Listen, there are always going to be TV cancellations people are personally mad about. Every show has a fanbase of some sort, and there's probably never been a TV cancellation that at least a few people weren't sad about in their heart of hearts. However, while some shows quietly go the way of the dinosaur, some of them actually have a slew of passionate fans who are deeply upset and extremely vocal when a show goes by the wayside.
These are some of these shows.
NCIS: Hawai’i (2024)
It’s safe to say fans were not happy about NCIS: Hawai’i’s cancelation. The first female-fronted series in the franchise also had a great ensemble cast and a gorgeous setting. Given the longevity of most shows in this franchise, people were surprised and not pleased when the CBS decision came down. A "#saveNCISHawaii" hashtag was started, but all for naught.
Hannibal (2015)
NBC's spicy take on Hannibal Lector lasted for three seasons and was ultimately canceled due to low viewership. However, the show had developed a passionate fanbase, and that fanbase has only grown over time. In fact, as of the last couple of years, the fan campaign to #SaveHannibal is still ongoing, which is wild given the show was cancelled nearly a decade ago.
Jericho (2007 And 2008)
Jericho was amazingly canceled not once, but twice, on CBS. The show was cut after its first season due to low ratings. Fans went "nutty," as one outlet wrote at the time, and mailed thousands of pounds of peanuts to the network. It was an early fan campaign to pitch a renewal, but sadly it only temporarily worked. Jericho was canceled a second time in 2008 after its shortened second season aired.
Glow (2020)
Glow was a big loss for fans, mostly because the show about female wrestlers had gotten a big renewal. Netflix reversed its decision after months of no filming during the pandemic, and fans were, of course, not pleased. It wasn't the only casualty of 2020, but it was the most notable, given its longevity (it was heading into Season 4) and its renewal reversal.
Pushing Daisies (2009)
There hasn't been a show quite like Pushing Daisies any time before or after. The quirky ABC series followed a pie maker who could reanimate the dead. Even before the era where fan petitions were in vogue, people were hoping the drama would make a comeback. Years later, people are still pining over it.
Mindhunter (2019)
Originally it was unclear if Mindhunter was canceled or in some sort of limbo, but once it became clear Netflix had said goodbye to the series due to its cost relative to its audience, people were not pleased. It may have been too small a number for one of the biggest and best streaming services to continue, but a slew of disappointed threads sprung up. Fans are still bummed.
Star Trek (1969)
There are some shows that manage to build such a dedicated fanbase that they'll push as hard as they can to keep a show on the air. Such was the case with the original Star Trek, which was canceled after Season 2. Fans actually wrote a slew of letters asking CBS to bring it back, a protest happened at Caltech, and the show ultimately earned a Season 3 renewal, spawning the franchise fans know and love today.
Deadwood (2006)
One of several HBO shows that fans felt was canceled far too soon, Deadwood's cast was stacked and featured some amazing performances from Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane and writing from David Milch. The show was acclaimed during the three seasons it aired, and was canceled unexpectedly. For years, people asked about what a fourth season would look like and finally this became one cancelation with a happy ending as Deadwood: The Movie aired in 2019.
Agent Carter (2016)
People love Peggy Carter, and they love Hayley Atwell's portrayal of the Marvel character. So, when ABC announced they were giving Peggy her own series, it seemed like a fun side project in the Marvel timeline and a cool period drama to boot. It was those things, but airing on network TV was maybe not the best fit. ABC tried to run the series during mid-season breaks of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, but it didn't garner enough eyeballs. Agent Carter was canceled after two seasons. An impressive more than 70,000 people petitioned to keep the show, but ultimately you need more viewers to stick around on network TV.
Arrested Development (2006 And 2019)
Fox's Arrested Development was the quirky comedy that could during its time on the air, and after it got canceled it only grew in popularity. Over time, buzz grew about a desire to finish the story, and in a surprise move, Netflix brought the series back. People weren't as pumped about the new episodes, and the second time it was canceled with little fanfare in 2019.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2019)
In the mid-aughts, TV went on a tear of musical productions, with shows like Smash, Galavant and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hitting the airwaves. What most had in common? They didn't last super long. Among these productions, however, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend notably lasted four seasons despite low ratings. It's a show that only grew later, and fans have been coming across it for years and lamenting it didn't last longer.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman (1997)
Lois & Clark is a bit of a weird one. Originally planned for 5 seasons, ABC actually paid Warner Bros. to get out of the contract and only air one of a planned two-season contract at the end of the show's run. Fans were shaken up at the time the show was canceled as it dropped from a solidly-rated series to one in contention for cancelation faster than a speeding bullet. Oddly, it's a story that would be repeated with Superman & Lois years later.
Santa Clarita Diet (2019)
Timothy Olyphant called Santa Clarita Diet the perfect "zom-com" after it got canceled, but even creating a new genre of storytelling wasn't enough to save the Netflix series. Years later, a viral Twitter thread continued the dialogue about how heartbroken fans were about this one.
Firefly (2002)
Firefly hit cult status after its cancelation by Fox in the early aughts. The series was beloved by fans at conventions, many of whom wrote letters and reportedly even took out an ad in Variety to save the show. It paid off in Serenity in 2005, but the original series never made a comeback.
Happy Endings (2013)
Happy Endings was conceived to be a modern follow-up to Friends, but it didn't have quite the same fairytale run. In fact, ABC messed with the schedule on this series so much it made it hard in the time of linear viewing for fans who loved the show to keep up, and many were unhappy when the sitcom was axed in 2013. Fans wrote complaints and many outlets wrote articles after the fact about the treatment of the series, citing it as the reason it lacked success.
