16 TV Shows Axed Too Soon

Happy Endings (2011-2013)

Carol KaelsonABC

Seasons: 3
It's never been a ratings hit, despite being one of the funniest shows on television (R.I.P. 30 Rock). The show has an incredible cast with electric chemistry. Adam Pally, as the sloppiest gay man every portrayed on TV, and Casey Wilson, as the ambitious, talented, but perpetually unlucky in love Penny, shine as best friends. Eliza Coupe brilliantly plays the obsessive, intelligent, and controlling Jane; with Damon Wayans Jr., she forms one of the most enviable and lovable couples on television. It's a shame we won't get to see how everyone's stories turn out and how much more the writers can get past the censors. Everyone should have listened to ABC's weird/valiant ''Save Happy Endings'' campaign (and by ''everyone,'' we mean USA Network!).

Southland (2009-13)

Doug Hyun/TNT

Seasons: 5
Southland might have been a little too gritty for most, but its honest portrayals of complex characters in an even more complex world made it one of the best cop shows to hit television. The series ended after five seasons — though, of course, it was initially canceled after ONE season on NBC, before it was rescued by TNT for four additional cycles that still leave us wanting more. We will always wonder what became of John Cooper, just as we will miss watching Ben Sherman battle right and wrong, Sammy Bryant delve further into fatherhood, and Lydia Adams potentially get her happy ending while still chasing down the bad guys. —Samantha Highfill

Pushing Daisies (2007-09)

ADAM TAYLOR/ABC

Seasons: 2
This brilliant and whimsical show was lauded in its first season, because of its original style, near-perfect pilot, effortless writing, and lovable characters. Then the 2007-08 writers' strike hit and disrupted the series' momentum. When writers were allowed to return to their rooms, the show's audience didn't grow and it was quickly canceled in the second season. Before that, the story felt incredibly fresh every week, the love story of Chuck and Ned was compelling in a childlike yet endlessly romantic way, and Kristin Chenoweth's Olive constantly played to the rafters in the best possible way. Everything about Daisies felt different and exciting, but it fell victim to timing. Though talk of a comic book stoked fans' hopes for a continuation of Ned and Chuck's story, the comic was never distributed. Of course, that that doesn't rob the TV series of having perhaps the best final line of all time: ''At that moment, in the town of Coeur d'Coeurs, events occurred that are not, were not, and should never be considered an ending. For endings, as it is known, are where we begin.'' —Sarah Caldwell

Sports Night (1998-2000)

LEN HECKEL/ABC

Seasons: 2
The whip-smart, lighting-quick writing appeared on the wall at the fictional Continental Sports Channel in season 2 of Aaron Sorkin's debut TV outing. While the dramedy about an ESPN-like network was a critical home run, it failed to score with enough of an audience to keep ABC in the game. Options of taking it elsewhere — even to cable before cable was king — didn't interest Sorkin; moving into The West Wing did. Audiences couldn't have been too surprised, though, as the storyline wound down to a financial crisis at CSC that led to its sale to a company called Quo Vadis, which is Latin for ''Where are we going?'' First cancellation, it seems, then DVD. —Jason Adams

Jericho (2006-08)

CBS

Seasons: 2
The apocalypse wasn't nearly as hot in 2006 as it would be half a decade later in shows like The Walking Dead and Revolution. A fervent fanbase saved the series from becoming a one-season wonder by mailing CBS execs 20 tons of nuts (a nod to a quote by Skeet Ulrich's Jake Green), but consistently lackluster ratings in season 2 forced the Eye to pull the plug after seven episodes. —Lanford Beard

Twin Peaks (1990-91)

Seasons: 2
When Eraserhead director David Lynch brought his surrealist filmmaking to television with eerie murder mystery series Twin Peaks, the Internet was in its infancy, making the show one of the first to have an online fan following. But that wasn't enough to save it from cancellation during its second season, though a fan letter-writing campaign did succeed in convincing ABC to air the final six episodes of the season. Blame for Twin Peaks' demise was easy to place on the network — ABC pressured Lynch into solving Laura Palmer's murder mid-season 2 and multiple time slot changes were also credited with declining ratings. —Emily Rome

Rome (2005)

Franco Biciocchi/HBO

Seasons: 2
In the end, Rome was fallen by its own excess. Because of the complex expense of the production, HBO had to make the decision on the second and third season at the same time. HBO ordered a second and declined to order a third — a decision they must have regretted when season 2 debuted to better reception than expected (including a few Emmy nominations). By the time the network realized its mistake, it was too late since it had already released the actors, who'd booked other gigs. Still, Rome was a premium-cable gamechanger that helped pave the way for Game of Thrones, Spartacus, The Tudors, and The Borgias, to name a few. —James Hibberd

