TV Shows that didn't hang around long enough (aka Brilliant but Cancelled)

MDs (2002) 10 episodes
It was gone before Christmas 2002. It had sort of a M*A*S*H zaniness about fighting the corporate side of the hospital and the insurance giants. I thought it had great potential.



Private Eye (1987-1988) 13 Episodes. Featuring young Josh Brolin.
Set in 1950s Hollywood; too long ago to remember much about it except I liked it.

 

The Knights of Prosperity
Men of a Certain Age
Thief (with Andre Braugher) {https://www.forbes.com/sites/allenstjohn/2016/07/31/watch-list-thief-the-forgotten-fx-gem-thats-best-cable-drama-youve-never-seen/#3ba9f11562be}

 

Undeclared
Freaks and Geeks
Hot L Baltimore
The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.
That Was Then (only 2 episodes aired!)

Those are the ones that come immediately to mind. I would like to have seen "The Monkees" return for a revamped third season; the second season's looser feel and the introduction of guests like Tim Buckley and Frank Zappa definitely showed a promise beyond the usual '60s sitcom.

 

I'll add to that and mention another short-lived Bryan Fuller show that I love called WONDERFALLS.

 

Veronica Mars.

The third season wasn't as great as the first two, but it still deserved a better fate.

When I was in high school, I felt like I was kryptonite for all my favorite shows. They constantly got cancelled. Besides Veronica Mars there was also Firefly, Angel, American Dreams, Freaks and Geeks... Plus Gilmore Girls, which ran for seven seasons but was cancelled very unexpectedly.

 

Two shows that I liked and felt were cancelled too soon were Eleventh Hour (2008) and Threshold (2005).

Eleventh Hour starred Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton and was a science-based drama. Sewell's character was an advisor to the FBI and Shelton's character was an FBI agent assigned as a bodyguard for said advisor.

Threshold starred Carla Gugino with Brent Spiner, Peter Dinklage, Charles S. Dutton also in the cast. It was a scifi drama similar to X-Files.

 

Boomtown (2002-2003)

From IMDb:

Donnie Wahlberg, Neal McDonough, ...

Doug

 

IN COLOR!!!!

 

Quarry

Would have loved a 2nd season.

 

My Mother The Car

 

Deadwood
Deadwood
Deadwood
….did I mention Deadwood!?

 

That was Mädchen Amick, better known as Shelly on Twin Peaks.

 

Homefront 1991-1993

They hurriedly wrapped up the storylines for us dedicated fans who followed the show throughout the many times it was moved on the schedule. Would like it to be released on dvd

 

Chappelle's Show

 

Once And Again (Sela Ward, Patrick Dempsey, Evan Rachel Wood, etc.)
Deadwood
Freaks and Geeks

 

My Name Is Earl
Raising Hope

 

Ellery Queen (1975) - Eminently watchable, even today. Wish it would have stuck around for a few years, although Jim Hutton died just a few years after.

 

Lots of great suggestions already.

I'd add:

It's Your Move (Jason Bateman and David Garrison)
Relativity (Kimberly Williams/David Conrad/Jane Adams/Adam Goldberg)
Aquarius (David Duchovny, Gethin Anthony)
Boss (Kelsey Grammer, Connie Nielsen, Kathleen Robertson)

A few UK series:

Saxondale (Steve Coogan, Ruth Jones, Rasmus Hardiker, Darren Boyd) I'll add that I don't believe this was cancelled. I think Steve just didn't do any more episodes.
Early Doors (John Henshaw, Craig Cash, Phil Mealey, Christine Bottomley)
Starlings (Brendan Coyle, Lesley Sharpe, Matt King, Steve Edge)
Hebburn (Kimberley Nixon, Gina McKee, Vic Reeves)

I'm not sure if it's cancelled, but it's been about 3 years since the first season: Spotless (Brendan Coyle, Marc-André Grondin, Denis Ménochet)

 

We have had threads of a similar kind, and I always bring up the same series: Copper:

It was about (cited from IMDB): "Set in the Five Points neighborhood of New York City in the 1860s, focusing on a rugged young Irish cop who is forced to navigate his unruly and dangerous immigrant neighborhood while interacting with the uptown Manhattan crowd and the black community."

Produced by the BBC, it only ran for two seasons (10 and 13 episodes respectively), and then was cancelled: Copper (TV series) - Wikipedia

It was absolutely terrific . . . the plot was constantly evolving, the characters were complex, etc.

 

Tim Lucas posted on FB that he is working on a commentary track for The Night Stalker (and after that The Night Strangler). He didn’t say anything about the series, but he did say that the series itself was somewhat of a disappointment for him.

And I agree, McGavin and Oakland were the driving force behind the series. Kolchak is one of the most memorable TV characters ever.

 

The Canadian show "Intelligence" lasted only 2 seasons, 2005 - 2007. Canadian Organized Crime Unit / organized crime interaction with focus on a key figure from each side of the fence and series-running arcs. Rented the DVDs a couple of years afterwards. Wish that series lasted longer than 26 episodes. Highly recommended.

Doug

 

Firefly

 

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was a UK/Canadian television series that was shown on Channel 4 in the UK, CTV in Canada. The show features intimate interviews between the host, Elvis Costello, and various musical guests intertwined with performances by Costello and the guests, separately and together. Guests ranged from Lou Reed to Tony Bennett to Bill Clinton to Bruce Springsteen and many many more.

Its first season consisted of 13 parts and was screened in 2008/09. The second season consisted of 7 parts and was screened in 2009/10.


I'm not sure why the series ended, probably because Elvis Costello had other things to do, or he grew tired of the grind, whatever but I wish the series had continued.