where viewers refuse to commit to a show out of the fear or assumption that its cancellation is imminent.
** [[Too Cool to Live]], when this happens to ''people''.
* Possible causes:
** [[Friday Night Death Slot]]
** [[Executive Meddling]]
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** [[Screwed by the Network]]
Shows that are
{{examples}}▼
=== Live Action TV and Western Animation ===▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[ABC]] (American)/ ABC Family ==▼
* ''[[Best Of The West]]''. Parody of all things Western by the creators of "Taxi" and "Cheers". ▼
* ''[[The Brendan Leonard Show]]''
* ''[[Capitol Critters]]''
* ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]''. Made all the more painful by the fact that the similar, yet inferior, ''[[Lipstick Jungle]]'' showed up later the same season...and returned for a second
* ''[[The Chair]]''
* ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' The 2011 remake.
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* ''[[Complete Savages]]''
* ''[[The Critic]]:'' Poor Jay Sherman.
* ''[[Cupid]]'': the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Dramedy]], not the [[CBS]] reality show. The remake was too good to last, as well.
* ''[[The Dana Carvey Show]]''. Apparently too edgy for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] executives at the time, who canceled it after seven episodes (and an unaired eighth). A very, very good example of a show being ahead of its time... and why you shouldn't lead off your first episode with [[Bill Clinton]] [[Squick|breast-feeding puppies]].
* ''[[Day Break]]''
* ''[[Defying Gravity]]'' (co-developed by ABC, [[The BBC]], [[CTV]] and [[Pro Sieben]]) had been canceled and its sets destroyed ''before all the episodes had even been aired''. That does not even consider that [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] had all summer to buy and advertise the show, but only purchased the show 3 weeks before the first episode aired.
* ''[[Dirty Sexy Money]]'', a sharp show that was caught in the crossfire of the 2007 writers' strike.
* ''[[Duel (TV series)|Duel]]'', a great quiz show that fell victim to the [[Friday Night Death Slot]].
* ''[[8 Simple Rules]]''. In spite of [[John Ritter]]'s untimely death, it still managed to pull in solid ratings (at least compared to the rest of the TGIF lineup), but ABC cancelled it anyways, citing its inability to sell it in syndication as a reason for its cancellation.
* ''[[Eli Stone]]'', also a late casualty of the 2007 strike.
* ''[[
* ''[[Fillmore!]]''
* ''Freddie''
* ''GCB''
* ''[[Get Ed]]''
* ''[[The Goode Family]]'' picked up by [[Comedy Central]], and then canceled ''again''.
* ''[[The Greatest American Hero]]'' - A short intro season, a full second season, and a third cut in half, with four episodes never even aired until syndication. Was almost [[
* ''[[Happy Town]]''
* ''[[Series/Homefront|Homefront]]''
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* ''[[High Incident]]''
* ''I'm With Her''
* ''[[Invasion]]'': One season only, just when it was getting started. Such a shame...
* ''[[Jake In Progress]]''
* ''[[The Job]]'': Which transmogrified into the more dramatic ''Rescue Me'' on the FX Network with much of the same cast.
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* ''[[Samantha Who|Samantha Who?]]''
* ''[[The Slap Maxwell Story]]''
* ''[[Sledge Hammer!]]!''
* ''[[Sonic Sat AM|Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM]]'': Was intentionally killed by [[
* ''[[Sports Night]]''
* ''[[Tales of the Gold Monkey]]''
* ''[[The Nine]]'': Like the title invokes, it involves nine people who were stuck inside a bank during a 52-hour robbery. After one episode, it went from a tense Dog Day Afternoon-esque thriller into a slow burning psychological drama. It lost many viewers before the show REALLY started getting warmed up, mostly because of that abrupt [[Genre Shift]].
* ''[[Traveler]]'': A show about two men on the run, with a smart conspiracy after them, that not only lacked padding, but did not treat the audience like idiots. Ended on a painful cliffhanger that was never resolved.
* ''[[
* ''[[The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat]]'': A wonderfully surreal cartoon with a [[Max and Dave Fleischer]] feel. Only lasted 36 episodes.
* ''[[Twin Peaks]]''
* ''[[The Unusuals]]''
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=== [[CBS]] ===
* ''[[American Gothic]]''
* ''[[Arnie]]'': This satirical early-'70s comedy starred Herschel Bernardi as a loading-dock foreman who suddenly and unexpectedly found himself promoted to corporate management. Poor ratings doomed it after two seasons despite critical acclaim.
* ''Bette''
* ''[[Bob!]]'': Bob Newhart's third sitcom, starring Newhart as a greeting card artist/writer who jumps at the chance when Ace Comics offers to revive a comic book character he created a few decades earlier. The show withered in a [[Friday Night Death Slot|bad Friday night timeslot]].
* ''[[Bridget Loves Bernie]]'': This 1972 sitcom about the marriage of a Jewish cabdriver and an upper-class Irish Catholic actually got decent ratings, but CBS canceled it after one season anyway after both Jewish and Catholic groups [[Values Dissonance|objected to the premise]]. (The show did, however, lead to [[Romance on the Set]] and eventual marriage between stars David Birney and Meredith Baxter.)
* ''[[Brooklyn Bridge]]''
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* ''[[Western Animation/Family Dog|Family Dog]]'': The replacement for Fish Police. Not as good, and definitely more crude. Still deserved to last more than 10 episodes.
* ''[[The Famous Teddy Z]]'': Created by ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati|WKRP]]'''s Hugh Wilson, this series starring Jon Cryer and Alex Rocco (who won an Emmy for his character Agent Al Floss) was set in a Hollywood talent agency and was thought in some circles to be too 'inside' to appeal to middle America.
* ''[[The Flash (TV
* ''[[Fish Police (animation)|Fish Police]]'': The best of the first three shows made to compete with ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''. Also the shortest lived at only
* ''[[Franks Place]]''
* ''[[Gary Unmarried]]''
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* ''[[Good Morning World]]'': Long before ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'' or ''[[News Radio]]'', there was this 1967 sitcom from the creators of ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' set at a radio station. Even the presence of a pre-''[[Laugh In]]'' Goldie Hawn couldn't prevent its cancellation after one season.
* ''[[The Handler]]''
* ''[[He And She]]'': This 1967 sitcom starring Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin received critical acclaim and Emmy awards and is believed to be the precursor of the more "realistic" brand of '70s situation comedies (''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]],'' for example). Low ratings doomed it, though, and it only lasted one season.
