“I Cried When They Canceled ‘Firefly’!”: 34 Shows That Ended Too Soon, Vote If They Should Continue, Be Rebooted Or Left As Is
TV shows like Kaos, Firefly, and The Queen’s Gambit: what do they all have in common? They were all either canceled or just ended! There are 30 canceled shows that we all binged in this poll that left us wanting more. Untimely cancellations and endings of these shows left the fans upset and even heartbroken because they could not get to see what happened next. In these polls, though, you get behind the wheel and decide whether they should continue the show, make a reboot, or leave it as is because the show ran its course.
Let’s vote!
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Firefly
Ron Glass has passed away, and Adam Baldwin turned out to be a psycho evangelical Christian bigot. Not to mention Joss Whedon's #metoo moment. I adored firefly, and I remember it by supporting the actors, but I've let it go. As we all should
Jayne Cobb was my least favorite character back in 2002 and again during my 2024 rewatching. I agree. Time to move on.
Load More Replies...They made such a mess out of Serenity, killed off the best characters and messed up the story line. It makes me worry how badly the reboot could be
Too much time has passed to continue it. Ron Glass has passed away, Whedon killed Wash in the movie, all the other actors are 20 years older.
Continue it under Disney? No. No. No. How about no? It certainly and absolutely has not worked out for Star Wars.
I just finished rewatching Firefly and Serenity after all these years. As much as I enjoyed it, there's no going back. Just leave it be. There are plenty of Sci-fi/Westerns out there.
By far the most overrated show ever made by the most overrated sub-par writer Whedon. It's not the worst show I've ever seen, not even really that bad. By I can't stand the rabid fan base who act like you just kicked their puppy if you say anything remotely critical about it.
I world have _loved _ this to continue, but too much time has passed. (Also, see @Nimitz’s comments.) I still wold love more stories in that universe, though; I think this could be a good reboot!
Lie To Me
This was something I watched every week and quite enjoyed. Feel like it may have ended at the right time, but I doubt it would work without Tim Roth, so a reboot probably is a bad idea.
Have to agree with you on it not working without Tim Roth. I think a reboot would annoy me.
Load More Replies...Our Flag Means Death
Was a really great comedy. It was a queer show, written by mostly queer writers, with mostly queer actors, and a few golden allies, like Rhys Darby and Tika Waititi. It's really funny, and if you're straight but don't mind seeing two guys kiss (that's as heavy as the romance gets, mostly), you should watch it. It will make you lauhg.
It’s a favourite in our home. Watched for Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby, stayed for the fun.
Load More Replies...Such a great show, and it only needed one more season! It‘s a damn shame that it was cancelled after two. Probably the best show I‘ve watched in the last couple years.
Lives were changed. Communities were forged. Identities were redefined. And that's just the offscreen community! What a brilliant, hilarious, heartfelt, tangy and zangy series, I promise you'll enjoy it. Help us get our third season by signing the petition at saveofmd.com.
the creator of the show intended for it to be a 3 seasons series but hbo max cancelled it before they got to do the third!!!
I prefer binging an entire show, season after season, so Our Flag has been on my Watchlist because the creator, David Jenkins, planned for 3 seasons. Since Max cancelled the show, and it doesn't appear any other site is picking it up, this is as good a time as any to binge it.
My favourite show of all time. Its creator always intended for it to have a third season to finish telling its story, and I still hold out hope that another streaming service will make that happen.
Sherlock
The whole of series four was a shambles that would have had Sir Arthur spinning in his grave.
Most of the tweaks to the character I didn't mind. But making him a sociopath was utterly insulting, and incredibly obtuse. Sherlock operated by his own rules, but he had deep empathy and a rock solid moral compass. It was watching those traits interact, and engage with the outside world that made him so fascinating. I've suspected that if he were "diagnosed" now, he'd be somewhere on the autism spectrum.
Load More Replies...As much as I loved seeing Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as two of my favorite detectives in a beloved mystery genre, let sleeping dogs lie.
They were an awesome pair in that. Check out the various Sherlock series by Jeremy Brett. They follow the original stories very closely, and Brett was born to play Holmes. He absolutely nailed it.
Load More Replies...Option 5: Find and destroy every single copy of the final season episodes, and additionally, find a way to cleanse all the viewers' memories of that egregiously implausible and unpleasant finale. -Then- leave it as is. Started out spectacular. Ended by insulting the intelligence of all the viewers.
