20 TV shows that were canceled too soon

The casting director for Freaks and Geeks was on point. While the amazingly done show only lasted one season, its stars went on to be some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with a few involved with the Marvel Universe, others going on to have hit series, and then there’s Seth Rogen, a comedy titan in front and behind the camera.

When Netflix dropped David Fincher’s Mindhunter in 2017, true crime enthusiasts were living for the series inspired by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s book, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit. A look inside how the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit came to be in the ‘70s, with eerie interviews with actors who were mirror images of infamous serial killers. The show was an instant hit with a second and ultimately last season airing in 2019. Talk of a third season made the rounds for some time, but nothing ever came, leaving fans forever yearning for more.

Wonderfalls walked so that, a year later, My Name Is Earl could jog. Wonderfalls was about a college grad named Jaye whose life takes a turn when the trinkets at the gift shop where she works start to talk to her, urging her to help people. It’s kind of like Earl in that both were all about passing along good karma and kindness. However, Wonderfalls would only last 13 episodes, while Earl would go on to have four seasons.

While Young Rock did manage to garner three seasons, there was so much more to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s story that fans were eager to see play out on the series. Wrestling fans, especially, were thrilled to see their favorite sports entertainment in a new light, with older wrestlers being portrayed on the series as well. It was a chance to hear some new behind-the-scenes tales from the man who was there. Fans will just have to rely on the show’s 37 episodes to hold them over.

Before everyone and their mother were critics online, Jay Sherman was an average, animated movie critic with his own TV show on The Critic. The Fox series ran for two seasons and followed Jay both on and off camera, much of which was watching Jay attempt a life of basic happiness that consisted of his son, a love interest, and parents who’d drive anyone mad.

Everything Sucks was as much a love letter to the decade of Nirvana and Beanie Babies as it was to the hardships of growing up. The Netflix series didn't make it past one season, and that left many feeling a certain type of way because Everything Sucks! brought two new perspectives to coming-of-age, even for 2018, Black and LGBTQ youths. The two outcasts who found one another offered something new to the genre, and it was unfortunate the show couldn’t continue their stories through high school.

Despite its ravenous fanbase, Firefly only wound up airing one season on Fox. To be fair, though, Fox was really not feeling a lot of shows it premiered that year. The American Embassy, Greg the Bunny, and That ‘80s Show also all got the boot in 2002.  

Enlisted was about three brothers in the Army wind up in the same place for the first time, and while one would think they’d gel, they don’t as they are all at various points in their own lives. A great comedic ensemble couldn’t get this Fox comedy a second season.

Gen X will never forgive ABC for getting rid of My So-Called Life after only one season. However, one has to wonder what would’ve become of Claire Danes and Jared Leto’s careers had they stayed on that show longer than they did.

The Oblongs was everything Beetlejuice’s Lydia Deetz proclaimed: strange and unusual, but oh so great. It originally aired on The WB before moving to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, but perhaps it was too ahead of its time, as only 13 episodes ever aired.

While Nickelodeon did dish out three seasons of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, it only amounted to 34 episodes. Not many for the legion of diehard fans who found the series to be as entertaining as it was an endearing coming-of-age story featuring brothers in the early ‘90s. Nickelodeon would go on to create a couple more shows centered around brothers, but none would ever capture audiences like Pete & Pete once did.  

It should be a law that TV shows can’t end on a cliffhanger. That way, people would not have to live with the constant nagging question of what happened next, which is what fans of Santa Clarita Diet have to live with forever, as the show’s season three finale left people forever wondering.

Seth Rogen just could not catch a break on TV at the beginning of his career. Not too long after ABC canned his high school series, Freaks and Geeks, Rogen found himself graduated and in college on Fox’s Undeclared. Like his time in high school, though, college didn’t last longer than a season. Undeclared also starred a very young (and unrecognizable) Charlie Hunnam, who went on to lead Sons of Anarchy for several seasons on FX.

A beautiful, often otherworldly blend of horror, history, and fantasy came together on HBO’s Lovecraft Country.  Stacked full of talent, including the late Michael K. Williams,  Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku, and Courtney B. Vance, who won an Emmy for his role in this, Lovecraft Country was a hit from the jump, but its popularity and critical acclaim weren’t enough to get it renewed for a second season.

By the time So Little Time premiered in 2001, the Olsen twins were already making bank due to not only eight seasons of Full House but also a collection of home videos, a clothing line, and countless other merchandise that had their names plastered on it. One would’ve thought their star power would’ve been enough to make this series a hit, but one season later, it was gone. The cancellation didn’t impact the Olsens. They spent the next few years making movies like When in Rome, Getting There, and New York Minute.

Looking to bank off the success of It, I Am Not Okay With This starred two kids from the newest take on the horror film: Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff. In only seven episodes, the series showed promise and was originally greenlit for a second season, but premiering in 2020, the second season was eventually canned due to the pandemic.

When it comes to capturing what it was like to be an adolescent in the 2000s, nothing comes close to Pen15. From the awkward stances to the fashion to the cruciality of AIM, Pen15 painted the year 2000 with gel pens and art, and was many millennials’ comfort show for two seasons. Fans would have loved to see Maya and Anna through high school, but 2020 happened, as did the stars’ real-life pregnancies. Alas, Pen15 lives on as a perfect portrait of Y2K nostalgia.  

The Kids Are Alright was like if one had taken Malcolm in the Middle, added a few more kids, and tossed them back in time 30 years. Set during Vietnam, the show delivered a heavy dose of comedy but also tackled subjects such as the draft, women’s rights, and more that would’ve been interesting to see unfold for just as long as ABC’s other family series. Even with an almost perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes when it premiered, ABC decided to cancel the series after one season.

Popular ended its second season with a crash, and The WB thought fans would forget about it. They haven’t, and they deserve answers.

Despite showcasing diversity in a multitude of ways, being a delightful retelling of a classic book series, and earning Netflix a Daytime and Children's and Family Emmy, a couple of TCA Awards, and Artios Awards, The Baby-Sitters Club was no more after two seasons. With its level of talent and accolades, The Baby-Sitters Club deserved as much love and attention from the streamer as Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy, and Squid Game.