The Best Shows Canceled After a Single 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 axe 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). All of these single-season shows were canceled before they could have a sophomore season, much to our dismay. But this list also includes some more obscure shows. Even beloved stars like Matthew Perry and Jason Alexander couldn't get a second season on their own.
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. Vote up the canceled single-season shows you think are the best and see where your favorites rank.
- 1Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
- Premiered: September 20, 2002
- Genres: Action,Adventure,Science Fiction
The crew of a small transport ship experience a cosmic civil war. - 2John Francis Daley, Linda Cardellini, Samm Levine
- Premiered: September 25, 1999
- Genres: Comedy,Drama
The lives of nerdy teenagers in a Michigan high school circa 1980. - 3Matt Ryan, Harold Perrineau, Charles Halford
- Premiered: October 24, 2014
- Genres: Drama,Fantasy
A demon hunter and a girl with second sight travel the country fighting evil. - 4Jake McDorman, Jennifer Carpenter, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
- Premiered: September 22, 2015
- Genres: Crime,Science Fiction,Thriller
A man with extraordinary, drug-induced cognitive powers solves complex cases for the FBI. - 5Ioan Gruffudd, Judd Hirsch, Alana De La Garza
- Premiered: September 22, 2014
- Genres: Crime,Drama
A 200-year-old but young-looking man is a medical examiner who hopes to understand his immortality. - 6Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Minka Kelly
- Premiered: November 17, 2013
- Genres: Crime,Drama,Science Fiction
In the year 2048, a cop returns to work after surviving a catastrophic attack and a 17-month coma. - 7Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes
- Premiered: August 25, 1994
- Genres: Drama
A teen finds new friends and trouble in high school. - 8Jason O'Mara, Stephen Lang, Shelley Conn
- Premiered: September 26, 2011
- Genres: Adventure,Science Fiction
A family journeys back to prehistoric times as part of an experiment to save the human race. - 9Geoff Stults, Michael Clarke Duncan, Maddie Hasson
- Premiered: January 12, 2012
- Genres: Drama
An Iraq war veteran uses his powers as a Finder to locate people and things law enforcement cannot. - 10Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson
- Premiered: October 20, 2019
- Genres: Action,Drama
In an alternate history, superheroes are treated as outlaws. - 11Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Gale Harold
- Premiered: September 15, 2011
- Genres: Drama,Fantasy,Horror
A teenage girl learns she is a witch with a dangerous destiny. - 12Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene
- Premiered: September 17, 1978
- Genres: Action,Fantasy,Science Fiction
Good battles evil in outer space. - 13Eliza Dushku, Jason Priestley, Shawn Reaves
- Premiered: October 30, 2003
- Genres: Drama,Fantasy,Thriller
Cadavers appeal to a morgue worker for help. - 14Omri Katz, Justin Shenkarow, Mary Margaret Hume
- Premiered: September 15, 1991
- Genres: Adventure,Drama,Fantasy,Kids
Fantasy adventure in an unusual town. - 15Robbie Amell, Luke Mitchell, Peyton List
- Premiered: October 9, 2013
- Genres: Action,Drama,Science Fiction
Stephen helps genetically advanced teenagers hide from the paramilitary group hunting them down. - 16Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport
- Premiered: September 24, 2009
- Genres: Drama,Mystery
Humanity must come to grips with individuals suddenly seeing their futures. - 17Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson
- Premiered: 1993
- Genres: Western, Science fiction Western, Action/Adventure, Steampunk, Adventure film
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., often referred to as just Brisco or Brisco County, is an American Western/science fiction television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for ...more - 18Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Sam Neill
- Premiered: January 16, 2012
- Genres: Crime,Drama,Mystery
Long dead former Alcatraz inmates reappear on the streets of San Francisco. - 19Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson
- Premiered: September 22, 2015
- Genres: Comedy
The Muppets (ABC, 2015), stylized as the muppets., is an American television comedy series co-created by Bill Prady and Bob Kushell. The series is set in Los Angeles and depicts the everyday personal ...more - 20Peyton List, Riley Smith, Devin Kelley
- Premiered: October 5, 2016
- Genres: Drama
A long-broken ham radio connects a detective with her father, who died on the job 20 years earlier. - 21Crystal Reed, Andy Bean, Derek Mears
- Premiered: May 31, 2019
- Genres: Science Fiction
While looking into an epidemic, CDC investigator Abby Arcane discovers that swamps hold secrets. - 22Aimee Teegarden, Matt Lanter, Grey Damon
- Premiered: February 17, 2014
- Genres: Drama,Science Fiction
Emery and Roman struggle to have a relationship despite the animosity between their communities. - 23Riann Steele, Jonathan Tucker, Norbert Leo Butz
- Premiered: March 1, 2021
- Genres: Drama,Mystery
When mysterious wreckage falls from the sky, two agents must investigate each powerful fragment. - 24Scott Foley, Lauren Cohan, Ana Ortiz
- Premiered: February 24, 2019
- Genres: Action,Comedy,Drama
Will Chase and Francesca Trowbridge lead an interagency team of flawed, funny and heroic spies. - 25Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jessica De Gouw
- Premiered: October 25, 2013
- Genres: Drama
Posing as an American entrepreneur, Dracula plans to seek revenge on those who ruined his life.
