Even though the fall TV season is slowly embracing us, with so many new and returning shows on the way, that's definitely not a guarantee that shows will stop getting cancelled. In fact, the past couple of weeks have seen some big announcements for shows ending all across the TV-scape, and while some of them carried an olive branch of good news to go along with plugs being pulled, not all were so lucky.
Here are all the TV cancellations that we'll be mulling over and mourning for the near future. Let's kick things off with a show whose absence from primetime should make other Emmy-nominated comedies breathe a sigh of relief.
Veep
HBO's critical darling Veep is coming to an end, though thankfully not until after Season 7 has aired, with those final ten episodes set for 2018, presumably in the summer. It was interesting to see Veep handle its sixth season in the political climate that was birthed after Donald Trump was elected President, and even though we would easily watch Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' Selina Meyer continue to run her revolving door of staff members ragged with an endless cycle of mayhem, showrunner David Mandel decided that the upcoming season's storyline was the best way to bow out. So many four-letter words to say about that.
Blood Drive
One of Syfy's most ambitiously out-there dramas to ever hit the channel, Blood Drive was one-part Mad Max, one-part Death Race 2000, and one-part Roger Corman daydream, all thrown into a blender with a ton of grindhouse VHS releases that likely won't get converted into DVDs. Blood Drive was a blast for the most part, and so it was a bummer when creator James Roland made the announcement that Syfy had passed on picking up Season 2. There's a slight chance that the show could live on with a second season somewhere other than Syfy, but it's not so likely.
The Last Tycoon
With a cast that included Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer and Lily Collins -- not to mention filmmaker Billy Ray as the one who adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished and posthumously published novel -- The Last Tycoon had prestige written all over it. And though its release in July was met with many upward-turned thumbs, they weren't the most enthusiastic thumbs, and Amazon called it quits just two months later, citing financial reasons. It's all the more distressing for fans, since we'd learned from Ray ahead of the drama's release that The Last Tycoon's creative team was all set to break open the second season.
Will
William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known writers of all time, and countless shows and movies have been based on his work. But TNT brought something different to the table with the punk-embracing bard at the center of the drama Will. But that original spin wasn't enough to bring in the kinds of viewers and ratings that TNT was hoping for, and so Will suffered a cancellation fate that might not have been as direly tragic as the stories of so many of Shakespeare's characters, but it was still a most unpleasant situation for all involved. To be, or not to be? Will now fits into the latter category.
Dark Matter
Created by Stargate franchise vets Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, Dark Matter was one of the recent shows that ushered in the resurgence of science fiction programming on Syfy. It built up quite a dedicated fan base during its three seasons on the air, as viewers watched the central squad of memory-light spacefarers discovering their true identities within the mysterious overall narrative. While the show's ratings weren't the most laudable, Mallozi posted a blog post following the cancellation that pegged the blame on the fact that Dark Matter was a series acquisition, rather than a project that Syfy owned outright.
Class
As popular as Doctor Who has been for so many decades, it's a wonder that there haven't been at least a dozen spinoffs over the years. But there were only two live-action offshoots before the younger-skewing Class came around last year, and both of those lasted years longer than the thematically dark Class did. This is perhaps the most surprising cancellation entry on this list, considering producer and still-current Who showrunner Steven Moffat had said earlier this year that another Class season was coming down the line, not to mention the overwhelming acclaim the show attained with its first season. Perhaps a trick back in time would change things?
Z: The Beginning Of Everything
Amazon Studios' recent announcement that it would be pulling back the financial reins with its original series was somewhat shocking, considering the parent company. But it was far more shocking when the news dropped that Christina Ricci's historical drama Z: The Beginning of Everything had been cancelled, even though it had already received a Season 2 renewal months previous. The studio had reportedly already spent upwards of $7 million on the second season when the cancellation happened, making it seem quite likely that Season 1 was more expensive than we'd imagined. Centering on Zelda Fitzgerald, this was the second Fitzgerald-y drama to hit Amazon's chopping block.
Killjoys
Of all the shows listed here, Syfy's Killjoys got the cancellation that should technically bother fans the least, as it came coupled with a doubled-up renewal for Season 4 and Season 5. So there are still 20 more episodes of Killjoys to go, which will take a while to get here, since Season 3 just bowed out at the beginning of the month. That should give the creative team more than enough time to figure out the best way to end things for the engaging bounty hunters leading the way. Now how do we get Hannah John-Kamen on a ton of other shows in the meantime?
While all of these shows have either said their goodbyes, or will be saying them in the future, don't forget about everything that's yet to premiere. For all that, head to our fall premiere schedule.
