TV series are known for keeping the audiences hooked for years. However, with the various networks being 24×7 and the advent of streaming services, things go under the chopping block before their prime. Not only does it leave the story hanging, it feels like a wasted investment of time going through the old episodes.
Here is a list of TV series that ended too soon. I personally thought they had potential and should have got an opportunity to atleast end on good terms. This list is in no particular order.
1. Terranova
Running for just one season, this sci-fi show had time-travel, guns and dinosaurs. Years into the future (mid 22nd century), Earth is uninhabitable (population, pollution.. the usual suspects). Scientists discover a one-way to connect to a parallel earth that is 85 million years behind, but not on the same timeline. Scientists send humans to new world a.k.a “Terra Nova” and the folks chosen are experts in their fields (along with their families). Jim Shannon, the main character is wanted on current Earth for violating the population guidelines and harboring a third child. He stows away on the mission that goes to Terra Nova and his wife and two kids are part of. Commander Taylor is initially annoyed at this unexpected settler, but is convinced that the new colony needs some policing, especially when we learn that the folks who came in on the sixth mission went rogue. The Sixers as they are known sabotage the colony and it is slowly unraveled that they are sent by corporate industrialists to strip mine the minerals from Terra Nova to the current world. The season ends with Jim’s son shown as working for the Sixers and a way developed to travel both ways.
The show had a unique premise (The multiverse was not done to death in 2011), was fast paced and had great production value. With Steven Spielberg as an Executive Producer, this could have easily been explored to a few more seasons but was cancelled in 2012.
2. Ghosted
You have seen buddy cop shows, you have seen buddy agent shows, but have you seen buddy paranormal investigator shows? That’s where Ghosted comes in, a genre mix of Comedy, Fantasy & Investigation. Team up an ex-Stanford professor whose papers on Multiverses made him an object of ridicule to a point where he ends up working in a bookstore and a no-nonsense ex-LA cop, there is enough to build a plot of how they bond together for a good while. Add to this mix, a top secret agency called The Bureau Underground that investigates a series of “unexplained” activities, you could add layers of villains to keep the audience interested.
Running for just one season in 2017 with 15 episodes (+ 1 out-of-sequence episode), it was cancelled by FOX (going 2 for 2 in my list here). I remember this series as being funny and the combination of Adam Scott & Craig Robinson was really good. A bit of sci-fi never hurt my ratings, so the doohickeys in the show were always interesting to look at.
3. Take Two
What happens when a down & out actress, coming out of rehab wants to get a part as a Private Investigator in an upcoming movie role? She finds a PI and decides to shadow him. As time passes Sam Swift realizes that it is more fun and enjoyable solving cases with Eddie than playing a pretend detective on screen.
Like any show that puts two unlikely people together and gets them to work in an office together, the actress & the ex-cop are initially at loggerheads with each other and then slowly recognize that they complement each other. The chemistry between the leads with their “will-they/won’t they” is not very unique, but it did lead to some charming moments. The show had a right mix of sleuthing and keeping it light, which made it a pleasant watch. ABC cancelled this show towards the end of 2018.
4. Instinct
In a genre similar to the one above in this list, Instinct had two seasons before getting the axe. An ex-CIA paramilitary officer, turned professor, joins forces with a NYPD detective to solve murders that are based on the professor’s book. Mildly reminiscent of Castle, but more serious, this show had a good pace. While Alan Cumming might not be the first person you imagine as a paramilitary officer, you are able to connect with him more as an author/professor. A unique factor in this show was that you know for certain that the leads will not end up being romantically involved – Alan is a happily married gay man.
As the seasons progressed, we are made aware of a more sinister group at play and could have paid out for more seasons as we unraveled the mystery there. In August 2019, around when the second season ended, the show was cancelled.
5. Great News
What happens when your over-protective mother is hired as an intern where you work? It sure leads to some funny moments. A clean and funny series that ran for just two seasons before NBC cancelled the show in 2018, Great News is a show that did sitcom well. John Michael Higgins and Andrea Martin shine in their comic brilliance and great timing.
A workplace comedy, it is close to Parks and Recreation in execution and the inter-office relationships brought in the laughs. The writers didn’t try too hard to bring the funny element in, with the creator Tracey Wigfield (of 30 Rock fame) also penning a good number of episodes.
6. Travelers
I had to edit this post to add entry #6, though I could easily kick myself for missing this out the first time around. I would easily watch this show again – a perfect mix of sci-fi, time travel with AI to boot (well ahead of the ChatGPT time). This would be an ideal watch if you are someone who loves Christopher Nolan’s genre of movies. The show explains the science behind a lot of what’s happening keeping the audience interested. In a distant future when things haven’t gone the way humans would have wanted, a group of operatives send their consciousness back into bodies of the past to help alter the future. Guided by an AI Quantum Computer called The Director who uses public records, social media to calculate the next move in this multi-dimensional puzzle. While each season has an underlying purpose, each episode has a mission that gives you a sense of completion for watching. The group of five are people who haven’t met before in their past lives and the way they bond together makes interesting character development.
As seasons progress, a lot is revealed such as the presence of rouge travelers and the way data is transcribed for the future. There was enough to get the story to beyond 3 seasons. Netflix took over the reins from Showcase in Season 3 and should have given this series its due, but didn’t and we end up with a conclusion that leaves the viewer disappointed.
What upsets me the most about a lot of the cancelled shows is that the creators did not get a chance to wind-up their stories. The original intent might have been for more seasons, but with a good enough runway to land the show before it gets cancelled, the audience (and the creators) get closure. Do you have other shows that should have gone longer but bore the studio’s brunt? Add in your comments.