Cagney & Lacey (1982 And 1988)
A show about two female cops was groundbreaking in the early eighties. Unfortunately, CBS canceled it after just six episodes. The cancelation led to protests after an executive made some comments about the way the female leads were perceived and it sparked major backlash and protests. CBS ultimately reversed its decision and the show ran for seven seasons, and went on to win 36 Emmy nominations and 14 wins.
Forever (2014)
Sometimes a show does pretty well with viewers but ends up on the cancelation bubble and ultimately gets dropped. Ioan Gruffudd's Forever is a classic example of this. Airing on ABC in 2014, the show followed a seemingly-immortal medical examiner and was loved by its fanbase (particularly globally), though critics were mixed. When Forever got canceled, it was one of the early shows to grow a cancelation fanbase on Twitter thanks to creator Matt Miller's regular updates. Unfortunately, it didn't come back.
The OA (2019)
A lot of times when Netflix cancels shows it's after only one season. The OA was a different case. Landing two seasons before its ultimate cancelation, the sci-fi series had an avid fanbase who were upset the streamer said goodbye. After it got dropped, a #SaveTheOA was launched on social media, including petition signing, fan videos, and fans even trying to rope Hilary Duff into the movement.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (2007)
Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to The West Wing was hotly anticipated, and people were really excited about the fictional plot, which followed a late night series akin to SNL. At the time there were high hopes it would get an elongated run, but it only made it one season before getting the axe. Its fanbase grew over time, and years later the show attracted renewed notice following lead Matthew Perry's death. Its legacy is as a critically acclaimed series that was gone too soon.
Rome (2007)
Rome was extremely popular during its short two-season stint on HBO. So why did it get canceled? High production costs were later cited as the reason, but fans were not remotely pleased. This is particularly true given the show had a clear five-season arc planned.
Reaper (2007 and 2009)
Reaper was one of the casualties of the 2007 writer's strike, but fans of The CW series weren't having it. Many of them actually sent socks to the network at actor Tyler Labine's behest (his character's name was Socks) in order to get the powers that be to reconsider. It worked. The show got a second season, then was ultimately canceled again. Still, the socks stand out as one of the most notable fan campaigns in TV memory.
FlashForward (2010)
FlashForward was a show about people losing consciousness for more than two minutes and flashing into the future. The Season 1 finale was shot before the show was canceled, which meant it ended on another flashforward into the future. Fans actually planned a "mass blackout" in major cities across the U.S. to protest the cancelation in which they passed out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, mimicking the series, to protest the show's demise.
Futurama (So Many Times)
Fun fact: Futurama wasn't even officially canceled during the show's first run on Fox. Instead, the network was so disrespectful of the show that it erratically aired the series until they pawned it off in reruns on Comedy Central. But the history of Futurama is a long and storied one. The show grew and grew in syndication. Fans started writing pieces about how great the animated comedy was. It was eventually revived not once -- but twice -- on Comedy Central and, more recently, Hulu.
Everwood (2006)
Nowadays, fans just sign petitions and create hashtags if they want a show to stick around. But a couple of decades ago, fans got a whole lot more creative. After Everwood -- a launching pad for Emily VanCamp and Chris Pratt's careers -- got canceled by the WB, fans actually rented a Ferris Wheel and set it up on the WB lot in protest. Tragically, this didn't work.
My Lady Jane (2024)
It's rare that a series combines real-life history and fantasy, and none has perhaps been quirkier than My Lady Jane. The Amazon series got off to a hot start in 2024 with good reviews, but the viewership apparently wasn't there. After the show was canceled, a slew of petitions formed and hashtags gained traction.
Lucifer (2018 And 2021)
Tom Ellis originated his role as the titular Lucifer Morningstar when Lucifer hit Fox in 2016. It was canceled three seasons later and people were not pleased. A Save Lucifer campaign led the show to Netflix and it worked out swimmingly. The show was able to wrap its run in a more meaningful way, and on Netflix, Ellis and co. were free to be more delightfully devilish.
Shadow & Bone (2023)
Shadow & Bone was yet another casualty of the strikes, but the decision came quite late in 2023. It was a shock decision given the show had been the 10th most Googled series that year. Some Netflix fans claimed they canceled the service and even cited the news the show had been "unceremoniously canceled" as the reason.
The Jetsons (1962) (More Eps Produced Later)
The history of The Jetsons is one of the more interesting of all time. The animated series was canceled after only one season, but it was the love from young folk that helped it to become an animated classic later on. It actually ran in syndication for decades and then in the late 1980s, another run of cartoons was produced. The Jetsons: The Movie serves as a finale for the long-running series.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2018 And 2020)
B-99 was a fan-favorite on Fox for years, but ultimately got the axe after six seasons. The fanbase was not pleased and spoke out on social media, leading to NBC picking up the show for not an additional one, but two seasons. It was a bad year for comedy cancelations with The Mick and Last Man Standing getting axed, but this was one piece of relatively good news, at least until the show was canceled a second time.
Family Guy (2002)
Family Guy has been a TV staple for so long, it's easy to forget it was actually canceled for several years. It was fans going the extra mile to purchase DVDs that led to the show getting a second chance on Fox and it's been on the air since that date.
Sense 8 (2017) (A Special Came Later)
Fans did not hold back their feelings after Netflix canceled The Wachowski's Sense8 after two seasons, making noise and creating a slew of hashtags including #NoSense8NoNetflix. The chatter was so loud, the creative team around the series actually crafted a statement asking fans to remain calm, but it worked. The streamer allowed a two-part special to be crafted to wrap the series up.
Star Trek: Prodigy (2023)
The Star Trek series is a bit of an outlier. First, Season 2 was already coming together and even had a release date when it got canceled by Paramount. It was popular with fans. It was a Voyager successor series and even Anson Mount got involved in the fan campaign. Netflix eventually aired both seasons.
