5 Television Shows That Shouldn’t Have Been Cancelled

Feb. 15, 2011

By Ryan O'Connell info

Ryan O’Connell is a 25 year-old writer based in the East Village, New York.

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Sometimes it feels like good things have to die, doesn’t it? When a critically-lauded television show gets axed, it can earn immediate respect in the way that Freaks & Geeks, My So-Called Life and Arrested Development did. It reinforces the idea that America has no taste when something like King of Queens can run for years with high ratings while another quietly brilliant show can fade into oblivion. These days when a TV show gets cancelled, it receives a seal of approval that says, “Congrats! You were too subversive and witty for America!” And thanks to the wondrous invention of TV shows on DVD, the series can develop a cult following and get the kind of icon status it so rightfully deserves.

The following shows made a smaller impact on pop culture, but they’re still entitled to some major recognition. R.I.P., my brilliant babies!

1. The Comeback

On paper, it seemed like The Comeback would be a surefire ratings hit. It heralded the return of the hilarious Lisa Kudrow to television and was also created by Michael Patrick King—HBO’s golden child and the man responsible for a little show called Sex and the City. Kudrow starred as a washed-up actress named Valerie Cherish who was participating in a reality show about her return to the spotlight. It was a show-within-a-show, the kind of mockumentary that was popularized by the filmmaker Christopher Guest with movies like Waiting For Guffman. The Comeback was darkly funny, almost to a degree of uncomfortableness, which may be why viewers were turned off. Seeing the narcissistic and delusional Cherish navigate the shark-infested waters of Hollywood came off as almost too realistic, and made it feel like an actual reality show as opposed to the scripted comedy it actually was. Whatever the reason, it’s a shame the show never resonated with a wider audience because it had such a sick and smart sense of humor. Lisa Kudrow was also in top-form, making her character seem sympathetic and completely unlikable at the same time. Watch the series on DVD and understand the quote, “Note to self: I don’t need to see that!”

2. Popular

Before Ryan Murphy created Glee, he made an absurd high school dramedy called Popular, which included story lines about a long lost twin sister from The Bronx named B. Ho, exorcisms, and giving someone your literal kneecap for a spot on the cheerleading squad. It was originally advertised as a formulaic teen series about the war between the popular and unpopular crowds. As things progressed, however, the show took a major detour into campiness, prominently featuring a Southern “retarded” rich cheerleader named Mary Cherry and a promiscuous evil bitch named Nicole Julian. The tone was always schizophrenic—one episode would be centered around the gravity of teen eating disorders while the next would be full of bulimia jokes—but that probably had to do with interference from the network than anything else. When the show ran for two seasons from 1999-2001, it was the most absurdly hilarious television show about teen life that had ever aired. Watch it on DVD, but fast-forward any of the serious scenes or the ones featuring the parents.

3. Action

Action was essentially the television show, Entourage, but wittier and more insane. It starred Jay Mohr as a movie producer named Peter Dragon who’s in dire need of a hit film to resuscitate his career. After picking up a hooker {Illeana Douglas) on the way to his movie premiere, Dragon decides to give her an important job at his movie studio and begins production a film called Beverly Hills Gun Club. Unfortunately, the movie is plagued with problems from the start. Their lead actor has overdosed on drugs, the sexy female actress gained 50 pounds and has to go to the Valley for fast liposuction, and Dragon even contemplates selling his 12-year-old daughter to Middle Eastern royalty to secure financing. It’s twisted, it’s perverse, it’s perhaps the realest depiction of Hollywood. Action premiered on Fox, which is probably why it had a premature death. Its content was too explicit and controversial for primetime television and would’ve fit much better on a network like HBO. Oh well.

4. Party Down

Party Down—a comedy about a catering team in Los Angeles, California—aired on Starz (what?) for only two seasons before going to the TV graveyard. Even though it was produced by heavy hitters Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd and had a hilarious cast, it still failed to catch on with viewers. It also didn’t help matters that Jane Lynch left after Season 1 to join Glee.  But all’s well that ends well, I suppose. Although the show’s only been off the air for less than a year, it’s already been generating that post-cancelled buzz. People are tuning in to see what they missed out on and perhaps feel guilty that they didn’t watch it when it was on the air and improve its ratings. One thing’s for certain though: Lizzy Caplan needs to be a big time star, like, yesterday. She does an amazing job in Party Down, just like she did in True Blood, Mean Girls, and anything else she’s ever been in. Why she hasn’t taken over Hollywood yet is beyond me.

5. Your Choice

This slot is for you to pay tribute to any show you had to say goodbye to. It could be anything from Veronica Mars to Roswell. There are a lot of extinct TV shows out there that aren’t as celebrated as the aforementioned Freaks and Geeks, proving that all cancelled TV shows were not created and killed equally. So tell us. What TV show of yours unfairly got the axe? This is a safe space. We can talk about it here. Whenever you get bummed out about one of your shows ending, just think of it this way: At least it never had the opportunity to jump the shark and start sucking. Imagine that betrayal! Be thankful that it died in its prime. TC mark

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  • CrankyNugget

    I had never heard of Party down until a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon it in Netflix. I watched the first six episodes and then quit. It's one of the least funny comedies I've ever watched. I'm surprised that they actually gave it a second season. It definitely should have been cancelled.