Try the podcast Sherlock & Co. by Goalhanger. It might just scratch that itch.
Seasons one and two were awesome, it went downhill fast after Watson's wedding. What they need to do is stick a couple "forgotten" seasons in before Moriarty is killed off.
Talk continues about getting together for another season. Their schedules remain an issue, but everyone involved is open to the idea
Leave it as it is but bury it deep in the earth so that it's ghosts will never find it.
Pushing Daisies
One of my all-time favorites and only reason I stepped in here. Bryan Fuller created and co-created some of the best tv ever!
Watched it on tv and was gutted to learn it had been cancelled. Bought it on dvd so I could re-watch without adverts.
It was obvious straightaway that it was never going to survive as a network show. Too unconventional. The only way it could have gone on was if they killed off everything that made it stand out, and started churning out formulaic paint by numbers mediocrity. Better the 22 exquisite episodes we did get than that fate.
Both seasons are available on DVD, and well worth it.
Load More Replies...Dead Like Me
More wonderful Bryan Fuller work that alot of people apparently missed.
Only found out a short while back that they did a movie which tied up a little more of the story. Can be found on YouTube!
Load More Replies...Sci-fi is my preferred genre. Supernatural is not. Granted, I loved Stranger Things, but I'm generally not drawn to these stories.
Kaos
Haven't got around to watching this yet despite the positive reviews by both critics and audience. Netflix claims there weren't enough viewers, but I think it boils down to money. So much cheaper to mass-produced moronic reality shows than pour money into a series.
Star Trek
This entry is beyond ridiculous. What cancellation? One 3-season show that began back in the 60's with cheesy props and sets has spawned 13 movies and 12 series, both live action and animated.
Person Of Interest
I think it ended just in time before they run out of ideas how to go on and ruin it. I am ok with the end of this show
You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine designed to spy on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people. People like you. The government considers these crimes irrelevant. I don't. But I needed a partner someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You will never find us. But victim or perpetrator, if your number's up, we'll find you.
(Considering I wrote that purely from memory, I think I did well lol)
Load More Replies...Terra Nova
Mindhunter
Two series was never enough, and nothing was wrapped up. Great acting and some scenes were just stand out. Like when the three of them were in the lift, and they just started smiling when they’d been given the green light to start the behavioral department was excellent.
I will forever be disappointed in Netflix for cancelling this one. Mindhunter is the best thing they've ever produced, imo.
Still disappointed this one ended. Had so many storylines that won’t solved
It was intended to be longer, the storyline of that serial killer in the making never got to develop
My Name Is Earl
Really should have been given the 5th and final season the creators intended. The abrupt cancellation left a lot of untied threads dangling. Raising Hope used some of the story lines originally intended for Earl, but there's no character overlap. A lot of guest appearances by cast members from Earl.
Never watched Earl, but I did watch Raising Hope until it was cancelled.
Load More Replies...Didn't Earl finish his list at the end? Seems like that's a good ending.
The ending was rushed because the creators got late notice that they weren't getting the season 5 they expected. A lot of what they had planned for it got left on the table.
Load More Replies...Freaks And Geeks
A great show, but everyone involved is so much older, so a reboot would be the only way. It should be left alone.
I dunno, i would really love to see how the original story carried on, even with a different cast. The writing was what made that show. Yes, the cast was wonderful.....but the cast was largely made up of nobodies at the time (and arguably the show is what kick started their careers) The ideal really would be if they brought back the original writers, and original cast, who are now parents with their own kids set in 2000-2005ish. Make it an hour long dramedy, splitting focus between the new kids, and the original cast. We could get some closure on the original story line with flashbacks as they're trying to relate their own history to that of their equally freaky and geeky kids.
Load More Replies...Best Show Ever!! Cancelling it was one of the dumbest decisions ever made in TV.
Almost Human
It really should have been a mini series rather than a full blown series
Schitt's Creek
One of my favourite ever series. Got better with each season. If they wanted to bring back a Christmas special I wouldn’t say no, but a continuation would suck the soul out of it.
Forever
We were so annoyed when this one didn't get a second season. It didn't fit into the paint by numbers template, so it got ignored. Ten years on things have gotten even worse. We have networks that make the same show three times in three different locations, and then run them back to back.
I loved that show, looked forward to it every week. I normally don't pay attention to tv shows until they've got at least 3 seasons under their belt, but i liked the Ioan Gruffudd so i took a chance. His follow up series Harrow, was also fantastic, that one actually made it to 3 seasons before getting canceled.