* ''[[The Honeymooners]]'': incredibly, only ran one season as a stand-alone sitcom, although the characters admittedly were used for many years on Gleason's variety show.
** This one is a bit murky simply because Gleason didn't like the grind of a sitcom, which is the reason why the show ended.
* ''[[Ivan the Terrible (TV series)|Ivan the Terrible]]'': Lasted five episodes in 1976; those who remember it at all remember it fondly.
* ''[[Jericho]]'': Was famously resurrected by a [[Sending Stuff to Save the Show]] fan campaign, but the respite would last only a season before the ax fell again.
* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'': popular, but in the [[Periphery Demographic|wrong demographic]].
* ''[[Listen Up]]!''
* ''[[Love Monkey]]''. Also an example of [[Screwed by the Network]].
* ''[[Mary]]'': Mary Tyler Moore's 1985 return to situation comedy, and a worthy [[Spiritual Successor]] to her [[The Mary Tyler Moore Show|her classic '70s show]]. Poorer-than-expected ratings doomed it to cancellation after one season.
* ''[[Mighty Mouse|Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures]]'': A massively influential [[Genre Turning Point]] for American television animation which directly influenced (and provided talent) to almost every cartoon show made in its wake. It got canceled due to a contrived [[Moral Guardians|moral panic]] involving some crushed flowers which apparently looked a bit too much like cocaine. Most fans of the show claimed that it would've gotten canceled for low ratings anyway.
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* ''[[Moonlight]]'': Several reasons for this, including [[Friday Night Death Slot]]. Many fans also feel it was [[Screwed by the Network]], particularly because the final episode was promoted as the ''season'' finale (rather than the ''series'' finale) and fans were led to believe it would be renewed. Another victim of the 2007 writer's strike.
* ''[[Now and Again]]'': A well-cast, well-written, well-acted reimagining of the concept of ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''. First season featured one of the creepiest and most inexplicable villains ever. Got the Friday Night death slot, and its one and only season did not even air in its entirety until many years later on Sci-Fi.
* ''[[Project G.e.e.K.e.R.]]'': Had incredibly good ratings during the time, but only lasted one 13-episode season due to not meeting the educational programming standards set forth by the channel.
* ''[[Smith]]''
* ''[[Thats Life|That's Life]]'': a "chick show," but with an excellent cast (Heather Paige Kent, Ellen Burstyn, Paul Sorvino, Kevin Dillon, Debi Mazar).
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* ''[[The Weird Al Show]]''. Damn you, [[Executive Meddling]]!
* ''[[Winning Lines]]'': American version of the UK game show, was well-liked but ultimately doomed by only being aired on Saturday nights with no consistent time-slot
* ''[[Worst Week]]'': The American version.
=== [[NBC]] ===
* ''[[American Dreams]]''
* ''[[Andy Barker PI]]''
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* The U.S. version of ''Coupling'', though your mileage greatly varies on whether or not it was considered "Too Good to Last," as the reason it was canceled was because it was a watered-down ''Friends'' rip-off in comparison to the UK version.
* ''[[The Downer Channel]]'': Despite being produced by [[Steve Martin]] and having Mary Lynn Rajskub and Wanda Sykes in the cast, NBC canned it after four episodes.
* ''[[Eerie, Indiana]]'': Got good enough ratings during the reruns that a Canadian production company produced a sequel/spin-off several years
* ''[[Father of the Pride]]''
* ''[[Freaks and Geeks]]'': Possibly the archetypal example; adored by critics and fans alike, but being shuffled around in the lineup didn't help its ratings, and it got canceled halfway through its first season.
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* ''[[Journeyman]]''
* ''[[Kath and Kim]]'' The U.S. version
* ''[[Kings]]'': ambitious alternate-history retelling of the Biblical story of Jonathan? Say it with me: {{
* ''[[Law
* ''[[Law and Order]]: ''[[Los Angeles]]''
* ''[[Life]]''
* ''[[Misfits of Science]]''
* ''[[My Own Worst Enemy]]''. They ended it [[Cut Short|on a cliffhanger]]! [[Big No|AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!]]
* ''[[My World... and Welcome
* ''[[Nightmare Cafe]]''. Ran for only 6 episodes in 1992.
* ''[[Outsourced (TV series)]]'' Mostly due to the controversial subject of the show, it developed a sort of [[Love It or Hate It]] fanbase. Could also be attributed to [[Political Correctness Gone Mad]].
* ''[[Raines]]''. Despite staring Jeff Goldblum, it lasted a mere 7 episodes.
* ''[[Southland]]'' (before being [[Uncanceled]] and brought to TNT)
* ''[[The Cape (trope)]]''
* ''[[The Others (TV series)|The Others]]''
* ''[[The Tonight Show]] with [[Conan O'Brien]]''
* ''[[Undercovers]]''
* ''[[A Year In The Life]]''
* ''[[The Playboy Club]]'' has now been cancelled after 3 episodes, which was [[Better Than It Sounds]], although it was probably doomed from the start.
=== [[
[[Trope Codifier|Widely considered the worst offender of them all]].
* ''[[Action]]'' - Jay Mohr at his best as an amoral studio executive.
* ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]''
** The Friday night block in which ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]'' led in ''[[The X-Files]]'' was one of the best one-two punches in TV history.
* ''
* ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]'' was an epic level example of this. Only one season, though it did manage to resurrect itself in the form of 5 made-for-TV movies... and, in [[The New Teens]], talk of a remake.
* ''[[Andy Richter Controls the Universe]]''
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* ''[[Drive (TV series)|Drive]]'': Three episodes over an eight-day period, then gone.
* ''[[Fastlane]]'' from Fox, '''of course'''. A show that was like ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' meets ''[[Miami Vice]].''
* ''[[The Finder]]'': Play a Procedural Drama on it's ear, with lots of humor? It can survive on
* ''[[Firefly]]''; see [[The Firefly Effect]].
* ''[[Forever Eden]]''
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* ''[[Greg the Bunny]]''
* ''[[Happy Hour]]''
* ''[[Harsh Realm]]'': got harsh
* ''[[I Hate My Teenage Daughter]]''
* ''[[Its Your Chance Of A Lifetime]]'': Was supposed to become a regular series, but it got screwed along with ''Greed'', as the then-current president of the network hated game shows.
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* ''[[Life On A Stick]]''
* ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]'': Its series-ending [[Cliff Hanger]] was resolved on ''[[The X-Files]]''.
* ''[[Lone Star]]'': The most critically-acclaimed pilot of the Fall 2010 season, and the first to be canceled. After TWO episodes.
