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Worst network/cable TV program cancellations of all time

Lots of people hate to learn that their favorite TV program gets axed, sometimes there's nothing you can do to save them. But here's my list of the worst network/cable TV cancellations of all time:

1.)Memphis Beat (cancelled by TNT in 2011 after two seasons) - I've first heard about the cancellation while surfing on the internet, along with the cancellations of fellow shows Hawthorne and Men of a Certain Age. I used to watch MB religiously (except the pilot episode in 2010 which I've watch in reruns because I was vacationing in Charleston, SC) it had a great cast Jason "Earl Hickey" Lee as Det. Dwight Hendricks, with Sam Hennings as Det. Charlie "Whitehead" White, D.J. Qualls as Officer Davey Sutton, Abe Benrubi as Sgt. J.C. Lightfoot (dissapeared after season one without explanation "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome"), Celia Weston (who's from my stepfather's hometown of Spartanburg, SC) as Dwight's widowed mother Paula Ann who lost her husband in the line of duty years back when Dwight was a kid, Leonard Earl Howze as Det. Reginald Greenback, and last but no least Alfre Woodard as Lt. Tanya Rice. It tooked place in Memphis, but filmed in New Orleans, LA (due to Tennessee State tax issues). MB was a great show to turn in to every week during the summertime. Axing MB and renewing Rizzoli and Isles for a 3rd season is a BIG mistake. MB shouldn't been axed in the first place. The cancellation of Memphis Beat is the reason I've sort of boycotting TNT by not watching TNT much anymore.

2.)All My Children/One Life to Live (Cancelled by ABC thanks to TPTB Brian Frons in 2011, AMC aired it's last episode on 9/23/2011, OLTL in 1/13/2012) - It was the worst cancellations in ABC's history. Lot's of soap fans (soaps are declining recently) protested ABC by not watching the network's new shows or boycotting ABC. The VP of Marketing of Hoover Vacuum Cleaners boycotted ABC's decision by pulling their ads off the network to save those shows. It failed. Both shows were replaced by The Chew and the now cancelled The Revolution. Some of OLTL's characters showed up on GH (I call it The Llanview Invasion!).

3.)Guiding Light/As The World Turns (both cancelled by CBS in 2009, ATWT's final episode was 9/17/2010) - Was the end of an era for P&G Producions.

4.)Dark Shadows (cancelled by ABC in 1971) - Left viewers with the final episode of Parallel Time 1841 instead of returning to 1971 present day Collinsport. RIP Jonathan Frid :(

5.)Terra Nova (cancelled by FOX in 2012) - It was one of the great short-lived shows (I've never seen the whole series) because Degrassi-alum Landon Liboiron was in it. Too expensive to produced, it was axed by Murdoch's company.

6.)Another World (cancelled by NBC in 1999) - Marked the end of the era for NBC Daytime when AW got axed for now-defunct Passions. 35 year run that AW had with that made Linda Dano a household name.

7.)Space Cases (cancelled by Nickelodeon in 1997) - It was one of the great sci-fi shows that Nick had. Now Rebecca Herbst (who was in the second season replacing Jewel State as her sister) is on GH as Liz Webber.

8.)Working Class (cancelled by CMT in 2010) - It was a great comeback for Ed "Lou Grant" Asner, starring Melissa Peterman. Ironically it was CMT's first sitcom that axed after one season sadly.

9.)Outlaw (cancelled by NBC in 2010) - It was Jimmy Smits comeback to NBC since his LA Law days. But instead it was short-lived after 8 episodes aired. It was a great courtroom show about a Supreme Court Judge (Smits) resigns from the high court to be a lawyer.

10.)Mercy (cancelled by NBC in 2010) - It was a great medical drama on the network which had Nick-alum Michelle Trachtenberg as one of the nurses in it. Also a recurring role from Ryan's Hope/ST: Voyager alum Kate Mulgrew. Very missed TV show.

What's yours on the list?
 