Load More Replies...Scorpion
Scorpion had its run -- I enjoyed it while it lasted, but I think it was starting to fizzle out, so it was just as well that it wrapped when it did.
Just annoying hey left it on a cliffhanger with team centipede
Load More Replies...Carnivàle
A favourite. So dark. You could almost feel the heat and smell the stale sweat. Another which has been left too long to continue.
A brilliant series, but it's too late to continue this now as the actors have all moved on. The casting and acting was terrific.
United States Of Tara
Loved this so much..the lead is phenomenal (her name escapes me...loved her also in muriels wedding!!) I definitely wouldn't be a fan of a reboot because I loved the old cast. Perhaps a continuation might be OK but best left as is.
Wayward Pines
That show was garbage. Not even hot garbage, just the cold, wet, forgotten garbage that gets washed down into the sewar. The story was....just nonsense, matt dillion was....just not the right choice for that type of show. It's like they were trying to mash together Twin Peaks and Lost, and failing to understand either show, or why they were loved every step of the way. Leave it alone. In fact, don't even bring it up.
The Last Man On Earth
I wanted to like that show so badly, but the female lead is just irritatingly grating. Everything else about it was great, i just can't listen to her voice.
My So-Called Life
Santa Clarita Diet
Supernatural
I stopped watching somewhere around 9th season. It became repetitive and chore to watch.
Bring it back LIKE NOW ! I’m currently re watching it on prime ooo I’ve missed those boys bring it back season 16 they came back from the dead many times it’s supernatural after all so wouldn’t be hard to do pretty please 🙏
Oh, hell no. In the early seasons when it was monster of the week it was good. Later on when they went "all Christian Apolocalypse, all the time" and dragged it on and on for multiple seasons I had enough. I absolutely loathe multi-season serialized storylines, and when a show switches from episodic to serialized in the middle of the run as far as I'm concerned it's a form of bait and switch. And a sign that whoever is telling the writers what to write has run out of ideas and should have wrapped the show. It was originally intended to run 5 seasons, and, damndest thing, it was not long after season 5 that it jumped the shark and I bailed.
Load More Replies...Young Sheldon
Chuck Lorre makes great television shows, but without Sheldon's dad it's not funny anymore.
Georgie and Mandy's first marriage is better than i expected it to be, the guy that plays Mandy's dad is great.
Load More Replies...One of the best shows to come along in MANY years. Every character plays brilliantly off the other. Annie Potts is my fave. Reagan Revord was absoLUTEly adorable as younger Missy. I know one very Christian woman who loves the show, which surprises me as it portrays faith kind of two dimensionally, Though the plight of Mary's attempts to keep her family in the faith is heroic.
I avoided it when it started, because the childhood described on Big Bang Theory didn't seem appealing. At the beginning of season 5 I started recording it, and the first 4 were all available on streaming. And yeah, Young Missy stole the show. You can see where adult Missy had come from for sure. Nine months with her legs wrapped around Sheldon's head.
Load More Replies...This one doesn't make sense to even ask. It isn't a cartoon, Sheldon can't stay young forever. And we have "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" which will hopefully get better and be a worthy part of the franchise.
I've been recording that, but haven't started watching it yet. Not stalling or waiting, just haven't gotten to it. I've always liked Emily Osment, I liked her character on Young Sheldon, and I don't even notice a laugh track. If this show doesn't take I hope he puts her in something that catches on.
Load More Replies...This one always had a fixed end point, set when the Big Bang Theory creators had Sheldon's father die when he was 14. And really, "young" Sheldon wasn't young Sheldon [E: any more]. The next stage would have been "College Sheldon in California". That would have required changing absolutely everything but Ian Armitage, and that's assuming he was interested in continuing in the role.
How can you bring this back? We already know who Sheldon is from big bang
Kill it with fire then burn the grave site, salt the earth and kill anyone who knows where it's buried.
Young Sheldon grew up. The continuation is "The Big Bang Theory."
The continuation would be the time between the end of YS, and the beginning of TBBT. Wether that show should be made is a separate question.
Load More Replies...The Queen’s Gambit
It ended on a very satisfying and realistic note (not a world champion, but could beat one). Why spoil it?
The Oa
I gave up on it after the first season -- it felt like the showrunners had no 'grand vision' and were just making things up as it went along, adding more mysteries but never really feeling like there was an overall point to any of it. I gave up on Silo for the same reason -- just like "We have no idea what to do with this, so we're just going to keep throwing random things into the mix and hope people like it."