* ''[[The Loop]]''
* ''[[Method And Red]]''
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* ''[[Ned And Stacey]]''
* ''[[New Amsterdam]]''
* ''[[Paranoia (TV series)|Paranoia]]''
* ''[[Past Life]]''
* ''[[The Pirates of Dark Water]]''
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* ''[[Profit]]''
* ''[[Quintuplets]]''
* ''[[Reunion]]'': What makes this example especially glaring is that the premise made it easy to end after one season, yet Fox pulled it after ten episodes with the mystery unsolved.
* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police (animation)|Sam and Max Freelance Police]]''
* ''[[Sit Down, Shut Up]]'': Comedy Central ran it for a few episodes after Fox canned it. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
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* ''[[Xyber 9: New Dawn]]'': Killed off ten episodes into its 22-episode season, and even then it ended on a cliffhanger.
▲== FX ==
* ''[[Lucky]]''
* ''[[Terriers]]''
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=== The WB / UPN / The CW ===
* ''[[All About The Andersons]]''
* ''[[Animaniacs]]''
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* ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show''
* The ''[[Earthworm Jim (animation)|Earthworm Jim]] cartoon'' Sadly only lasted 2 seasons, which was only 23 episodes. Possibly cancelled due to [[Creator Backlash]].
* ''[[Freakazoid!]]'': Cancelled after 2 seasons.
* ''[[Greetings From Tucson]]''
* ''[[Histeria!]]'': Reports of [[Executive Meddling]] abound.
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=== Nickelodeon / The N / Nick Jr. ===
* ''[[
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': Unfortunate case of [[Executive Meddling]] with the the third season being majorly [[Screwed by the Network]]. The show got good ratings despite its ridiculous mid-afternoon time-slot and little advertising for the last season.
* ''[[El Tigre]]'': A great premise and the show as gearing up for a third season. But for some reason Nick declined to continue it.
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*** The low ratings were likely a result of [[Executive Meddling]]. The show didn't have a consistent time slot (much like [[Futurama|another sci-fi cartoon]] which coincidentally featured Zim's original voice actor [[Billy West]]). New episode releases were also inconsistent.
** It has been said that another cause of the show's cancellation was due to the Nick executives getting complaints left and right from parents saying it was too terrifying for their kids.
* ''[[
* ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'': More for comical randomness and being able to blend cartoons and anime together. Sadly, it only received 2 seasons.
* ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'': Like the broadcast examples above, it only lasted as long (3 seasons) due to its critical acclaim, but poor ratings, executive shuffling, and a show that didn't quite mesh with the little-kid demo helped kill the show far too soon, according to various bits of the DVD commentaries.
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* ''[[Mighty B]]''
* ''[[100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd|One Hundred Deeds for Eddie Mcdowd]]''
* ''[[South of Nowhere]]''
* ''[[The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin]]'', even though a second season had been planned.
* ''[[Radio Free Roscoe]]'': Originally aired on the Canadian network Family, then was picked up by the American network The N when Family cut the funding. Then The N cut funding as well.
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=== [[Disney]] ===
* ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'': Disney decided to cancel it, despite the ratings being fine and there being plenty of story lines for '''at least''' one more season.
* ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]''
* ''[[Cory in The House]]''
* ''[[Gargoyles]]'': only lasted three
* ''[[Lloyd in Space]]''
* ''[[Phil of the Future]]'': Fox gets panned for dumping good shows, but the [[Disney Channel]] may be the '''worst''' offender.
* ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]!'' was canned after 52 episodes at ''the start of the final climax''. The creator had an ending planned and everything. The ratings were fine too.
* ''[[PB and J Otter]]'': Jumbo pictures got into an argument with Disney shortly after the third season was produced. They then cut off all ties with Disney and production of this, along with various other Disney programming, stopped.
* ''[[My Little Pony]] Tales'': Only one season, due to poor reception as the [[Slice of Life]] format was very new and visionary when the show premièred. It has since obtained a cult following.
* ''[[Quack Pack]]''
* ''[[Teamo Supremo]]'': Like with Darkwing (see below), ''Teamo'' had some planned storylines that never came to fruition.
* ''[[The Weekenders]]''
* As stated on ABC, [[WITCH (animation)|W.I.T.C.H.]] suffered a similar fate to other Disney animated action/adventure shows, ending after two seasons and with a massive hint at a third season to boot. The reason, according to this [https://web.archive.org/web/20101206112614/http://www.tv.com/w.i.t.c.h./show/29931/w.i.t.c.h.-faq/topic/13689-485279/msgs.html FAQ] from tv.com, is there was "little to no interest both from the investors’ and the producer’s side" to continue the series. Coincidentally, [[Greg Weisman]] was brought on board for the second season which was widely regarded as an improvement over the first. Check the man's page to see how [[Screwed by the Network|the network has ''regularly'' treated him like a two dollar call girl]].
=== Cartoon Network / Adult Swim ===
* ''[[Cave Kids]]''
* ''[[Class of 3000]]'': Had a great premise and was one of the most popular series airing on the network at the time; canceled due to the ratings not justifying the high cost of making the show.
* ''[[Megas XLR]]''
* ''[[Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?]]'': Got screwed over when the reruns redubbed Robot Jones's voice with a real child's voice instead of using a computer program.
* ''[[Evil Con Carne]]'' (originally combined with ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
* ''[[Frisky Dingo]]'': Not only did the series [[Cut Short|end on a cliffhanger]], but...
** ...a spinoff series, ''[[The Xtacles]]'', was cancelled only a few episodes in. *sob*
* ''[[Korgoth of Barbaria]]''. All we got was a pilot. [[What Could Have Been|An awesome, awesome pilot]].
* ''[[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee]]'': Heavily screwed by CN with a bouncing timeslot and neglect of advertising. Ironically as a [[Follow the Leader|rival]] of American Dragon, both shows wound up suffering the same problems from their respective networks. Even ending on a total of three seasons.
* ''[[Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil]]'': Seems to have underperformed SO badly that it's not even going to get a DVD release.
** There must have been a resurgence of interest in the show, as it is [https://web.archive.org/web/20101212022507/http://www.adultswimshop.com/cat/Lucy-The-Daughter-of-the-Devil-Season-One.html now available on DVD]
* ''[[Moral Orel]]'' : Sadly cancelled after only 3 seasons because it got too dark and depressing (which ''is'' what [[Adult Swim]] [[Be Careful What You Wish For|wanted]]). The only claymation able to make you cry.
* The [[FUNimation]] dubbed edit of [[One Piece]], aired after the 4Kids dub ended its run.
