Anyone not living under a rock knows the crippling psychological pain of having one of your favorite shows cruelly and tragically taken from you in the form of a sudden cancelation. I’ve been there, and boy do I agree that it hurts. To commemorate these losses, I’m compiling a list of the top TV shows that I think absolutely deserved another season (or seasons, if I’m feeling crazy). And, just to be spiteful, I’ll also be including several TV shows that I think in no way, shape, or form, should have lasted as long as they did, to remind us all that the world is an unfair place. P.S., I’m only including shows that I’ve watched, so if your favorite is excluded and you can’t relive your past woes in this article, that’s my bad. Now, sit back, and get ready to ruminate on your past suffering:
Shows That Deserved More Seasons:
Freaks and Geeks
True fans know that I wrote about how Freaks and Geeks is one of the best television shows of all time on Her Campus over a year ago, and my passion for the show has not dwindled in the slightest since. One of the most star-studded casts (and production teams—Hi Judd Apatow) of all time balanced perfectly with a small-scale plot and plenty of teen angst and immature humor. This show being canceled just two seasons in justifies as a genuine crime in my book.
The Carrie Diaries
Okay, so I’m fully aware this might not be a hot take. But hear me out on this one, The Carrie Diaries was actually, kinda, sorta really good? It had all of the New York City glamor and scandals of a show like Gossip Girl, while still possessing all of the hometown charm and high school sweetness of a show like Gilmore Girls. In other words, it’s basically as addictive as any other classic teen drama. Except, since it was canceled after a measly two seasons, it ended up being treated so much worse than its contemporaries. Not. Fair.
Veronica Mars
After three almost perfect seasons, this show got abruptly canceled, leaving fans devastated and Kristen Bell to grow up to be an insanely successful actress. While it’s true that this show eventually got picked back up for a fourth season after fans basically begged creators for a rerun, the magic was gone at that point. The cast had grown up, leaving the insanely witty and highly suspenseful tone of those first three seasons behind with them. Had they kept the show going back then, I’m willing to bet anything that their fourth season would have been a whole lot better than their attempted revival of it, which was too little too late.
Arrested Development
Another example of canceling a show too early, only to have it lose its magic when the show’s creators half-heartedly attempted a remake years down the line. I’ve never laughed harder at a TV show than I did in the first three seasons of Arrested Development, which is why its cancelation hurts me more than any breakup ever could.
American Vandal
While it’s second season slightly missed the mark, that was probably inevitable given how amazing its first season was. This mockumentary-style high-school crime show was equal parts funny and intriguing, making it super inexplicable to me that Netflix—with its seemingly endless budget—would choose to pull the plug on this one. Shame on you, Netflix!
Shows That Really, Probably, Should Have Ended a Long Time Ago:
Friends
Game of Thrones
It almost feels like cheating to put this one on the list, considering that seven of its eight seasons were unprecedentedly fantastic. But the creators, again, should have known when to call it quits. Ending one of the best TV shows of all time on such a horrible note in the form of basically all of season eight just simply shouldn’t have happened. Don’t think anyone would disagree with me on this one.
The Office
Is it too controversial to put Friends AND The Office on this list? Maybe. But it has to be done. Once Steve Carell left the show, the show lost just about everything that worked for it. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the show’s writers made us endure a Steve Carell-less world in which Pam and Jim also kept almost getting divorced. There were still some admittedly comically-genius moments in the show’s last two seasons, but not enough to make up for the fact that its ending soured what could have been a triumphant closing note for such an influential comedic series.