The best TV shows that were cancelled too early

What's it about?
The Netflix-exclusive show is a brilliant, complicated tangle that involves eight strangers who find themselves interconnected after discovering that they are ‘sensates’ – humans who can connect emotionally and mentally, regardless of where they are in the world. Created by The Wachowskis, ‘Sense8’ was a show the world (and to be honest, the Wachowskis) needed: one that explored themes of sexuality, gender, politics and religion, and how they traverse across language and geographical barriers. It was the kind of sci-fi project that could have only existed in the time of Netflix.

Why was it cancelled?
What Netflix giveth, Netflix taketh away. While other shows can blame poor ratings for its cancellations, the lack of viewership data from Netflix means that it’s hard to know exactly why the critically acclaimed series abruptly ended. All we know is that the news came the day after Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings said that the platform hasn’t cancelled enough shows. ‘I’m always pushing the content team; we have to take more risks, you have to try more crazy things, because we should have a higher cancel rate overall,’ he said, in a statement that only prompted more questions than answers.

Is it still available?
Yes, on Netflix.

What's it about?
For those who grew up in the ’90s, ‘Animaniacs’ was the cartoon you couldn’t forget. Created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Steven Spielberg – who also served as head writer – the cartoon show was a modern-day take on Warner Bros’ ‘Merrie Melodies’ series of cartoon skits, except that its humour was edgier and had jokes targeted at an adult audience. You don’t need to look further than ‘Pinky & The Brain’ to figure out why the show was such a hit.

Why was it cancelled?
All things considered, ‘Animaniacs’ didn’t fare too badly, having aired 99 episodes over six years, and capping off with a direct-to-video movie ‘Wakko’s Wish’ in 1999. Reasons for the show’s end were never officially stated: budget constraints were likely to be one of them, along with the speculation that the show was more popular among adults and teens, and not young children – the demographic that advertisers paid money for. According to Indiewire, a potential reboot may be in the works after ‘Animaniacs’ became popular again when it was made available on Netflix last year, with Steven Spielberg expected to be part of the project.

Is it still available?
Only on a US-based Netflix account, but you can still watch many of the shorts on YouTube.

What's it about?
A then little-known Kristen Bell starred as Veronica Mars, a sassy, quick-on-her-feet teenager who works for Mars Investigation together with her sheriff-turned-private-eye father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni). The series began on a dark note, with Veronica having to deal with the murder of her closest friend, Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried) by attempting to solve the case. In doing so, she ends up in a tangled web that sees her falling into abusive relationships, dealing with her father’s fall from grace, and other traumatic coming-of-age experiences. It’s not as bleak as it sounds, however, as its creator Rob Thomas (not the Matchbox 20 singer) balances out the serious issues by having a strong female lead that can be roughly described as a Nancy Drewmeets- Philip Marlowe gumshoe detective.

Why was it cancelled?
The show was a misfit; it was all at once funny, dramatic and dark – which didn’t play well with its sibling shows like ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Smallville’ on the CW Network. The show did return to give fans the closure they needed when a stand-alone ‘Veronica Mars Movie’ was produced in 2014 following a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Is it still available? 
No, but Netflix does have ‘iZombie’, the other Rob Thomas show whose heroine draws comparisons to Veronica.

What's it about?
‘Futurama’ was the short-lived (well, compared to the still-running ‘The Simpsons’) cartoon series from Matt Groening that centered around Philip J Fry, a pizza delivery guy who wakes up 1,000 years in the future after being accidentally frozen in a cryogenic chamber. He ends up taking up a job with a distant descendant, the elderly scientist Professor Farnsworth who owns a small cargo delivery service, together with crew members Leela, accountant Hermes, Amy and the robot Bender. Unlike its more comedic sibling, ‘Futurama’ was more a thinking man’s cartoon as its dystopian sci-fi nature allowed it to explore the consequences of our present day actions, and how they could affect the future. The seventh episode of the fourth season, ‘Jurassic Bark’, tells you all you need to know about what the show is capable of.

Why was it cancelled?
Despite winning six Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Animated Program in its debut season, the show had to endure a tumultuous start-stop life. After the first four seasons, the show was cancelled by Fox network, only for it to be revived in 2007 as four direct-to-video films. The popular response to the movies led it to be renewed for another three seasons before it ended, presumably because of low ratings, but Matt was thankful for the opportunity to end the show on relatively good terms. ‘We would love to continue. We have many more stories to tell. But if we don’t, this is a really great way to go out… I think these episodes are the best ones we’ve ever done,’ said Matt.

Is it still available?
Yes, on iflix.

What's it about?
Set in the early 1980s, the series revolves around Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) and her younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley) who have to navigate their way through high school in the post-Vietnam, pre-Reagan era. While Lindsay attempts to ditch her good girl, mathlete-participating persona to hang out with the freaks – a bunch of potheads and disco-haters played by James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel in their before-theywere- famous stage – Sam has to suffer through high school with the geeks, Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) and Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr). Think of it as an edgier, pot-filled ’80s-era John Hughes movie led by nowsuperstar director Paul Feig, and you have an idea of why it became such a beloved series.

Why was it cancelled?
As brilliant as it was, the show was denied the dignity of having completed a full season – it only ran for 18 episodes – following a collusion of inconsistent scheduling, poor ratings and a bad timeslot (back when timeslots mattered). The show debuted on a jagged screening schedule, having showed for two weeks, then forced off the air for four weeks because of the World Series, then on again for another six, and then off for two months. According to NME, ‘Freaks & Geeks’ had only 6.77 million viewers then, a fraction of the 18 million viewers who watched its timeslot rival ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and the 14 million viewers of ‘Frasier’ and ‘Friends’. No surprise that it was canned soon after.

Is it still available?
Yes, on Netflix.