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* ''[[Stroker and Hoop]]'': Another [[Cliff Hanger]] ender.
* ''[[Swat Kats]]'': Painful because it ''was'' a ratings giant. It was the best-rated Saturday morning cartoon of its time, but killed quite explicitly by [[Ted Turner]] for being too violent.
* ''[[Sym-Bionic Titan]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20111212012512/http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/36712/pr-cartoon-network-upfront-programming-announcements#post3802894 appears to be] [
* ''[[Time Squad]]'': Surprisingly, it wasn't canceled because someone complained about the rampant [[Ho Yay]] and [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|innuendo that seemed to fly past the radar]]... [[Refuge in Audacity|on a stealth bomber ...painted white]]. In fact, [[Noodle Incident|there really isn't a definite story]] about why it was canceled. One story goes that Dave Wasson (the show creator) had lost creative control, with his wife being removed from her position as a producer and replaced by season two and had a falling-out with his storyboard crew and the tensions threw production in a loop. Another story is the common "the show got low ratings, its timeslot kept getting shuffled [though, considering [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?|its content]], airing it at 10pm before [[Adult Swim]] ''is'' actually a good idea], and it didn't get the audience that the other Cartoon Cartoon shows got" story, which is probably the more believable of the two stories.
* ''[[Titan Maximum]]'', despite being a ratings juggernaut when it first aired (often beating out new episodes of ''[[The Venture Bros]]'', [[Adult Swim]]'s most popular original show), was unceremoniously canned when creator [[Seth Green]] stated he'd rather focus his time and effort to his [[Cash Cow Franchise]], ''[[Robot Chicken]]''. Some fans may tell you that the [[Seasonal Rot|subpar-at-best fifth season]] of that show (with steadily-slipping ratings to match) may be [[Laser-Guided Karma]] at its finest.
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=== MTV / [[MTV 2]] ===
* ''[[Clone High]]'': Another utterly unresolved storyline, that stopped on a [[Cliff Hanger]] bordering on [[Downer Ending]].
* ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]'': Sure, it DID [[
* ''[[The Sifl and Olly Show]]'' - 3 seasons produced, two aired (the third had a DVD release)
* ''[[Wonder Showzen]]'' - Despite two seasons and respectable ratings, MTV denied a third season. Some of the more experimental episodes during the second season might've also had something to do with it.
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* ''[[Undergrads]]'' was cancelled after 13 episodes which left the show on a cliffhanger. The reason for cancellation was the low funding, but the creator Pete Williams is still very keen on creating a second season. Nowadays the show has a high cult status, one of the reasons being because of its originality.
* ''[[The Hard Times of RJ Berger]]'', the best live-action show MTV has had in ''years'', began with a high viewer rating during the first season (the first episode had a viewer rating of ''2.6 million''), but the viewer ratings dropped drastically by the second season, causing MTV to cancel the show.
* ''[[Good Vibes]]'', another great show MTV has had in recent years, and arguably one of the best shows they've ''ever'' had, was heavily [[Screwed by the Network]]: Episodes were aired [[Out of Order]],<ref>For example, ''Red Tuxedo'', which was meant to be the season finale and ended with Gina ditching Turk for Mondo, opening up to more possibilities on where their relationship would go, aired as the 8th episode, while ''Backstage Babs'', which was the 9th episode chronologically, aired as the "season finale".</ref>
* The music video show ''[[MTV Amp]]'' did a decent job promoting different forms of techno based music and its artist. However, the show only lasted two seasons, with the second season not being complete. Most people who've seen the show will tell you that it ended far too soon. The fact that the show came on late at night, makes the impact it had, even more powerful.
=== Logo ===
* ''[[Rick and Steve]]'': Either stuck in [[Development Hell]] or cancelled outright after 2 seasons, ending on a cliffhanger that had been built up from the very first episode. Historically [[Screwed by the Network]], you're lucky if you see a re-run at all, and nothing official has been announced confirming the show's future.
=== G4 / [[G 4 TV]] ===
* ''[[Code Monkeys]]'': Arguably the best show [[G 4 TV]] ever had, and they didn't sink for a third season.
* ''[[Series/Portal|Portal]]'': Not canceled due to ratings, as the creator was not shy about letting fans know, but rather due to personal differences between himself and the network head.
* The cable station itself could qualify. It was originally meant to be a station solely based around video games and technology. However, the station has since gotten far away from its original concept in order to survive. In fact, many of the original personalities were fired with only Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb of ''[[X-Play]]'', and a few others, keeping their jobs.
** Oh god, agreed. Very very agreed. Arena, Judgement Day, Filter, Cinematech, Cheat... the list just goes on and on and on...
*** Technically, Judgment Day did last, but only in Canada, and under the name Reviews on the Run.
=== BBC ===
* ''[[Ace Lightning]]''
* ''[[The Tripods]]'' was epic science fiction with astonishing production values. They filmed the first 2 parts of [[John Christopher]]'s trilogy, but the last book never made it to the screen.
** Its demise was blamed on it being ''very'' slowly paced, plus it was scheduled on Saturdays opposite ''[[The A-Team]]''...
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* ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' - [[Actor Existence Failure]], as the actress who played the title character died half way through filming the fifth season.
* ''[[Outcasts]]'' ended on such a tantalizing cliffhanger - and was then cancelled by the BBC due to poor ratings. Unless some other sci-fi channel renews it, it's unlikely we'll see another season.
* [[15 Storeys High]]. The BBC really messed about with this series, putting it on a graveyard slot. Then allegedly told Sean Lock he couldn't do a third series.
* [[Zen]], a crime drama set in Italy that was cancelled after three episodes.
=== Channel 4 ===
* ''[[The Book Group]]''
* ''[[Free Agents]]''
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=== HBO ===
* ''[[Carnivale]]''
* ''[[Deadwood]]''
* ''[[Rome]]'', they originally planned five seasons, chronicling the reigns of a few different Emperors, but had to cut it down to three, then two when funding was cut. A movie may be coming.
* ''[[The Comeback]]''
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=== PBS ===
* ''[[Ghostwriter (TV series)|Ghostwriter]]''
* ''[[Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat]]''
* ''[[Wishbone]]''
==
* ''[[The Odyssey (TV series)|The Odyssey]]'', a [[Mind Screw
* ''Mission Genesis'' (known as ''[[Deepwater Black]]'' in Canada where it originated.) Teen drama plays out with SF themes in the foreground on their way back to earth. Very intelligent, containing a few actors who would go on to fame in other [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|sci fi]] [[Andromeda|series]]. Canceled after 13 episodes.
* ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'' ran for two seasons, then was cancelled "due to cost issues and internal bickering."
* ''[[Caprica]]'': The network's official statement says it all: “Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, ‘Caprica’ has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season.”
** To add insult to injury, the cast and crew have been very clear that (a) the first season finale, which was filmed before the cancellation report, contains multiple cliff-hangers and would not make a satisfying end to the series, and (b) the second season has been planned out in more detail than any BSG season was, and it's a really good plan.
* ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' was canceled mid-season, with cast and crew only hearing it from their fans on Twitter. Although the show had [[Base Breaker|divided the Stargate fandom]], there's no denying that the show had quality and brilliant acting behind it ([[Robert Carlyle|ROBERT FREAKIN' CARLYLE!!]]) - even the haters had started to agree that season 2 was good. Plus, as the series had been planned out to last five seasons, it'll almost certainly end on a massive cliffhanger leaving almost all the main plot arcs unresolved. [[Sarcasm Mode|Thank you so much SyFy!]]
* ''[[Farscape]]'': An extremely clever if dark Sci fi with [[Muppets]], literally it was produced by [[Jim Henson]]'s company! Unfortunately, much like ''[[Firefly]]'' the Network had a hard time understanding its brilliance. It was moved around constantly and was eventually [[Screwed by the Network]] it its forth season, ending on a cliffhanger.
** Farscape only received a conclusion due to a massive outpouring of fan support after its cancellation.
* [[The Dresden Files (TV series)|The Dresden Files]]: based on the book series by the same name. Although the TV series was very different from its literary inspiration and not very well received by fans of the novels it was charming and clever and had lots of potential. But before it had much of a chance to prove itself it was canceled midway through it first season.
* ''[[Series/Tremors|Tremors]]'': Got decent ratings despite its lack of advertisement compared to other shows and having its episodes aired badly [[Out of Order]], Sci-fi pulled the plug anyways.
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=== Showtime ===
* ''[[Dead Like Me]]'': Not even quirk-friendly cable was friendly enough, alas.
* ''[[Odyssey 5]]''
* [[United States of Tara]]: Even though it lasted for three seasons, it was tragically cut too short.
=== USA ===
* ''[[Touching Evil]]''
=== ITV / CITV ===
* ''[[Beat The Cyborgs]]''. There was nothing wrong with this kid's game show. In fact, it was really good and quite well received, and a second series was promised. It just... never came. There was no explanation as to why, and now, seven years down the line, the programme's fallen off the edge of the earth to the point where there are [[Keep Circulating the Tapes|no online clips at all and it is never repeated]].
** CITV later stopped all commissions of original material (which killed off [[My Parents Are Aliens]]), and [[Mark Speight]], who was the presenter known as the Borgmaster, has '''[[Actor Existence Failure|died]]'''. Definitely no chance of a revival now.
* ''[[Palmetto Pointe]]''
* ''[[TUGS]]''
=== Lifetime ===
* ''[[Blood Ties]]''. This show had either one season or two half-seasons, depending on who you ask. It might have done better on a different network.
=== TNT ===
* ''[[Crusade]]'' (TNT): Infuriating in that it promised to both deepen the myth arc and tie off loose ends from its predecessor, ''[[Babylon 5]]''.
* ''[[Raising the Bar]]''
=== AMC ===
* ''Remember WENN'': Ran 3 seasons on AMC before that network changed its format. To add insult to injury, it ended on a [[Cliff Hanger]].
* ''[[Rubicon]]'': One season, also ending on a cliffhanger. Notable because it's the first, so far, of AMC's Original Series to be canceled prematurely.
=== [[Pro Sieben]] ===
* ''[[Stromberg]]'', a German comedy show extremely similar to ''[[The Office]]'', got recommissioned for several series, even though it was never a success. Still, they've got a large cult-fanbase.
=== [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] ===
== CBC ==▼
* ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest|Da Vinci's City Hall]]'': A sequel series to ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest]]'' (one of the highest-rated and most critically-acclaimed series to ever air in the network's history), ''City Hall'' moved the title character (and former coroner) Dominic Da Vinci from the medical office to the political field. The show was critically acclaimed (and unusually [[Continuity Lock Out|continuity-heavy]]) - critics and some viewers loved it, but others tuned out, and the network dumped it after a single season (with many loose ends still remaining).
* ''[[Intelligence]]'', made by the creator of ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest]]'', won a Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Series during its debut season in 2007, then got unceremoniously canned at the end of its second season. Supposedly, CBC killed it for political reasons.
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* ''[[The Border]]''
* ''[[This Is Wonderland]]'' lasted three seasons, but got no promotion and wildly varying timeslots by the network, and got canned with plot threads [[Left Hanging]].
* Radio-Canada, the french arm of the network, is no stranger to the trope either. A particularly [[Egregious]] case was ''Les Aventures de Jack Carter'', a quirky, witty, fun detective show that pulled in both great reviews and ratings, was cancelled after just one season because the network "wanted to make room for new shows". Even given the shorter runs of Quebec-made shows, it doesn't make much sense.
=== Teletoon ===
* ''[[Cybersix]]'' (Teletoon) was a brilliant series with lots of action, fun characters, and surprisingly mature content (among other things, episodes alluded to the death of a child and Nazism). It was very well received and even won an award, "Special Mention for the Best Science Fiction Program". Yet it only got one season of thirteen episodes (the original
=== Comedy Central ===
* ''[[The Critic]]'': Ran reruns, with the promise of new episodes. Never happened.
* ''[[TV Funhouse]]'' - Only ran one season with eight episodes. The reason behind its cancellation was because Comedy Central was disappointed at how each episode went over budget.
* ''[[Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire]]''. Canceled after one season.
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=== Veronica ===
* Not so much a show, but rather a channel itself devoted to cancelled shows. The Dutch channel Veronica pretty much runs on this stuff. The average plot: 1.) Show is announced with a lot of fanfare. The same teaser is shown over and over again. 2.) Show airs, some people get hooked. 3.) Show disappears without a warning. 4.) People check out the series online and learn that it only ran for a couple of episodes before getting cancelled. This goes for most sci-fi/action dramas listed above. There is a clue though, every time they first announce the show with the teasers, the show will be referred to as 'The hit series <insert showname>'. Latest victim: ''[[Flash Forward]]''.
=== GSN ===
While most of GSN's original programming is highly lambasted by fans of the game show genre, it did turn in a couple gems:
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=== Whole Television Channels ===
* [[wikipedia:C Channel|C Channel]], a Canadian premium cable channel focused on arts and culture, lasted only 5 months in 1983.
