Unjustly canceled: promising TV series that didn't get another chance

The collective memory always prioritizes those television products that triumphed during their entire transmission. Audiences and critics always praise those series that lasted so long that they marked an entire generation, especially if they closed a cycle that left a mark in history. Nobody complains that Friends should have given an eleventh season once its protagonists went through the purple door for the last time; neither will the Roy clan of Succession need to return with more episodes, to mention a more recent example; and the story of Walter White was more than concluded with the end of Breaking Bad, leaving no doubt that the series lived everything it had to live.

Unfortunately, not all television series are successful in the eyes of the audience, which leads to early cancellations. There are some that even manage to gain a loyal fandom but for reasons beyond their cast's control they do not manage to continue their existence. There are some cases that even become scandalous because they interrupt a story that was still in development.

Below, you´ll see a list of the series that suffered the most unfair of cancellations, undermining the exploitation of their full power and leaving their audience wanting more. Some of these serials managed to achieve cult status, either because they represented well the television of the era in which it was broadcast or because they really gave a plot that was worthy of being continued.

Mindhunter (2017-2019)

This is one of the most famous examples on this list, not only because to this day fans demand (see well the word, demand, not ask) its renewal, but because it was one of the TV shows that helped establish Netflix as the leading streaming platform and the definitive alternative to modern television. The fact that Mindhunter has only reached two seasons and a soap opera of doctors in love like Grey's Anatomy has an inexhaustible longevity makes one think that we are living in very surreal times.

This thriller that explores the psyche of murderers in certain periods of the twentieth century (even using characters and events from real life) surprised Netflix users for its rawness and darkness, something that can boast having as producer one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary film noir as is David Fincher. It not only gained a good fan base but also the respect of the critics, all this making its cancellation by the streaming platform quite meaningless, even more so considering that after the cancellation of Mindhunter, other shows about serial killers such as Dahmer (2022) continued to be successful, proving that this twisted genre arouses much interest in popular culture. Could Mindhunter be the Twin Peaks of this era? Will we have to wait until the commitment to resume this detective saga arises? There is only one thing for sure, the abrupt cancellation of this series still stings to this day.

Manimal (1983)

Today's fans of superhero entertainment will be surprised that almost all through the 20th century there were adaptations of such characters, but even more so because they brought to television superheroes who were far from sporting flashy costumes and capes, instead, they tended to be more normal but at the same time more bizarre. One such case was Manimal, a detective with the uncanny ability to transform into animals of all species. For those of us who were animal lovers as children, this might have been the most desired power, I mean, transforming into your dog would really let you know what it felt like to be your pet.

The series benefited from the revolutionary Stan Winston to carry out the unusual transformations of Jonathan Chase, the human shapeshifter, but probably the incorporation of real animals to the show made Manimal very challenging in those times in terms of budget, which could have led to its cancellation after eight episodes. The critical response did not favor it either, usually placing this show in the rankings of the worst TV fiction in history, but viewers usually agree that Manimal is one of those cases in which it is such a bad show that it was even good.

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)

In the 2000s, American television series sought to test the public's imagination with plots that were surprising and original. One of them was about a pastry chef who as a child had the unusual divine faculty of bringing the dead back to life with a single physical touch, those he could return to their eternal slumber with a second physical contact; being his platonic love from his youth one of the people he brings back to life, Ned has to use his gift to help justice by solving homicides while dealing with the moral and existentialist decisions involved in having a second chance at love but not being able to enjoy it as a normal couple.

Pushing Daisies immediately won over audiences and specialized critics, resulting in awards and praise, not only for its creative script but also for its aesthetics and perfectly colorful photography, which added to its voice-over narration made it seem as if we had witnessed a fairy tale with a macabre Tim Burton-like touch. All this makes its cancellation almost as controversial as that of Mindhunter. Even major media outlets are naming this series as one of those that actually had its airing shut down too early, and would even like to see it come back in a reboot. Pushing Daisies' mix of supernatural elements with its treatment of romance and nostalgia makes it one of the most unique phenomena in television history.

Tarzán, the Epic Adventures (1996-1997)

Tarzan of the Apes has been one of the characters most adapted to television. Why did this version of the nineties deserve to be continued among so many others? Look at the context of the time where fantasy series were boosted by the New Zealand productions Hercules and Xena, which turned out to be successful and encouraged other fictions to ride the crest of that wave, including this television adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' mythical character.

In order to compete with Xena and derivatives, this Tarzan live action opted to reduce the wilderness-civilization conflict that has always defined the character (while maintaining features about it). Tarzan had already been discovered by humans and made his first contacts with civilian life in Europe, so this series opted to increase the sense of adventure and adapt more of Burroughs' rich literary world that included encounters of the ape-man with lost civilizations, monsters, hostile tribes and even beings from other worlds, getting closer to the sword and sorcery genre, and at specific moments to horror. Even with all these attractive elements, the show did not become as successful as expected and they planned to replace Joe Lara (who physically was everything that could be expected of a flesh and blood Tarzan) with another actor for a tentative second season that never saw the light of day. What most resents the fact of this cancellation is that it was a series that managed to acquire its own tone among so many fantasy works of the time and that had a lot of inspiration from the literary sources of the lord of the jungle. A potential that was not fully exploited.

1899 (2022)

There are series cancellations that feel insulting, one such case being the mystery thriller, 1899, a sort of Titanic (1997) mixed with Lost. The absurd fact with the abrupt end of this series is that it fulfilled everything Netflix likes to offer: a diverse cast, a well achieved setting, a convoluted and enigmatic plot, a lot of period air and unpredictable plot twists (some of the most intense seen in Netflix series), and yet it was not saved from an express decision by the streaming platform not to continue it.

If you've seen 1899, you'll know that the first season was intended for renewal. The series covers a group of passengers on an ocean liner traveling to New York, which under mysterious circumstances disappears when it crosses paths with another ship that had been abandoned. While this mystery is being solved, the characters have to deal with the conflicts that forced them to take that ship. A Lost at sea at first glance, however, in the final stretch of the season there are some strange twists that directed that situation to a new unusual scenario. None of this is going to be known where it will end up as this cliffhanger is the definitive conclusion to this promising television show. A creative decision that Netflix users consider unfair, among other unforeseen show cancellations.

Reunion (2005)

This forgotten series from twenty years ago will remain one of the greatest mysteries in the history of television. Due to its format it was conceived to last one season but the audience did not go along with it and it was cancelled before its story was completed, leaving the answers about a crime up in the air and wasting a captivating plot with a cast that showed a lot of chemistry and sex appeal. Not given enough time to conclude the story.

Reunion covers, as the title implies, a reunion of high school friends in the 1980s, now grown into adulthood, resulting in the violent death of one of them. The series follows a police investigation of the group, witnessing the history of its members (including the murdered person) over time, with each chapter covering a year since 1986. In addition to the identity of the murderer, the early cancellation of the series left other subplots unanswered, also leaving an incomplete season. Perhaps in 2005 the teen mystery was not a big draw for audiences and there was no demand for later successful stories like Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale. Anyway, Reunion was a good young adult thriller that perhaps because of its novel format was misunderstood by the public at the time.

Are there more shows that could be added to this list, and would it be worth doing a part two on this topic? Comment on a tv series that was taken off the air too soon.