  • alex

    Ack! What about Dead Like Me?? Great show…

  • PERFECTCIRCLES

    There is no good reason for Party Down not to continue on TV in some form. It was clearly one of the funniest shows on television but stuck on fucking Starz.

  • Sars

    Totes agree about Lizzy Caplan. She totes a babe.

  • Bdebruynkops

    STELLA

  • bailey

    STELLA

  • gabe

    I can't believe no one here has mentioned Firefly, seriously. Firefly guys.

    Also, Black Donnellys had a lot of potential, and I would have loved to see that one go.

  • marclaire

    Veronica Mars!!!!!!!

  • James Francophone

    Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dollhouse (good show until the horrendously rushed ending)
    Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared

    basically anything on Fox, most of these never made it out of the first season.

  • Kristen

    “Note to self…After a long day at work, I don't want to see that”
    Probably one of my favorite lines ever on a television show, and unfortunately just about no one understands when I reference it. Watching Lisa Kudrow perfect that line at so many different angles was hilarious! Thank you for bring that line back into my life today.

  • Kristen

    bringing*

  • Ben Leach

    The first season of Party Down was one of the best shows around. Good call.

  • http://twitter.com/raystraight Ray Straight

    Firefly FTW

  • http://www.srslyhip.blogspot.com Ft Funkmoun10

    i rlly liked john from cincinnati

  • Christie

    Firefly, Veronica Mars, Dollhouse, Harper's Island

  • Ray

    * The list goes on…
    I definitely agree about Popular, as well. Loved that show growing up.

  • RamonaCC

    Mary Cherry=GREATEST CHARACTER EVER.

  • BBQCHICKEN

    firefly all the way. as well as that one show on one of the big networks a couple years back where the guy was trapped on the island of new york for all eternity or some shit. i dont remember what it was called, but it was really good.

  • http://prjustinne.wordpress.com/ Justinne

    i loved loved loved popular.

  • Amanda

    The Riches!

  • Amanda

    Also, The 4400! It never even got a proper finale! :(
    Well, neither did The Riches but still.

  • Weird Kid

    I wasn't even aware Party Down was canceled. I hope Gravity is coming back.

  • REI KOZ

    NO “ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT”.

    ¬ ¬

  • Nan

    as soon as I saw “popular” on the list, I immediately scrolled back up to see if Ryan had written this.

  • http://www.unhipster.net Synerjizzm

    Hows about The Twin Peaks?

  • linny

    Grosse Pointe

  • tobethegreatest

    Grosse Pointe was AMAZING. LC's bf was on it, big red from Bring It On was the star… ugh! that show was a SWEET TREAT that was taken away too soon. RIP GROSSE POINTE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G…) in case you lived under a rock during 8th grade ;)

  • EM

    I know I actually liked the show and watched it!

  • EM

    Pushing Daisies was soooooo good. Kristin Chenoweth and Anna Friel were amazing. Jayma Mays from Glee also guest starred on it at one point too.

  • timoney

    I thought “Black Donnellys” was awesome. The problem was that it was a sopranos type show that was not on cable. If that show came out a year later and landed on FX then i think it would still be around.

  • whatupmegs

    Firefly for sure. And Joan of Arcadia! I super heart Amber Tamblyn. She's too talented for traveling pants.

  • I'm a guest

    I agree with a lot of the comments but I'm a little embarrassed that I seem to be the only one who kind of enjoyed Carnivale.

  • Annmariebos

    Never heard of any of these shows

  • Danceosaur

    Uhm, same cancellation season as Party Down (which I followed and loved), another underhyped comedy, Better Off Ted. Also only made it to 2 seasons. Womp-womp.
    That aside, Dead Like Me and Veronica Mars all the way!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1363230138 Michael Koh

    FIREFLY

  • orange you glad

    Party Down should have never been canceled — it was brilliant.
    Ryan Murphy pisses me off, though. You think Popular was “schizophrenic”, try enduring Glee. The people behind that show don't seem to care enough about the audience to give, you know, any semblance of consistency with characters or story lines that make some kind of sense. Just ridiculous dialogue (with the exception of some of Sue's zingers) shoehorned in between whatever songs Murphy feels like making the kids scream at us. Such lazy crap.

  • sap

    Pushing Daisies. Just as I was getting into it ABC canceled it. Bummer.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steven-Fiveoseveniam-Lazaroff/7706828 Steven Fiveoseveniam Lazaroff

    deadwood. lasted longer than some of these. but im pretty sure it was canceled.

  • paddymeboy

    I'll join the pile-on in favor of Firefly; ditto Veronica Mars.

