Many of us will agree that there is nothing better than finding a new series to binge. But occasionally, heartbreak strikes when your new favourite programme doesn’t get renewed for one reason or another.
Sometimes TV series are not met with instant acclaim and it can take a little bit of time for them to get their flowers, meaning low viewership caused them to be cancelled. High production costs can also play into this alongside conflicting committments. Here are my top five TV series that were cancelled too early and deserve some recognition.
5. Santa Clarita Diet
The Santa Clarita Diet is an American comedy horror series that was created for Netflix. Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant starred in the show’s three series. It follows a husband and wife real estate team, whose otherwise normal lives change dramatically when Shelia (Barrymore) begins to show signs of craving human flesh. The series came to an abrupt end when Netflix decided to cancel it, which had been a common occurrence for the streaming platform to do after three seasons.
4. The Carrie Diaries
The prequel to Sex and the City followed the younger years of Carrie Bradshaw growing up in the fictional town of Castlebury, Connecticut, 1984. The show has themes of loss, love and relationships and it also shows her first experiences in New York City. Anna Sophia Robb stars as Carrie, opposite her love interest, played by Austin Butler. The show came to an end after the second season’s declining viewership.
3. Freaks and Geeks
This series was a one-hit wonder, but it didn’t need to be. The high school sitcom with an edge starred Jason Segal, James Franco, Linda Cardellini and Seth Rogen. The show followed a misfit high-school student and friends in the 1980s and it is incredibly refreshing in comparison to other teen dramas. The show was also cancelled due to low viewership despite receiving critical acclaim and a developing cult following, according to The New York Times.
2. High Fidelity
Zoë Kravitz stars in the TV remake of what was originally High Fidelity the movie – and a book before that. The series follows Robyn “Rob” Brooks, who is a female record store owner in Brooklyn. We see her revisit past relationships in the hope of understanding her own heartbreaks. Kravitz stars alongside Jake Lacy and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The series was cancelled by Hulu but despite this, the show continues to have a major following and is remembered for its unique take on the source material and its diverse representation.
1. Mindhunter
Crime thriller, Mindhunter follows FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, along with psychologist Wendy Carr, as they pioneer criminal profiling in the late 1970s. Tench and Ford spend their time interviewing imprisoned serial killers in the hope of understanding their psychology and therefore try to use this to aid ongoing cases. The series was primarily cut due to budgeting reasons but the show’s fanbase stands strong today, with the show continuing to be praised.