Interesting list there..Other than the soaps and Memphis Beat, I've hardly heard of any of the shows listed..Didnt even know CMT had a first run sitcom..Because of the nature of Television, every Prime time show is likely to be canceled at one time or another. I don't know anyone could call one cancellation "worse" than another..Disappointed about a favorite show? Sure..
 
A Peacock show that hooked me was Heist (2010 IIRC). I never saw the final episode-if it ever aired.
 
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (Fox; 2002-2003)
Arrested Development (Fox; 2003-2006)
The Critic (ABC; 1994, Fox; 1995)
Freaks and Geeks (NBC; 1999-2000)
Family Guy (Fox; 1999-2002; 2005-present)
Futurama (Fox; 1999-2003, Comedy Central; 2010-present)
I'll Fly Away (NBC; 1991-1993)
Men of a Certain Age (TNT; 2009-2011)
My So-Called Life (ABC; 1994-1995)
Police Squad! (ABC; 1982)
Sports Night (ABC; 1998-2000)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC; 2006-2007)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC; 2009-2010)
Undeclared (Fox; 2001-2002)
Wonderland (ABC; 2000)
 
AKA said:
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (Fox; 2002-2003)
Arrested Development (Fox; 2003-2006)
The Critic (ABC; 1994, Fox; 1995)
Freaks and Geeks (NBC; 1999-2000)
Family Guy (Fox; 1999-2002; 2005-present)
Futurama (Fox; 1999-2003, Comedy Central; 2010-present)
I'll Fly Away (NBC; 1991-1993)
Men of a Certain Age (TNT; 2009-2011)
My So-Called Life (ABC; 1994-1995)
Police Squad! (ABC; 1982)
Sports Night (ABC; 1998-2000)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC; 2006-2007)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC; 2009-2010)
Undeclared (Fox; 2001-2002)
Wonderland (ABC; 2000)

I've mentioned Men of a Certain Age on the aricle of the cancellation of Memphis Beat. Police Squad! with the late Leslie Nielsen would revived as three Naked Gun movies. Freaks and Geeks (that help launched James Franco's career) and Undeclared were recently reran on TeenNick network before removed. Conan's short-lived Tonight Show stint resulted with the fiasco over Leno/NBC, long story. I'm glad Conan is going much better at TBS.
 
My least favorite cancelations

1. malcom In The Middle - should have had 2 more seasons
2. Brady Bunch 0 Should have had another season maybe
3. Flintstones - could have run another several years on prime time
4. Wonder Years - another season maybe
5. What's Happening - one more season or two - it was reinstated in first run as What's Happening Now but that was just not the same

Of Course One Life to Live and All My Children was a sad one indeed.

NOW a show I think has run its course and should have been canceled 5 years ago - The Simpsons - Its just run out of plots and every episode is a remake of an earlier one. This show ran its course by 2002 but was still fresh somewhat till about 2007. Now though its just getting old. I hope this show gets canceled soon - we have enough episodes to last our lifetimes and then some. I used to and still like the show but begin to find recent episodes just not the same.
 
spencerkarter85 said:
Lots of people hate to learn that their favorite TV program gets axed, sometimes there's nothing you can do to save them. But here's my list of the worst network/cable TV cancellations of all time:



2.)All My Children/One Life to Live (Cancelled by ABC thanks to TPTB Brian Frons in 2011, AMC aired it's last episode on 9/23/2011, OLTL in 1/13/2012) - It was the worst cancellations in ABC's history. Lot's of soap fans (soaps are declining recently) protested ABC by not watching the network's new shows or boycotting ABC. The VP of Marketing of Hoover Vacuum Cleaners boycotted ABC's decision by pulling their ads off the network to save those shows. It failed. Both shows were replaced by The Chew and the now cancelled The Revolution. Some of OLTL's characters showed up on GH (I call it The Llanview Invasion!).

What does TPTB mean?
 
What, no one has mentioned WKRP in Cincinnati?! And Franks Place.
 
