We don’t like watching new TV shows anymore because it seems that they always cancel our favorites too soon. Here are 13 of our favorites that we can only remember fondly now. (And affiliate links so you can buy them on Amazon as Christmas gifts for your family and friends. Or watch them instantly online.)

    1. Better Off Ted
      They work for a fairly evil corporation that weaponizes pumpkins, cryogenically freezes its employees, and stands by all typos in its memos. Possibly the funniest show ever.
    2. Pushing Daisies
      She’s dead, but he brought her back to life with his touch. Now he can never touch her again, or she’ll go back to being dead. Oh, and there are musical numbers that involve Glinda the Good Witch and Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors singing “Birdhouse in Your Soul” together in the car. Visually and creatively stunning.
    3. Jericho
      Someone nuked all of America’s major cities, and now it’s like the Wild West out there. Turns out it wasn’t a foreign country who did it, either. Post-apocalyptic intrigue abounds.
    4. Daybreak
      Poor Taye Diggs keeps waking up and living the same day over and over again. It’s like Groundhog Day, but not funny. He has to save his girlfriend and so many other people from dying before he can break the loop. At least this one had a satisfying finale.
    5. V
      A remake of the TV miniseries that came out when I was in elementary school, aliens invade Earth under the pretense of coming in peace. Anna is their smiling but ruthless queen, and Juliet (oh wait, that was just her name on LOST) has to save her son from becoming too entrenched in alien plots for world domination.
    6. Flash Forward
      Everyone on Earth blacked out for a few minutes one day, and they all had visions of what was going to happen to them on a future date. Except for the ones who had no visions…because they would be dead. Is their fate inevitable? And wait, was someone actually AWAKE when 5 billion other people blacked out?
    7. Eli Stone
      A lawyer with a brain aneurysm sees and hears George Michael singing to him, and he turns out to be some sort of prophet. Amazing musical numbers with the entire cast, including Broadway favorite Victor Garber. Every time I think of this show, I end up with “Faith” stuck in my head for three days.
    8. The Event
      It turns out that aliens arrived on Earth about 50-ish years ago, and the government covered it up by detaining them all in a secret prison. Although some of their people managed to not get caught, and have been living among us – without aging – in secret. Why are they here? Who’s trying to kill who? Also worth it just to watch Jason Ritter in action.
    9. Knight Rider
      A campy remake of the original series featuring the guy who used to play Jamie on All My Children as Mike and Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT the talking car. Sometimes, it’s just nice to turn your brain off and be entertained.
    10. Alcatraz
      Everyone thought that Alcatraz was closed and the inmates were transferred to other facilities…but it turns out that they all just disappeared one day, and the government needed a coverup story. Now, 50 years later, they’re reappearing – they haven’t aged a day, and they have no idea what’s going on. Oh, and they’re killing people. Can Hurley from LOST and the pretty blond find them all and solve the mystery of just what the heck is going on?
    11. Las Vegas
      I know it ran for a few years, but we feel like Las Vegas was cancelled while it was still really good. Why did Josh Duhamel have to go and get a movie career? With him and James Caan in the casino business, we had smart TV and eye candy all rolled into one.
    12. Less Than Perfect
      Sara Rue as a “plus sized” employee in the TV business. Witty banter and antics include costars Eric Roberts, Andy Dick, Sherri Shepherd, and Zachary Levi.
    13. Firefly
      I think there would be a revolt among my sci-fi/fantasy geek friends if I didn’t mention Nathan Fillion’s space cowboy cult classic. It was entertaining, but I still prefer him on Castle.
    Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

    That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.


By Christina Gleason

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.

5 thoughts on “13 Brilliant TV Shows That Ended Too Soon”
  1. I still think they should have done Jimmy Smit’s presidency on the West Wing.

    Also think that Earth: Final Conflict and Babylon 5 could have gone longer.

  2. I’d add No Ordinary Family to the list. A family goes on a vacation to South America (well, “working vacation” for the mom), and on a small excursion into the rainforest, their plane crashes. They survive but soon find out they have super powers. The mom is super fast (ala Flash), the dad is super strong and invulnerable (ala Superman without flight/heat vision/x-ray vision), the daughter can read minds and influence thoughts, and the son goes from having learning disabilities to being super smart. They have to learn how to cope with (and hide) their powers… except that there are some other not-so-nice people with powers out there who want to kill them. And how did they get their powers anyway?

    It all ended with a cliffhanger that replicated the circumstances of how they got their powers, but with 80 or so hardened criminals getting super powers instead and the government contacting them for help. It promised to enter season 2 with some great story lines… and then was canceled.

  3. I agree with Less than Perfect! I was disappointed with Knight Rider when it came back. I didn’t watch any of the others. I would add Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Sports Night.

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