Best TV The Best Single Season Canceled Shows  

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List Rules Top TV series canceled after one season

What are the best single season canceled shows in television history? These shows were actually really great, but for whatever reason (usually ratings), they got the ax after just a handful of episodes. Without a doubt, many on this list of series canceled after one season deserved much longer runs and all these TV shows were canceled before their time. Vote for the shows you think didn't deserve just one season on the air and feel free to rerank this list your way, too.

It might surprise you to learn that despite their great successes, entertainment heavyweights like Judd Apatow and Joss Whedon didn't always come out on top. Whedon's Firefly remains one of the most unjust cancellations in TV history, as does Apatow's Freaks and Geeks (both are now among the all-time top cult TV shows). But this list also includes some more obscure shows.

Add any one season TV shows that might be missing because if *you* miss it, it qualifies.What single-season TV shows do you believe are the greatest ever? It's a safe bet that several of the 1 season TV shows listed here are also among the best TV shows in recent memory.

list ordered by

1
3,112 1,011
Firefly is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
Firefly is an American space western science fiction drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive ...more

2
2,360 898
Freaks and Geeks is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig with Judd Apatow as executive producer, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. ...more

3
1,521 1,173
Terra Nova is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams
Terra Nova is an American science fiction drama television series. It premiered on September 26, 2011 with a two-hour premiere, and concluded on December 19, 2011 with a two-hour, two-episode ...more

4
1,215 704
Almost Human is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
AvilisSiliva added Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Minka Kelly
Almost Human is an American science fiction drama that aired from November 17, 2013, through March 3, 2014, on Fox. The series was created by J. H. Wyman for Frequency Films, Bad Robot ...more

5
1,344 911
My So-Called Life is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes
My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to ...more

6
699 283
Forever is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
fastnotbulbous added Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza, Joel David Moore
Forever is an American drama television series about Dr. Henry Morgan, an immortal medical examiner in New York City. The series aired on ABC as part of the 2014–15 fall television season. The ...more

7
879 627
The Finder is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
ShaunaTurner added Geoff Stults, Maddie Hasson, Mercedes Mason
The Finder is an American procedural drama television series created by Hart Hanson that ran on Fox from January 12, 2012 to May 11, 2012. The series originally aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm, ...more

8
734 836
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
bojanthebest added Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Jack Grinnage
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter—Carl Kolchak, played by Darren ...more

9
1,016 936
Alcatraz is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Jonny Coyne
Alcatraz is an American television series created by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, and produced by J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions. The series premiered on Fox on ...more

10
645 888
No Ordinary Family is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
KarynLake added Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker
No Ordinary Family is an American television series that aired on ABC and CTV in Canada. The one-hour science fiction comedy-drama was produced by ABC Studios for the 2010–11 television season. ...more

11
779 809
The Dresden Files is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz, Terrence Mann
The Dresden Files is a Canadian/American television series based on the fantasy book series of the same name by Jim Butcher. It premiered January 21, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United ...more

12
1,002 835
The Secret Circle is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
MelissaKilderry added Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Phoebe Tonkin
The Secret Circle is an American supernatural teen drama that aired on The CW from September 15, 2011, to May 10, 2012. It is based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. ...more

13
903 817
Flash Forward is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
ChangesDownClub added John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Jack Davenport
Flash Forward is a Disney Channel Original Series produced in Canada for preteens and teenagers which aired on both Disney Channel and ABC from 1995 to 1997. The series first aired as a ...more

14
663 888
Awake is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Jason Isaacs, Laura Allen, Steve Harris
Awake is an American television police procedural fantasy drama that originally aired on NBC for one season from March 1 to May 24, 2012. The pilot episode had an early release on Hulu on ...more

15
673 879
Undeclared is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Jay Baruchel, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hunnam
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season. The show has developed a cult following. In 2012, Entertainment Weekly listed the show at #16 in the "25 Best ...more

16
522 350
Don't Trust the B---- in Apart... is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
vale.laurito added Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, Michael Blaiklock
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 is an American sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan that aired on ABC in the United States from April 11, 2012, to January 15, 2013. The series originally ...more

17
408 212
Tru Calling is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
AnneMorais added Eliza Dushku, Shawn Reaves, Zach Galifianakis
Tru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that aired on Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and March 11, 2005, however the final episode was shown in ...more

18
451 860
Wonderfalls is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Caroline Dhavernas, Katie Finneran, Tyron Leitso
Wonderfalls is a comedy-drama television series that was broadcast on the Fox television network in 2004. The show centers on Jaye Tyler, a recent Brown University graduate with a philosophy ...more

19
563 704
Alien Nation is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
Umberhaven added Gary Graham, Eric Pierpoint, Michele Scarabelli
Alien Nation is a science fiction television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 movie of the same name, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles ...more

20
530 449
The Adventures of Briscoe Coun... is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
DonLathrop added Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson

21
526 191
Constantine is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
JuanGabrielGomezAlvarado added Matt Ryan, Harold Perrineau, Charles Halford

22
651 758
Moonlight is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
MelissaKilderry added Alex O'Loughlin, Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring
Moonlight is an American paranormal romance television drama created by Ron Koslow and Trevor Munson, who was also executive producer for all episodes with Joel Silver, Gerard Bocaccio, ...more

23
551 357
The Tomorrow People is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
MarkandLetyKing added Robbie Amell, Peyton List, Luke Mitchell
The Tomorrow People is an American science fiction television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Phil Klemmer, and Julie Plec that aired on The CW during the 2013–14 American television season. ...more

24
509 161
Limitless is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
LanaYoshii added Jake McDorman, Jennifer Carpenter, Hill Harper
Limitless (CBS, 2015) is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Craig Sweeny, based on the 2011 film. Brian Finch (Jake McDorman), a 28-year-old burnout and struggling musician, ...more

25
413 274
Battlestar Galactica is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Single Season Canceled Shows
DonLathrop added Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson, that began the Battlestar Galactica franchise. Starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk ...more