RyanHoward said:
spencerkarter85 said:
Lots of people hate to learn that their favorite TV program gets axed, sometimes there's nothing you can do to save them. But here's my list of the worst network/cable TV cancellations of all time:



2.)All My Children/One Life to Live (Cancelled by ABC thanks to TPTB Brian Frons in 2011, AMC aired it's last episode on 9/23/2011, OLTL in 1/13/2012) - It was the worst cancellations in ABC's history. Lot's of soap fans (soaps are declining recently) protested ABC by not watching the network's new shows or boycotting ABC. The VP of Marketing of Hoover Vacuum Cleaners boycotted ABC's decision by pulling their ads off the network to save those shows. It failed. Both shows were replaced by The Chew and the now cancelled The Revolution. Some of OLTL's characters showed up on GH (I call it The Llanview Invasion!).

What does TPTB mean?

'The Powers That Be'...which was a 1992-93 NBC sitcom about a political family dynasty...appropriately enough, starring John Forsythe. However, nobody watched it, so nobody missed it.
 
AKA said:
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (Fox; 2002-2003)
Arrested Development (Fox; 2003-2006)
The Critic (ABC; 1994, Fox; 1995)
Freaks and Geeks (NBC; 1999-2000)
Family Guy (Fox; 1999-2002; 2005-present)
Futurama (Fox; 1999-2003, Comedy Central; 2010-present)
I'll Fly Away (NBC; 1991-1993)
Men of a Certain Age (TNT; 2009-2011)
My So-Called Life (ABC; 1994-1995)
Police Squad! (ABC; 1982)
Sports Night (ABC; 1998-2000)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC; 2006-2007)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC; 2009-2010)
Undeclared (Fox; 2001-2002)
Wonderland (ABC; 2000)
The only show on this list that I've seen is Police Squad. I still am amazed that it didn't make it.
 
Marckd said:
My least favorite cancelations

1. malcom In The Middle - should have had 2 more seasons
2. Brady Bunch 0 Should have had another season maybe
3. Flintstones - could have run another several years on prime time
4. Wonder Years - another season maybe
5. What's Happening - one more season or two - it was reinstated in first run as What's Happening Now but that was just not the same

Of Course One Life to Live and All My Children was a sad one indeed.

NOW a show I think has run its course and should have been canceled 5 years ago - The Simpsons - Its just run out of plots and every episode is a remake of an earlier one. This show ran its course by 2002 but was still fresh somewhat till about 2007. Now though its just getting old. I hope this show gets canceled soon - we have enough episodes to last our lifetimes and then some. I used to and still like the show but begin to find recent episodes just not the same.

If Memphis Beat wasn't cancelled, it would go into season 3. I agree about What's Happening Now!! sans the late greats Mabel King and later Fred "Rerun" Berry.
 
...I personally wish M-G-M would have gone into at least a third season of She Spies. There were a couple of romantic connections developing from the second season that would have been interesting to see complicate some storylines. But one that I really wonder how they would have developed past cancellation is Gangbusters, the TV version of the classic radio series. NBC ran it on an alternating weekly basis with the first season of Dragnet, and it seems as if the real reason Gangbusters was on NBC at all was because Jack Webb couldn't pull together weekly productions of Dragnet during the first season, a situation further complicated by the death of co-star Barton Yarborough after only three episodes had been filmed. Once Webb got fully cranked up, Gangbusters was scratched...
 
I was thinking that the subject should mean TV shows that the networks cancelled but cost them in the short run. Some examples I can think of is when ABC cancelled Clueless when it ran in the 1996-97 season, but after its cancellation, the ratings for the reruns got strong, and it was too late for ABC to stop the show from beginning season 2 on UPN. Another show ABC canned was "Just the Ten of Us", which got decent ratings, but didn't fit the format of its upcoming TGIF lineup starting with the 1990-91 season. Couldn't ABC have moved the show to another day like Tuesday or Wednesday? The show that replaced "Ten"? Going Places, which went nowhere and was gone after one season.