* [[wikipedia:Z Channel|Z Channel]], a pioneering cable television channel showing classic movies, basically a precursor to both AMC and [[Turner Classic Movies]]. It championed many of the same things that cinephiles did (and later the aforementioned [[Turner Classic Movies]]): Letterboxing, showing films that otherwise wouldn't appear on other networks, director's cuts of films, and so on. It lasted a decent amount of time, 1974 to 1989, but its last few years are rife with [[Executive Meddling]] and [[Network Decay]]. Xan Cassavetes, daughter of film director John Cassavetes, made an acclaimed documentary about the channel's heyday, ''[[wikipedia:Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession|Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession]]'' in 2004.
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=== A&E ===
* ''The Beast'', the 2009 crime drama starring [[Patrick Swayze]], was well-received, but never got to go far due to Swayze's struggle with pancreatic cancer. [[Actor Existence Failure|Only three months after it got cancelled, Swayze passed away]].
=== Discovery ===
* ''[[Storm Chasers]]'' was cancelled in January 2012 after 5 seasons for unknown reasons despite a positive response from viewers and elevating the chase teams to celebrity status.
----
=== [[Anime]] / [[Manga]] / [[Comics]] ===
* ''[[Aztek]]'' had a fresh hero, good crossover potential and a promising overarcing plot. Then it ran right into the 1996-97 comic book market crash and got cancelled after 10 issues. Luckily, Aztek had already been set up to join the [[Justice League of America]], and his plot got resolved in that book.
* ''[[Double Arts]]'' was an engrossing and fun manga that thumbed its nose at loads of the problematic stereotypes of its genre in wonderful ways and was obviously gearing up for an [[Ancient Conspiracy]] plot...and was cut down in its infancy by low ratings, with barely enough time for the artist to sketch out an ending with a little closure. An example of Screwed by the ''Demographic''
** The same can also be said for ''[[Mx0]]''.
* ''[[Gun Blaze West]]'': The series begun by Watsuki Nobuhiro just after Rurouni Kenshin finished. It only lasted long enough for two or three volumes worth of material.
** ''[[Busou Renkin]]'' almost nearly suffered the same fate, being canceled before the series had concluded. Nobushiro managed to at least get a proper ending made for the volume release, satisfyingly wrapping everything up.
* DC's "[[Red Circle]]" books, The Shield and The Web, had some great promise, but was cancelled after ten issues EACH!
*
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' got poor ratings in its original run and it was canceled, cutting down the amount of episodes from 52 to 39 and forcing Tomino had to quickly improvise an ending. However, due to good re-run ratings the show was re-cut (with some new animation) into 3 movies, and ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'' was made.
* The original ''[[Shaman King]]'' manga was canceled RIGHT BEFORE the showdown with the [[Big Bad]]. It would be [[Uncanceled]] and finished several years later.
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* ''[[Futaba-Kun Change!|Futaba Kun Change]]'' Cancelled just as it was setting up some major story arcs, leading to the creator scrambling to wrap everything up for the ending due to time constraints. We can't help wondering if the ending would have made more sense if it'd been given enough time to play out naturally.
* The new series of ''[[Exiles]]'' lasted about six issues.
* ''[[Batman Adventures]]'' (the second volume): a comic written by Ty Templeton and [[Dan Slott]] as a sequel to ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' that did its best to tie in with the [[DC Animated Universe]]. It was very sadly killed after only 17 issues to be replaced with a [[The Batman]] tie-in comic, leaving all of the plotlines (sadly the creative team planned on to at least 40 issues, some details on the Toonzone boards) except for the ones that they scrambled to cover in the last four issues [[Left Hanging|dangling]].
* Although ''[[Voices]]'' had a good run (with exciting action, well-made drama and a unique [[Interactive Comic
* ''Thor: The Mighty Avenger''. Although for all the complaining about its cancellation; it didn't ever manage to break 10k in issue sales which makes its cancellation by Marvel extremely reasonable from a business standpoint.
* ''[[Aoi Hana]]'' was supposed to get a second season, but those plans were canceled when the DVD sales for the first season turned out to be disappointing.
* ''Hikari no Densetsu'' is based on a best-selling manga, was produced by a highly talented staff and has had more than its share of positive reviews, yet it was a huge bomb on Japanese TV and was yanked off the air after only 19 episodes. The anime [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff|was a success in Europe, though]].
* ''[[Kanamemo]]'', which ended having a [[Sequel Hook]], never got its second season simply due to surprisingly poor DVD sales.
* The anime adaptation of ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' was met with [[And There Was Much Rejoicing|so much rejoicing]] that a deal for a second season was made before the first episode even aired. Unfortunately, despite being a faithful adaptation with solid characterization and some [[Crowning Music of Awesome|excellent music]], ratings for the show haven't been able to measure up to popularity of the manga.
* ''Hakaima Sadamitsu'', a little-known but ridiculously awesome [[Seinen]]. Started as a manga in 1999, got an anime adaptation in 2001 that was cancelled after ''ten episodes''. [[The Other Wiki]] says the manga is still going.
* Raijin Comics in the U.S. A weekly anthology series made up of ''[[Baki the Grappler]]'', ''[[Fist of the Blue Sky]]'', and attempting to bring in political and horror mangas? Hell yes! Only for it to to monthly within not even two years and then canceled.
* This is the general belief of fans from both the OVA and ''Decode'' series of ''[[Birdy the Mighty]]''. The OVA series only had four parts and the ''Decode'' series two seasons and both series still had many loose ends when they ended.
* ''[[Cyber City Oedo 808]]'' was intended as a demo to impress potential investors; had the investors been impressed, they would have expanded out the three one-hour episodes into a full length series... in 1993. Needless to say, the investors were not impressed.
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* ''[[Cross Gen]]'' Comics went bankrupt in 2004, right when the ''Negation War'' and ''Solusandra'' story arcs were bringing all the series in the universe together and the underlying meta-plot to light.
* Although not a television show, ''[[Battlefleet Gothic]]'' had only a few months of publicity and attention before being handed over to Specialist Games (then Fanatic Press), a fate shared with many other spinoff games.
* ''[[Lego Universe]]''
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* [[Working Designs]]. They were mostly known for their excellent localizations of the [[Lunar]] series, as well a several other games (mostly RPG and strategy) that would have otherwise [[No Export for You|never seen the light of day outside Japan]].
* [[Shenmue]]. Due to high production costs and low sells this epic hardly got off the ground. It's like reading the first half of Fellowship of the Ring and quitting.
