Gone Too Soon: TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives
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TV shows can work their way into our hearts, either on a weekly basis or when binged over the course of a few days. They draw us in with their relatable characters, and keep us hooked with shocking plot twists or laugh-out-loud comedy, until these shows become a part of our routine. But what happens when that mainstay is taken away before we’re ready, or before viewers get any kind of closure? A number of shows have been cancelled prematurely for various reasons, and here, we’ve rounded up a few that we wish had been given more time.

By Victoria Luxford

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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High Fidelity (2020) – We begin with one of the most recent controversies, as American network Hulu halted the wildly popular adaptation of Nick Hornby’s book after just one season. A hit with critics and viewers, Zoë Kravitz took the lead as a record store owner in Brooklyn with a disastrous love life. Kravitz’s involvement follows that of her mother, Lisa Monet, who appeared in the 2000 film adaptation with John Cusack. Smart and refreshingly vulnerable, it captured the charm of the original book while adding something new. The idea of a second season appearing somewhere else has been deemed a ‘long shot’, but hope springs eternal for the cult following that the series earned over its short lifespan.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Sugar Rush (2005-2006) – LGBTQ+ representation on TV was limited during the mid-2000s, particularly stories relating to younger people. UK show Sugar Rush focused on 15-year-old Kim (Olivia Hallinan), a lesbian teen dealing with life in a new town as well as a growing crush on new friend Sugar (Lenora Crichlow), who is straight. A snapshot of the highs and lows of the teenage years, the show gave a lot of people a vision of who they were – and continues to be upheld as a pioneering series. A lot of time has passed since its second-season cancellation, but we wouldn’t mind checking in with an older Kim to see where life has taken her.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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I Am Not Okay with This (2020) – We are definitely not okay with Netflix cancelling this terrific coming-of-age dramedy, which also makes great strides with LGBTQ+ representation. Sophia Lillis lights up the screen as Sydney, a reserved high schooler who realises she is developing telekinetic powers. The first season ended on a blood-spattered cliffhanger, before being cancelled by the streaming giant. The potential for the show to become a cult hit was limitless, but difficulties posed by the 2020 pandemic halted its progress. Fans are crossing their fingers that a continuation is possible for the future.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Hibana (2016) – The Japanese comedy scene is the focus of this adaptation of Naoki Matayoshi’s novel, chronicling a decade in the career of two stars of manzai, a traditional form of stand-up in Japan. Cinematic and thoughtful, the series hinges around the dynamic between a mentor and protégé, as well as the deep personal pain that can exist in those who make people laugh for a living. The unique comedy/drama lasted just one season, and we can’t help but think what might have happened with an encore.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) – Nowadays, if you presented a new comedy series starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini, it would be a big event. However, two decades ago these stars were the young cast of a quirky series created by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters). Following the misadventures of a group of slackers (the ‘freaks’) and studious outcasts (the ‘geeks’), only 18 episodes of the ‘80s-set high school comedy were made, with 12 airing before the cancellation. The show continues to have a devoted fanbase, and while it may be too late for a follow-up, the many reunions and successes of the cast suggest this is a show that needed a little more time.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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El Presidente (2020) – Amazon’s first Chilean series focused on a global story: the FIFA corruption scandal of 2015. The humorous dramatisation of the scandal, told through the eyes of a Chilean club president named Sergio Jadue (Andrés Parra), was well received, but plans for a second season are up in the air. It’s believed that showrunner Armando Bo (writer of Birdman) may be busy with other projects as the demand for content from Latin America grows. It would be a shame if this is our only glimpse of this world, which seems ripe for the kind of scandalous dark comedy the first season provides.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Scream Queens (2015-2016) – If you cross Mean Girls with Scream, you get an idea of the acid-drenched wit of Ryan Murphy’s comedy-horror, cut down in its prime after the second season. Emma Roberts was delicious as the unapologetically vile Chanel, the leader of a sorority plagued by a masked killer. Featuring hilarious performances from Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd and Abigail Breslin, it was a campy treat whose fans would love to see return. At the time of writing, there is even a petition for season 3 with over 10,000 signatures!

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Chewing Gum (2015-2017) – A BAFTA-winning British show that made an international star of its writer and lead, Micheala Coel. She played Tracey, a twenty-something Londoner from a religious background who is determined to lose her virginity and broaden her horizons. There has been a lot of talk about a third season following the show’s cancellation in 2017, but it seems that Coel’s mounting fortunes with shows such as I May Destroy You and Black Earth Rising mean she may have moved on. Still, we can’t help but long for a conclusion to Tracey’s journey!

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My Name Is Earl (2005-2009) – This mid-2000s comedy had a simple but compelling premise: a small-time crook (Jason Lee) wins the lottery and then loses the ticket after getting hit by a car. He puts his misfortune down to bad karma, and makes a list of all the bad things he has done in his life. One by one, he tries to make amends in the hope of a better future. Did he ever finish the list? We’ll never know, as the series was cancelled on a cliffhanger at the end of the fourth season in 2009. Over a decade on, despite rumours of a movie or shortened final season, we continue to wait for karma to bless us with answers!

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Marseille (2016-2018) – The French equivalent of House of Cards, Gérard Depardieu stars as the ageing mayor of the city of Marseille, engaged in a bitter war of succession with his former protégé (Benoît Magimel). While it received mixed reviews in its native country, internationally the series did very well before being cancelled after the second season. We thought the strong visuals and top-notch talent deserved at least one more season, as the fight for power was really starting to heat up.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019) – Many attempts have been made to revive Jim Henson’s cult fantasy The Dark Crystal, with Netflix eventually stepping up and producing this elaborate prequel to the 1982 movie. Featuring an all-star voice cast, the show used physical puppets instead of CGI and created an authentic story that felt true to its predecessor. It was a big hit, winning an Emmy as well as lighting up social media feeds… and then it got cancelled. Everything from the current pandemic to production costs have been rumoured as to why, although no official reason was given. There is still hope, however, as The Jim Henson Company expressed a desire to continue the show with another network.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Firefly (2002) – One of the all-time ‘should have lasted longer’ series. In just 14 episodes, Joss Whedon created a sci-fi classic about the adventures of a group of misfits aboard a spaceship. Nathan Fillion’s lead, Mal, was a new millennium Han Solo, while the show’s world was filled with interesting characters and fascinating lore. The network mishandled the show in the pre-streaming TV industry, but fans ensured closure by supporting a 2006 movie, Serenity. Firefly, however, deserved to be a show with many seasons and many more memories for those who loved it.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Deadwood (2004) – Like Firefly, HBO show Deadwood has been concluded to some extent, with a TV movie released in 2019. However, the richly textured lives of the residents of Deadwood, South Dakota was a Western marvel, making a star of British legend Ian McShane as foul-mouthed saloon owner Al Swearengen, and Timothy Olyphant as the principled sheriff, Seth Bullock. Its three seasons were too brief a run, cutting short the development of a vast group of intriguing characters who had only just begun their journey in the gritty 1800s gold rush town.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.
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Hannibal (2013-2015) – A new vision of terror came from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller, turning Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels into a terrifying new series. Mads Mikkelsen played the title role, a more refined version of the cannibal psychiatrist than we are used to seeing, with Hugh Dancy as the FBI investigator slowly drawn into his world. The series was cancelled after the third season, but Fuller is still pursuing a revival, in particular to retell the most famous Lecter story, The Silence of the Lambs – a novel that hadn’t yet been adapted by the series. Mikkelsen has expressed interest in returning as recently as 2019, so there’s always hope for one last bite.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.

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Gone Too Soon: The TV Shows We Still Need In Our Lives.

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