Silo is based on 3 books. They definitely know where they are going with it.
Load More Replies...The creators had enough ideas for more series but it was cancelled. I would have loved to have seen it continue. It is utterly bonkers.
It is in my top 3 favorite shows of all time. I didn't like the second season as much, but I've rewatched it twice and each time I like it more (which is unusual for me). I've watched the first season at least 5 times now.
Load More Replies...I loved this and the story has not been completed yet. The plan was for 4 or 5 series. Aging won't even make a difference because they could pick up the sotrylinr at any timeline. I believe the creators still plan on continuing also but they have issues that aren't funding related. Really really hope we get to see more of this. It jas a huge cult following also 🤞
This show had everything. Creepy, creative, funny...and Jason Isaacs is crazy brilliant.
Glow
When the love story we were all waiting for finally happened they just stopped?!
Raised By Wolves
Sons Of Anarchy
One of my all time favorites, but yeah....everyone is kinda dead, and "The Mayans" spinoff didn't really manage to recapture what made SOA great.
Can we just kill the "motorcycle riders = violent criminals" slander once and for all?
I wish, but no. Too many people refuse to believe otherwise.
Load More Replies...Altered Carbon
The first season was great. But Anthony Mackie and Renée Elise Goldsberry were highly unwatchable. I've tried to make it through Season 2 three different times, never managed.
Yup....that's pretty much the consensus. First season was fantastic, and while i get that the entire premise of the show necessitated a rolling stable of actors.....that really wasn't a good idea, at least not with who they chose as the replacements. It was also ludicrously expensive to make, and being a netflix show it was very unlikely to make it past 3 seasons anyway.
Load More Replies...Inside Job
The only reason to redo it is to get rid of the filler and the silliness (same character dying THREE times and coming back to life?).
Only three times? Watch supernatural ;)
Load More Replies...I love how the poll answers show that in nearly every case the idk option is the overwhelming majority meaning that BP readers have either never heard of, never watched or simply don't give a sh1t about the programs concerned.
My problem with the poll answers is that "Leave It As Is" could mean either "it's great and shouldn't be changed" or "it's terrible so leave it alone".
Load More Replies...The majority of these I have never even heard of. Probably many people were the same, judging by the high proportion of "idk (I don't know)" responses
The only show I wish had gotten a better ending was Millennium (1996-1999). Fox "reworked" it in the third (final) season to attract more young viewers instead of letting it continue down the dark themes it explored. Fans saved it by writing a "virtual fourth season" of fanfic screenplays which nicely tied up all the themes and storylines without any deus ex machina or silly endings. Some of the people involved in the series gave it unofficial approval. [ https://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/tiwwa/files/category/21-vs4-millennium-virtual-season-4/ ] The "virtual fifth season" wasn't as good.
Surface (NBC, 2005-2006) Those four people have been trapped on top of the building since February 6, 2006.
The majority of the shows listed were running low on ideas and it was time to go. The show I really miss is "End Of The F*****g World", a British comedy.
I've only heard of 5 and seen 2. I guess this is for the Netflix generation.
I love how the poll answers show that in nearly every case the idk option is the overwhelming majority meaning that BP readers have either never heard of, never watched or simply don't give a sh1t about the programs concerned.
My problem with the poll answers is that "Leave It As Is" could mean either "it's great and shouldn't be changed" or "it's terrible so leave it alone".
Load More Replies...The majority of these I have never even heard of. Probably many people were the same, judging by the high proportion of "idk (I don't know)" responses
The only show I wish had gotten a better ending was Millennium (1996-1999). Fox "reworked" it in the third (final) season to attract more young viewers instead of letting it continue down the dark themes it explored. Fans saved it by writing a "virtual fourth season" of fanfic screenplays which nicely tied up all the themes and storylines without any deus ex machina or silly endings. Some of the people involved in the series gave it unofficial approval. [ https://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/tiwwa/files/category/21-vs4-millennium-virtual-season-4/ ] The "virtual fifth season" wasn't as good.
Surface (NBC, 2005-2006) Those four people have been trapped on top of the building since February 6, 2006.
The majority of the shows listed were running low on ideas and it was time to go. The show I really miss is "End Of The F*****g World", a British comedy.
I've only heard of 5 and seen 2. I guess this is for the Netflix generation.