* ''[[Panzer Dragoon]]'' was a great series of on-rail shooters, and the third game (''Panzer Dragoon Saga'') was an outstanding RPG, but Saga being released near the end of the Sega Saturn's lifespan in the US, and Orta being exclusively released for [[
** The prices of Saga alone should show you how much people love these games.
* [[Evolution:
* [[Phantom Brave]] is a truly remarkable game developed by [[Nippon Ichi]] (the people behind [[Disgaea]] series). Even though two remakes have been remade for the game on both Wii and PSP, the game has yet to make a sequel.
* ''[[Legacy of Kain]]''. Despite setting a new standard for thought-provoking plots and dialogue, these successes meant gameplay was traded off and resulted in the series' silent downfall, with the most recent game, 2003's ''Defiance'', selling below expectations and without real resolution, and a potential sequel, ''The Dark Prophecy'', quickly became [[Vaporware]]. Adding the fact that the head writer for the series is now working for Naughty Dog and the voice of the series' [[Big Bad]] is dead, and you can tell they're not going to put out another game any time soon.
* ''[[
* A console example, the infamous [[Sega Dreamcast]]. Same could be said for most of Sega's systems.
* ''[[Dino Crisis]]'' promised an interesting [[X Meets Y|premise]], and while not as popular as its sister franchise ''[[Resident Evil]]'' or its inspiration ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', it won over enough fans largely by emulating the [[Survival Horror]] aspects of the one and exploiting the dino appeal of the other. ''Dino Crisis 2'' took the series in a new direction, which made it something of a [[Contested Sequel]], but ''Dino Crisis 3'' turned out to be a [[Franchise Killer]], much to the dismay of fans of the previous titles. No sequels have ever been announced since then.
* ''Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy'': Ends on a "To be Continued." But with the Midway Lawsuit a sequel really looks unlikely.
* ''[[Jet Moto]]''.
* ''[[
** Them making the action only gameplay ridiculously hard, also didn't help matters.
* The ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' series was intended to be a seven-episode game series, but only episodes V, VII, and VI (released in that order) were made. [[Yasumi Matsuno]], the series' creator, left Quest during the development of ''Ogre Battle 64'' to work for Squaresoft, where he worked on ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. Even after [[Square Enix]] purchased Quest, he refused to work on any ''Ogre Battle'', choosing to concentrate on the so-called "Ivalice series". Now that Matsuno left Square Enix, it seems unlikely we'll ever see any of the first five ''Ogre Battle'' episodes. It might be on its way to revival, however, with the announcement of a remake of [[Tactics Ogre]] headed by [[Yasumi Matsuno]] himself. Keep your fingers crossed!
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* The ''[[System Shock]]'' series. Both were commercial failures but were critically acclaimed and ''System Shock 2'' in particular is widely regarded as one of the greatest [[FP Ses]] in history.
* ''[[Anachronox]]'' ended with a huge cliffhanger that thanks to producer ION Storm imploding will never get resolved.
* [[Fear Effect]]. Fear Effect Inferno was going to be the third game for the series, but Kronos folded. There are clips showing things that were supposed to happen in this game. This is the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pojVYDqE_4k first clip]. This is the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsEuBq1mVdg
* ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' was an unusual RPG series on the Gamecube, featuring a [[World in the Sky]] populated by [[Winged
** There are rumors that a third game ''might'' be in the works, though...
=== Literature ===
* The fabulous teen series ''DRAMA!'' never had more than a miniscule yet devoted fanbase, so Simon & Schuster decided to stop publishing it after just four books. Fortunately, they gave Paul Ruditis the bad news before he started the fourth book, so he was able to speed up some story arcs to give his characters the ending they deserved.
=== Music ===
* Andromeda (UK); power trio featuring future Atomic Rooster guitarist John Du Cann
* At The Drive-In
* The Avalanches
* Syd Barrett
* Black Star
* [[Big Star (band)|Big Star]]
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* Husker Du
* JJ72
* Jellyfish. Two commercially ignored [https://web.archive.org/web/20101003032225/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg
* Josef K
* [[Joy Division]], though they lived on, in a way, as [[New Order]].
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** Luckily there's still [[Queens of the Stone Age]].
* The La's
* Life Without Buildings (even though it seemed more like an art project than an actual band).
* Richey-era [[Manic Street Preachers]]
* mclusky
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=== Radio ===
* ''[[The Stan Freberg Show]]'' was canceled by the CBS radio network after running for only 15 episodes, due to failure to attract a sponsor. [[Stan Freberg]] took favorite sketch requests a week before the final episode to thank fans for their enthusiasm for the show. Thank goodness all the episodes survive.
* Australian comedian Tony Martin's ''Get This'' was a massively clever and energetic show that mocked a lot of radio conventions. Because of this it was axed despite being not only network Triple M's top rating show, but also the ONLY show rating vaguely well. Note it continued to be the top-rating show in spite of undergoing three timeslot shifts.
=== Sport ===
* The [[Formula One]] race track in Istanbul, introduced in 2005, got called "the best race track in the world" by Bernie Ecclestone (President and CEO of Formula One Management). It got pushed off the calender for the 2012 calender, meaning it only ever hosted six Grand Prix.
=== Toys ===
* [[Xevoz]] and its tie-in comic. The toyline from Hasbro (with aid from Stikfas) was made up of figures with interchangeable parts and weapons, and a collectible card like game, using the figures themselves and "Battle Helix" dice. It only lasted for four series of figures, but that's two more than it seemed the line would support. After seemingly being cancelled after Series 2, and again after Series 3 (plus some deluxe sets), Xevoz finally disappeared for good (for now).
* Hornby's [[Were Bears]] were discontinued after 1989 despite them being very well made and original toys. They have become very sought after and collectable toys since then. A few new [http://www.lsaccounting.com/werebears/ websites] hint that they may be being made once again and might even have a movie or cartoon series made after them.
* [[Zoids]] models
* [[Transformers]]: The Alternators were Hasbro's finally giving the adult [[Periphery Demographic]] (the [[Trope Namer]] for [[Ruined FOREVER]]) what they had been begging for since the 80s: big, complex, show accurate "collector" toys. Adult fans loved it, but it turns out they didn't make up as much of the audience/buyers as they thought and the Alternators didn't sell well enough to continue. The Alternators continue to rack up impressive sums of money on eBay, though, and they are pretty sweet.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100722003231/http://64.207.161.176/indexFlash.html Stan Winston Creatures], makers of, amongst other things, the [[Furry Fandom|Furry-friendly]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121213173443/http://gofigureactionfigures.com/page167.html Realm of the Claw] action figures. Thanks to a dispute with Toys 'R Us, the exclusive distributor of the company's toys, they were forced to put a hold on further toy development. After languishing in [[Development Hell]] for years, [[Artist Existence Failure|once Stan Winston died...]]