  • Vanillocat

    The first episode was brilliant, the first season was fun and fascinating, but it really took a dive. Its cancelation was a mercy kill.

  • j_ro

    Ned and Stacy- “You no name biscuit buying SLUT!”. when it was good it was good, but when it was bad… well that was when Debra Messing was on mostly. So I guess I really just miss “Ned”

  • http://massivemacaque.blogspot.com/ MassiveMacaque

    I'm so glad i am not the only one who remembers Popular! One of the writers/directors of the show is Jamie Babitt (But I'm A Cheerleader and more: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm004… This show was a brilliant social commentary disguised as a stupid teen show. That was the approach to keep it on the air. Unfortunately, the network probably kept fucking with the content, hence the cancellation.

    I'm also glad someone else remembered Joan of Arcadia!

  • http://twitter.com/simbelsim simbel

    Yes! That is my number one ffs-why-did-you-cancel show. No list is complete without it.

    Only discovered after it had already ended and… yeah, still in mourning.

  • boredatwork

    Is that why you are called cranky nugget?

  • kog

    You forgot “My Mother the Car.”

  • http://twitter.com/rhodeislander rhodeislander

    Good show, but the second (and final) season showed that the writing was running out of steam. Perhaps it's best that it died when it did.

  • Chris

    I agree. There's an interview on the Season 2 DVD set where you sort of get the impression that the actors are mostly there for the paycheck. Maybe it's because they knew they were probably being cancelled, but still. Watched the whole thing last month – it's really all over the place. Not that I don't love it or miss it, but … good thing they never made a shitty movie to try to resurrect the show later. (LALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!)

  • http://twitter.com/missemmamm Mary

    Party Down was frickin brilliant, I miss it so much. I also loved Action. Another show that I miss is Huff. I think it was too dark for people.

  • http://twitter.com/missemmamm Mary

    Party Down was frickin brilliant, I miss it so much. I also loved Action. Another show that I miss is Huff. I think it was too dark for people.

  • Sara

    Firefly for sure.
    And Veronica Mars.

  • pewpdude
  • Lambo

    the recently aired and canceled “the Good Guys” that show shouldn't have been on Fox. I miss Veronica Mars.

  • Caleb

    “
    Ryan Murphy pisses me off, though. You think Popular was “schizophrenic”, try enduring Glee. The people behind that show don't seem to care enough about the audience to give, you know, any semblance of consistency with characters or story lines that make some kind of sense”
    Best I've ever heard it put. I whole-heartedly agree. And I started as a huge proponent of Glee. I like the idea of what seems liked a Freeks-and-geeks style premise that deals with kids who, damnit, just really like to sing and perform (finally a show that stands for me and mine!) But self-induced melodrama is evidently catchier than a Lady Gaga medley.

    But I digress. I'll hop on the firefly bandwagon–which I didn't know about until after Serenity came out. And too some extent, dollhouse (Eliza Dushku can act, when she wants too). I'll also throw on “Studio 60: Live at the sunset strip.” Aaron Sorkin's second act to West Wing, which–while a little autobiographical and self-righteous–was poignant, well acted and well written.

    Why, oh why, does the general public hate good writing so damned much?

  • Sarah

    What about Carnivalle? That show was amazing until it was prematurely cancelled.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1495549613 Casey Morris

    I marathonned through Terriers yesterday. Holy fuck, how that got cancelled, I'll never understand. I started Lights Out earlier, and I'm scared for upcoming FX shows. They seem to cancel the amazing shit after one season. Here's to hoping that Powers doesn't die prematurely next year…

    Also, am I the only one who watched Food Party?! Thu Tran is my fucking hero and shit. I'm going to miss her and her cardboard kitchen.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mikecosta Michael Costa

    another WB fav 'Gross Pointe'

  • jaskmackey

    The reason Lizzy Caplan hasn't taken over Hollywood is because Zooey Deschanel has the market cornered on snarky blue-eyed raven-haired waifs.

    Great list. The only one I haven't seen in its entirety is “Action,” which I've never even heard of. “Veronica Mars,” oh my god yes, “Firefly,” yes, “Carnivale,” mmhmm, and have you watched “Frisky Dingo”? It's tops.

  • Camila Gonzalez95

    It really saddens me when these great shows are cancelled. I don’t understand how something as brilliant as Party Down didn’t have good ratings. It should be put back on air. Glee sucks but Jane Lynch made a good career move on that. And although Parks and Rec is pretty good, it has nothing on Party Down.

    And don’t even get me started on Freaks and Geeks. It’s beyond me how it gained so much popularity AFTER cancellation. I would’ve loved seeing that show go on for at least 2 more seasons.

    People watch garbage reality shows instead of good quality entertainment.

  • Cjoypask

    Book of Daniel, cancelled because of lack of understanding regarding the aim of the show. Driving from people pushing their views on others.
    John Doe, great show just went away.

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