Earlier this month we nearly lost Brooklyn Nine-Nine when Fox slated the show to end just after five seasons. The show, however, was saved by NBC the following day.
Losing great TV shows is a bad thing, but it happens all the time. Here are a few series that we lost too soon:
Freaks and Geeks
Airing in 1999, Freaks and Geeks is arguably the first series everyone comes up with in conversation. The cast of the show had pretty good success after the show's cancelation, with the likes of Seth Rogen, Linda Cardellini and Jason Segel. The show was based in 1980 around star “mathlete” Lindsay Weir (Cardellini) breaking the mold of a nerd and hanging out with school’s “freaks.” With the common trounces of high school romance and sneaking beer, this show left us far too soon and only after one season. It absolutely should not make a comeback because the cast is about twenty years older now.
Twin Peaks
Though a reboot came last year, the original Twin Peaks ended after just two seasons with many loose ends in 1991. The cult following Twin Peaks has gained over the past few decades is unrivaled by nearly any other show. Though the 2017 resurrection of the show was able to help answer some questions, it just doesn’t have the same nostalgic feel as its predecessor. Regardless, we all love Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), and the simple question of “Who killed Laura Palmer?” may start a long discussion with anyone who loves the show.
Awkward.
OK, so this one is a stretch as it had five seasons, but season five was rushed and lazy and fans deserved a better ending. The series begins with misfit high schooler Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) losing her virginity to Matty McKibben (Beau Mirchoff), who is “Mr. Popular” at school. Jenna’s narration of her life is documented by her writing in her blog, which of course ends up gaining some internet fame. Despite all her misadventures through high school and then college, the final season is a rushed attempt to wrap up the series as quick as possible. And the end was too predictable (SPOILER ALERT) as McKibben and Hamilton finally end up together, snuggled by a campfire at the very same summer camp. They even have a romantic scene in the very same broom closet in which Jenna was deflowered.
Futurama
Yes and no. The show ran for seven seasons, but not after issues with being canceled and delayed and nearly any other problem a show can run into. Matt Groening’s side project to The Simpsons was by far his best. Futurama takes place in the 3000s after pizza boy Philip J. Fry (Billy West) falls into a cryogenic chamber at the turn of the millennium in 1999 and wakes up in the year 3000. While the show’s eventual end was perfect, it also set the series perfectly to have another reboot, which fans all over are patiently waiting for.
Gilligan’s Island
Your parents and grandparents are probably familiar with Gilligan’s Island. The showed, which aired a total of three seasons from 1964-1967, follows seven people who are shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The premise, as you could imagine, is a bunch of inept people trying to get off an island, but they always mess up every chance they get. And decades later, we can assume they are still stuck on the island. Why? Because though the show was due for a fourth season, it was abruptly canceled right after the end of the third. So they never really made it off the island. That sucks.