Star Trek (1966-69)

Everett Collection

Seasons: 3
With the massive success and longevity the Star Trek franchise has achieved, it's easy to forget that the NBC series that started it all had an untimely demise. The original 1960s show lasted only three seasons after struggling with budget cuts, declining ratings, and a deadly Friday 10 p.m. time slot switch. After the show found popularity through syndication, the USS Enterprise crew's bold adventures have continued with five more TV series and 12 movies. —Emily Rome

Popular (1999-2001)

The WB

Seasons: 2
Before it felt like Ryan Murphy had a show on every network, he just had one: The WB's Popular, about two girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum who must learn to cohabitate and (gulp) bond when their parents get married. Popular was often a delight, balancing a variety of aggressively competing tones. It was also often a mess, and more and more so in the second season, ending in a truly wild act of personal violence. In our imagined and now-impossible third season, Popular rediscovered its center. —Adam Carlson

Deadwood (2004-06)

HBO

Seasons: 3
David Milch's HBO drama about wrangling the West into shape (and civilization) included a cast as big as a small, uncivilized frontier town — and most all of them spoke in grand, quasi-Shakespearean tongue. But Deadwood ended before the West was truly won, and even Milch's empty promise of a series of TV movies wasn't enough to stop us still dreaming of Timothy Olyphant's mustache. —Adam Carlson

Better Off Ted (2009-10)

Adam Larkey/ABC

Seasons: 2
? Better Off Ted was always a ridiculous proposition: a daffy-sharp satire of corporate America as it reached into all corners of modern life — family, dating, and genetic modification — featuring normal-faced office drones. That Ted lasted two seasons dulled the pain of its imminent cancellation, but only a little. We needed more low-key romance and high-concept shenanigans. And the world will always need Portia de Rossi in a pantsuit! —Adam Carlson

Life (2007-09)

Dean Hendler/NBC

Seasons: 2
Though Damian Lewis has since emerged as the breakout star of this wronged-man crime drama, the show was stocked with a stellar cast — Donal Logue, Brent Sexton, and Sarah Shahi among the headliners — that was done about as much justice as framed detective Charlie Crews (Lewis). Despite critical praise, three time slot shifts in its second season made keeping the remaining viewers it did have a practical impossibility. In hindsight, NBC's Life-ending decision was just one more in a stream of bad decisions during a yearslong ratings hemmhorage for the Peacock. On the bright side, it freed up Lewis for his Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning turn in Homeland. —Lanford Beard

In Treatment (2008-11)

Claudette Barius/HBO

Seasons: 3
A fascinatingly ambitious TV experiment, In Treatment aired Dr. Paul Weston's (Gabriel Byrne) (mostly) real-time therapy sessions five nights a week (four in its third season). Playing those patients, a stable of up-and-comers (Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan) and underappreciated talents (Hope Davis, Irrfan Khan). Though never officially cancelled, contract back-and-forth with Gabriel Byrne was at least one factor behind the series stalling in 2011. A shame because In Treatment's unusual prescription for immersive TV had taken hold with a fan base that was, no pun intended, truly committed. —Lanford Beard

The L.A. Complex (2012)

Darren Michaels

Seasons: 2
It's no surprise that this Canadian import lived to see just 19 episodes. After all, L.A.'s CW debut was the lowest-rated broadcast drama premiere of all time. (It snagged fewer viewers than Quarterlife. Quarterlife!) But if more people had tuned in, they'd have realized that the Complex was more than an apparent Melrose Place ripoff — its sharp writing, consistently great acting, and more than occasional slips into sheer, ballsy ridiculosity made it one of the best, most surprising dramedies on TV. And the cast wasn't bad to look at either. —Hillary Busis

There's hope yet! Veronica Mars (2004-07) and Arrested Development (2003-06, 2013-?)

Scott Garfield/CBS; Sam Urdank/Fox

Seasons: 3 apiece, with new Arrested episodes as of May 2013
Two cancelled cult favorites, too many stories about ''rumored'' movie revivals and ''possible'' big-screen adaptations to count. Both shows were not exactly ratings giants during their initial broadcasts, but surviving that same indignity would become their ultimate triumph. Now the same group of viewers who often felt that the mainstream was missing out on two of television's biggest pleasures has championed those shows right back into the spotlight. In lucky '13, the long-gestating return of the Bluth family hit Netflix in the form of a 15-episode fourth season, while fans put their money where their mouths were and turned the long dreamed-about Veronica Mars movie into a reality. Just off-stage, fans of many other shows on this list watch and wait. —Adam Carlson

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