Another good one I can think of is J.A.G., which ran for one season on NBC, then was cancelled, shopped to CBS where it ran far longer, then after the series ended, NCIS succeeded the show. To me, that was among the worst network cancellations of all time in a bidness sense, not as a personal opinion.
 
onairb said:
RyanHoward said:
spencerkarter85 said:
Lots of people hate to learn that their favorite TV program gets axed, sometimes there's nothing you can do to save them. But here's my list of the worst network/cable TV cancellations of all time:

2.)All My Children/One Life to Live (Cancelled by ABC thanks to TPTB Brian Frons in 2011, AMC aired it's last episode on 9/23/2011, OLTL in 1/13/2012) - .

What does TPTB mean?

'The Powers That Be'....

Or, alternately, TIIC - "the idiots in charge", which, in some of these cancellations' cases, they were/are.

-- Another World. Already mentioned, but very worthy of mention. Many stories still left to tell. And 13 years later, still missed and fondly remembered by its fans.

-- As the World Turns / Guiding Light.

-- All My Children / One Life to Live.

-- Generations. Never given a real chance by NBC to get its groove, and that up-against-Y&R time slot didn't help things either.

-- Santa Barbara. One of MANY cases of NBC not leaving well enough alone. Probably would have lasted much longer (if not still on today) had things gone differently. One of the few latter-day soaps created from scratch that deserved any success it had.

-- Living Single. This one definitely had more years in it, despite being overshadowed by overhyped competition (mainly Friends). Great writing, great cast (well, if you don't count that guy that moved in at the last, he was a bit obnoxious), was sad to see it go.

-- Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. Really talented cast, different/quirky situations that weren't dumbed-down. A pleasant surprise that NBC actually gave this show 2 full seasons before booting it. Probably a couple more seasons in it if Lifetime hadn't given up on it.

-- The Jeffersons. Gets on this list not necessarily because it should have stayed on the air, but because of the way CBS handled it.

-- The Edge of Night. Despite great and long-running headwriting by "blue herring" himself, Henry Slesar, the show was a victim of its timeslot--and the times (too many soaps tried to copy GH's storylines and ratings success when they weren't a GH-type of show to begin with). Edge could have lasted much longer had stations not bailed on it (could have used better PR from ABC also).

-- The $(whatever amount),000 Pyramid. Great game, players, host, exciting bonus round, what wasn't to like? Oh, that CBS cancelled it. It may not have lasted as long as Price is Right, but Pyramid surely could have gone on a while longer.

I know there are more shows than these, as boneheaded as the nets have been over the years.

EDIT:::: Cash Cab! How soon I forget, having just posted about it.... Definitely one of the more surprising cable cancellations in recent memory. And again, one of the few reasons to have cable or a dish.
 
WKRP in Cincinnati
The Wonder Years
Doogie Howser MD
Jeffersons
 
-The Lazarus Man, Turner Network Television, 1996. Starred Robert Urich, cancelled when Urich came down with synovial cell sarcoma. Urich died in 2002.
-Nowhere Man, UPN, 1995-96 (1 season)
-Midnight Caller, NBC, 1988-1991
 
WMC2006 said:
-The Lazarus Man, Turner Network Television, 1996. Starred Robert Urich, cancelled when Urich came down with synovial cell sarcoma. Urich died in 2002.
-Nowhere Man, UPN, 1995-96 (1 season)
-Midnight Caller, NBC, 1988-1991

I remember Midnight Caller with Gary Cole as Jack Killian. I've got some promos recorded from WYFF 4 in 1989-1990. I wished they released MC on DVD! It fits on TVtropes.org category "Keep Circulating The Tapes" like NBC's The Bold Ones (1969-1973) which was produced by NBC's future owner Universal!
 
Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That ’80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, Freakylinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute With Stan Hooper, Normal Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The $treet, American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer, The Tick, Louie or Greg the Bunnny

and

Kitchen Confidential, The Wedding Bells, Happy Hour, The War at Home, Drive, The Winner, Life on a Stick, The Loop, Head Cases, Standoff, Vanished, Free Ride, Method and Red, Tru Calling, Quintuplets, Stacked, Justice, North Shore, Back to You

All cancelled to make room for crap like Family Guy ;D
 
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