* [[Barbie|My Scene]] dolls, had a small but devoted fandom. Now it's not even didtributed out of South America.
==
* The Film Crew, a [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' helmed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. The four episodes available on Amazon are the only four there were and are likely to ever be. Fortunately, their second attempt at a spiritual revival of MST3K, [[Riff Trax]], seems to have been a hit.
----
== Shows that were rescued (Exceptions) ==
* ''[[Angel]]'': While the show ran long enough and the finale was appropriate enough to make it feel like a show that naturally ended, a sixth season was planned but cancelled. [[Joss Whedon]] was broken up about it.
* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', although this show managed at least 3 seasons, about 2 1/2 more than most of the others on this list, it still stung because of the massive positive critical response and awards won.
** 2011. Confirmation on [[The Movie]] going on ahead. [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|New freakin' season announced]].
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'': Canceled after season four, forcing the producers to compress stories intended for two seasons into one. ''Then'' they were picked up for a fifth season on TNT.
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* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' ([[Nickelodeon]]): Creator [[Butch Hartman]] expressed interest in continuing the series but Nickelodeon wouldn't have it. At least he still managed to give it a [[Grand Finale]], despite the third season only being about half as long as the other two.
* ''[[Dark Angel]]''. Fox show. Only an exception in the sense of having had two seasons, otherwise characterized by everything it says at the top. Third season greenlit and then abruptly cancelled.
* ''[[Daria]]'': After the end of the series' 5th season, [[MTV]] gave Glenn Eichler an option: a 6-episode 6th season or another [[Made for TV Movie]]. Eichler, running out of ideas, choose the movie, and the series ended with ''Is It College Yet?''
* Two DCU examples: Both ''[[Blue Beetle]]'' and ''[[Manhunter (
** Also: The two 'Red Circle' books ("The Shield" and "The Web") had their plots wrapped up in the current "Mighty Crusaders" mini-series!
* ''[[Dollhouse]]'': Miraculously managed to get a second season in spite of low ratings because Fox was aware of the dedicated fanbase, but was cancelled after episode 2.04 aired. On the one hand, that seems premature; on the other hand, it gave the crew time to write and film a series finale instead of just a season finale.
* ''[[Due South]]'' ([[CBS]]) had a wobbly history, including getting canceled ''twice'', but it aired four seasons and ended on its own terms.
* ''[[Exo Squad]]'' (USA): Note that they DID finish off a couple story arcs before the cancellation hit, so it could also count as a counter example. Its later cousin, ''[[Wing Commander Academy]]'', fared far worse (13 eps, cut off right in the middle when [[USA Network]] pulled all of their Saturday morning cartoon lineup.)
* ''[[For Your Love]]'' <ref>(perhaps the most unusual example on this page as despite airing for 4 years on a major network not all that long ago, hardly anyone seems to have even heard of this show let alone remember it)</ref> was first aired on NBC and cancelled after six episodes, it was then picked up by ''[[The WB]]'' and managed to last for another four seasons. It was renewed in spite of suffering a 70% drop in ratings during the third season, though it's final years on the network were a bit spotty, as it frequently shifted schedules and came very close to being cancelled after the fourth season, and six episodes episodes of the fifth season(including the series finale and one christmas-themed episode that was held back from the fourth season) were unaired in the original run, though [[TV One]] later picked up ''[[For Your Love]]'' for reruns and the missing episodes were finally aired.
* ''[[Freakazoid!]]'': One of the best comedy cartoons of the 90's. Unfortunately, it was built on [[Parental Bonus]], even though it was put on Kids' WB. Only got two seasons.
* ''[[Friday Night Lights (TV series)|Friday Night Lights]]'': A rather unusual example. After airing on NBC for two seasons, the acclaimed but low-rated show was saved from cancellation by moving to DirecTV's "101 Network" channel for three more seasons, with NBC itself re-airing the show each spring after the 101 Network run had ended.
* ''[[Futurama]]'': Vindication was had at last in 2007, when the show was [[Uncanceled]].
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* ''[[News Radio]]'' was fast paced and witty, but suffered a lot of time slot changes by NBC and it never quite made it to the top of the ratings not to mention the death of an important cast member well into the series, and yet it managed to go on for five seasons.
* ''[[Oz]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[Sliders]]'': was cancelled after its first season, brought back as a mid-season replacement the following year after fan protesting, and aired two more seasons on Fox. The [[Network Decay|SYFY]] channel produced a fourth and fifth season before finally cancelling it.
* ''[[Space Cases]]'': Guess what other space series this show shares an actress with. [[The Firefly Effect|Go on, guess.]] She got written out of the show after season 1, though... Too bad for Nickelodeon.
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* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'': canceled after its second season due to poor ratings, it was revived by one of the first [[Sending Stuff to Save the Show|fan campaigns]].
* ''[[Terminator]]: [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', victim of a [[Retool]] that turned off its viewer base.
* ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'': Not only did the cult-favorite animated series last only three seasons, but its live-action counterpart sadly ended with only one season (and two episodes never even aired).
* ''[[Titus]]'': [[Christopher Titus|The creator]] even said that he preferred it was canceled due to [[Executive Meddling]] and risky material then not being popular or funny.
* ''[[Undergrads]]''
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* ''[[ECW]]'': Partially due to [[Screwed by the Network|TNN's refusal to advertise]] or even ''acknowledge'' the show, using it as a test drive to drop it for WWF.
* ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' was canceled midway through its second season with 10 episodes left; those are set to air as planned but it will not be getting a third season.
** A ''lot'' of people would disagree that the show is an example of this. Ultimately, it died for lack of ratings and not the [[
*** The second season's ratings did sink like a stone, but it bears noting that it was after a time-slot change. Funnily enough it was REMOVED from the Friday slot and did worse.
** What ''is'' sad is that this may mean the SGA and SG1 movies, already in [[Development Hell]], are off the table as well ([[Word of God]] says they're "indefinitely postponed"). A franchise of new 'gate films with the level of epicness seen in ''[[Stargate: Continuum]]'' would have been the coolest thing ever - too cool to last.
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[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
[[Category:Audience Reactions]]
[[Category:Too Good to Last]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Short Runners]]
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