Shows Cancelled Before They Are Finished

[SnowdroppersUnite]

I might be feeling a bit ranty but is anyone else sick of starting to watch a show, that has been written as a milti-season story with a long range arc - only to then be cancelled after 1 or 2 seasons and so left open ended? No proper conclusion or closure.

I'm starting to resist starting any new series unless I KNOW there is a proper ending or unless several seasons have already been filmed/it is an old series.

Dangerous Liasons, Becoming Elizabeth, 1899, The Midnight Club, Sense8. It's starting to drive me mad.

@DysmalRadius I enjoyed it too.

I adored home fires. Why did they cancel it

@woodhill I was so upset about The Living and The Dead, the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. I think the creators hoped to make a deal with another production company, but I have never heard of that happening. I actually signed a petition to the BBC to have it recommissioned.

@Ivalueloyaltyaboveallelse

I think it was literally just us then!! Even at the time nobody else seemed to have heard of it, but I loved it and it left SO many questions!!

No you should watch this - the ending was fine from what I remember!

I watched the Wilds on Amazon recently...season 2 ended on a cliffhanger so I googled to see when season 3 would be out and that's been cancelled! I was gutted! I may have signed a bring back the Wilds petition

flanaganfilm.tumblr.com/post/702543785726558208/the-midnight-club-season-two/amp

Mike Flanagan outlined season 2 in the link above and I’m grateful for he tied up the loose ends. If only all shows could do this.
I want to know what happens in the Santa Clarita Diet 😪

And yes I enjoyed this one too, with Doctor Who actress as his wife?

The Returned and Santa Clarita Diet I’m mad about. The mystery of Mr Ball Legs will never be solved.

Honestly wonder why I bother watching series now on Netflix, or even subscribing at all. Then it’s a self fulfilling prophecy - people won’t start to watch even the best shows because of not wanting to invest in half a story, so they’ll all get cancelled anyway.

@DysmalRadius absolutely loved that programme and genuinely devastated they didn't make another series!

Of course, Marian Keyes - I should have known, because I'm reading The Other Side of the Story at the moment. I love her books!

Hex and Tru Calling (I couldn't remember the name of Tru Calling so glad it was mentioned by a PP.

The Crimson Field. So annoying, it was getting better every episode.

On Netflix; La Révolution and Irregulars

Revolution. It was on Sky I think. It was really good and then two seasons in, it just ended! No conclusion, argh! It had Billy Burke in it and was about the world when all power went off permanently and sort of caused an apocalypse type scenario.

@wrappednotasinglegiftyet i was just about to say this!

I came across an American show during lockdown called The Family. It was about a politician whose son had went missing as a child but then a boy claiming to be him turned up years later

It ended on a massive shock cliffhanger to never return. I was gutted about that one

I loved that show!

we'd all feel much better if they just ended seasons properly and knew when the end was. If anyone watched Elementary, Season 6 was meant to be the last one - hence the finale. They'd already done it when they got news they had another season.

did anyone watch Jack and Jill, and Six Degrees? They vanished and I'd love to see them again but they just disappeared. Particularly loved Six Degrees.

Me too!! I’m still bitter.

Tokyo Vice. It felt like ti stopped half way through the first series but no, that was the end of the series, allegedly. So many loose ends and no definite second series.
Patriots - I loved this underrated show. I was dying to know what would happen with Leslie on board when they all went to the Middle East with the pipe company.

I watched Alcatraz and it was cancelled after 1 pointless series. Then I got into Revolution, only to be disappointed again. Apparently they did produce a 4 part comic book, through DC Comics, to tie up the Revolution storylines for frustrated fans.

Mind hunter was never cancelled officially. It went on hold for a while and then Jonathan Groff was being a snowman and taking other parts, budgets were larger than anticipated and it all kind of got put to one side. Writers and actors have always said they’d come back for a final series and do hope to achieve it someday, so who knows. Meanwhile, the book it was loosely based on is well worth a read.

flashforward was the show that elicited the golden rule in our house. If it doesn’t come to a tidy conclusion at the end of season one, or it hasn’t had at least two seasons, do not watch it.

Then there were shows that absolutely should have remained as one offs. Wayward Pines being the prime example. iIRC season one was based on the three released books and intended as a one shot thing. Only it rated highly so they brought it back for a season two, with little to no source material and it bombed majestically. Still one of the best shows I’ve ever watched, but when I recommend it I always tell people do not watch season two and leave it when it should have ended.

Heroes and the Wire

I’d forgotten that show. I really loved it when I watched it. Was so irritated after time that it just ended. s you say it was just starting to ramp up.

It is so annoying. The problem nowadays is that people often don’t watch a series the minute it is launched - might be already watching a few other series etc so viewing figures aren’t an accurate portrayal of popularity.

I think that all series should be a 3 season arc. Writers should have a 3 season plan that wraps up all outstanding queries and storylines. Studios should commission 3 series minimum so that all shows have a good conclusion.

that would stop the sudden cancellations and lack of closure but also stop those storylines that drag on for ages or suddenly jump the shark as show is popular and writers have to keep it going to 10+ seasons.

alternatively there should be a website where writers can post what they had planned for the rest of the show and provide conclusions to storylines etc.

It reminded me of Westworld. Loved the series (even if slow at points) and I thought they could have tied it up nicely in a final episode explaining everything; but they didn't because they were anticipating approval of a second series and so left unanswered questions, leaving the viewer frustrated. I think some series are just meant to be have one season.

Firefly,
Colony,
Good Girls,
Shadow Hunters
And the last film in the Divergent series