While all good things do come to an end, sometimes they come to an end way too soon. These celebrated cancelled TV shows certainly did so.
Hung
The popular series won many Emmy awards and other best show nominations. It was showered with Golden Globe awards too. Hung was more than just a sex comedy. It was a well-thought out show that banked on satire and the acting chops of the amazing lead actor – Thomas Jane. Thomas Jane plays a male escort who jumps many hoops to make ends meet.
Pushing Daisies
Lee Pace of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hobbit fame stars as Ned, a quirky pie-maker with the ability to bring back the dead to life. The show suffered from having a premise way ahead of its time. It’s problems increased because of the poor timing of its premiere. The infamous Writers’ Strike happened soon after and many shows had to shut down production for good.
Jericho
TV Guide lists it at #11 in its “Top Cult Shows Ever”. The show was an incredible success for ABC. A small town in Kansas is one of the few safe places after a nuclear holocaust destroys most of civilization. The show ended on a cliffhanger with a neighboring community taking over the town. When fans heard the show was being axed, they sent 40,000 pounds of peanuts to the network headquarters. This was an ode to the final words of Jake Green in the show when he said, “Nuts!!” The campaign worked and the show got a second season but poor ratings led to its cancellation for good.
Mr. Show
The series had Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) and David Cross (Arrested Development) before they were big names in Hollywood. The show regularly entertained seemingly obscure comedians who went on to become huge names in the industry later on. The show was darker and more immersive. The AV Club loved the show so much they reviewed it again in 2010. If not a conventional movie, a feature length documentary would do as well.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Basically a comedy show set within a comedy show, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip was the kind of meta-comedy that led to the success of shows like The Office and Modern Family. The show centered around the exploits of the fictional show’s fictional creators, happening behind the scenes. The success of 30 Rock destroyed the show’s future prospects.
Enlightened
Laura Dern plays a woman who has suffered a massive career catastrophe. She now finds new meaning in a philosophical awakening and tries to get her life back in order. Audiences and critics loved the show. Dern even got a Golden Globe nomination. The show was cancelled because the network wasn’t satisfied.
Dead Like Me
This Showtime series was about a woman named Georgia Lass who dies before her time and turns into a Grim reaper. She is tasked with escorting souls to the afterlife. The series expertly combined death and comedy, playing it in perfect balance. the creator of the show left just after five episodes due to creative differences, leaving the fans gasping for more content.
Carnivale
Carnivale was about two people – Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin as they discover they have a shared, mysterious healing ability. Set during the Dust Bowl era, the show was incredibly expensive, costing about 2 Million per episode. Carnivale had record braking numbers in its first season and won 5 Emmys. But it was still cancelled, leaving many plotlines unresolved.
Sense8
The show was so incredibly popular that when it was cancelled, the fans wrote thousands of heartfelt letters to Netflix to revive the series. Netflix relented, agreeing to make a two hour finale. But the show still has some juice left and could be turned into a movie if the forces that be agree. It told the tale of eight strangers that got telepathically linked and the consequences of those abilities.
Ash vs. Evil Dead
Sex and the City, Firefly, and The Simpsons went from small screen to the theaters. The Evil Dead franchise went in reverse. Ash vs. Evil Dead lasted for 3 seasons. The horror comedy put Ash Williams again on the driver’s seat to fight all kinds of supernatural foes. The show lasted for 3 season on Starz but still enjoys a cult like following.
Counterpart
The last entry on this list is a little too close to the heart, we are afraid. Counterpart was a Starz sci fi series starring J.K. Simmons. Simmons plays Howard Silk, who discovers the agency he works for is guarding the gateway to a parallel universe containing a parallel Earth. Counterpart’s last season ended on a cliffhanger. The show got cancelled when Starz concluded the viewer-base was “too male” to fit into its proposed female centric season 3.
