TV brought us a lot of joy this past year, but sadly, it also brought disappointment with several show cancellations.
“Really bummed out that *The Bondsman* is not coming back for a second season,” Bacon said in an Instagram video. “I just really loved walking in Hub Halloran’s shoes, making that show with so many great, talented people, making that music. I wish I had an explanation for you, but I honestly don’t. But for those of you who checked it out and wrote so many sweet comments — and there were a lot of you — I just want to say thanks. It means a lot to me. And, you know, I guess that’s the way it goes.”
We love UK comedian Noel Fielding in everything he’s in, from *The Mighty Boosh* to *The Great British Baking Show*, so we were immediately onboard when Apple TV cast him in a silly, surreal historical comedy as legendary thief Dick Turpin. But Turpin’s tale didn’t have a happy ending: even though the show was renewed for a second season, Apple pulled the plug in January when Fielding allegedly failed to show up to work.
Fans did get some form of closure, though, when Apple released a bonus episode titled *The Night of the Were Bear* this October, comprised of footage filmed before production was shut down.
Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles led the cast of an explosive action series centered on an elite task force assembled to stop an imminent nuclear threat. Ackles was joined by *The Flash’s* Jessica Camacho and *Grey’s Anatomy* veteran Eric Dane. #OneChicago alum Derek Haas served as creator, but all of that wasn’t enough to secure a second season.
Prime Video canceled the show in October, just a month after wrapping its freshman run. Ackles took time to mourn the cancellation on social media, posting:
“As some of you may have seen already, *Countdown* did not get picked up for another season. Amazon’s gonna let it go. And it’s a bummer, because I had such an amazing time making that show. I had an absolute blast with the cast and the crew.”
The good news for *Dexter* fans this year: Michael C. Hall returned to his iconic role in *Dexter: Resurrection*, which debuted in July and was later renewed for a second season.
The bad news: that turned out to be a death sentence for *Dexter: Original Sin*, the prequel starring Patrick Gibson as a young Dexter Morgan. Set in 1991, the series featured luminaries like Christian Slater and Sarah Michelle Gellar, and introduced young versions of fan-favorites Deb, LaGuerta, and Batista.
Although it earned a Season 2 renewal in April, Paramount reversed the decision in August, much to the disappointment of fans.
ABC’s glossy cruise ship drama seemed to have smooth sailing ahead. It starred Joshua Jackson as a dashing doctor aboard a luxury cruise liner, with hit-maker Ryan Murphy as an executive producer. The show combined wild *9-1-1*-style medical cases (a penile fracture?!) with hot and heavy relationship drama (a threesome?!).
However, all those steamy suds weren’t enough to keep it afloat: ABC abandoned ship in June after just one season by letting the cast’s options expire.
We mostly hate this cancellation because it robbed us of confirmation that TVLine’s Fever Dream Theory — that Jackson’s character Max never recovered from COVID and the entire show was just a dying fantasy — was actually true. Oh well, we’ll just assume we were right.
All things considered, we would’ve loved to see Queen Latifah stick around as bad-ass vigilante Robyn McCall for years to come. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be: CBS canceled the Latifah-led procedural in May after a five-season run.
Latifah, who also served as an executive producer, expressed gratitude for her time on the show in an Instagram post:
“Stepping into a kick-ass role like Robyn was everything I hoped it would be. Shakim and I at Flavor Unit are always excited to bring these kinds of roles and projects to life and then we just hope you love them as much as we do. *The Equalizer* blew past every dream we had for it, and having the opportunity to do this for five seasons honestly feels surreal.”
One of those quirky hidden gems that never got a chance to find an audience was Natasha Rothwell’s *How to Die Alone*. Rothwell, a two-time Emmy nominee for *The White Lotus*, created the series and starred as Melissa, a terminally single airport employee inspired to seize the day after a near-death experience.
The series earned great reviews and gave Rothwell a well-deserved showcase as the star of her own show. Following the cancellation, Rothwell said she was “shocked, heartbroken and frankly, baffled” by the decision:
“This show took me eight years to bring to life, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in that time, it’s resilience. I’m not giving up. My team and I are committed to finding *How to Die Alone* a new home because stories like this matter.”
Maybe Peacock’s supernatural sex comedy was just too weird to connect with a mainstream audience, but we loved it anyway. Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (*Everything Everywhere All at Once*) starred as Ruby, a young woman who discovers that all of her former lovers are dying under mysterious circumstances — and it might be her fault.
Ruby “must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward,” according to the official synopsis. Hsu was joined by Zosia Mamet (*Girls*) as Ruby’s friend AJ, along with Michael Angarano (*Minx*) and Tommy Martinez (*Good Trouble*).
Peacock ended up ghosting them, though, canceling the show in May after a single eight-episode season.
It was game over for Rob McElhenney and company in April when Apple pulled the plug on their comedy set in the world of video games after four seasons.
McElhenney starred as Ian Grimm, the creative director of a video game studio who created a popular online role-playing game, with Charlotte Nicdao as lead engineer Poppy Li, David Hornsby as executive producer David Brittlesbee, and Danny Pudi as head of monetization Brad Bakshi.
Apple did give *Mythic Quest* a rare chance at closure by allowing the producers to revise the series finale (which had already aired weeks earlier) to add a new ending, “bringing the series to its final chapter.”
In the new ending, rather than sharing an awkward kiss, Ian and Poppy just hug it out platonically.
We were ready to follow the young women of Essex College at least through graduation day, so it was disappointing when HBO Max canceled the comedy *College Girls* in March after three seasons.
Co-created by Mindy Kaling and showrunner Justin Noble, *College Girls* followed college roommates Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), and Bela (Amrit Kaur) as they juggled school, friendships, relationships, and yes, sex.
Breakout star Reneé Rapp, who played Leighton, exited the show, only recurring in Season 3.
Noble alluded to the possibility of the show finding a new home in a statement following the cancellation:
“We are currently in discussions with some new potential homes for the show, and it’s nice that there is so much interest, but regardless of what happens, I’m proud of this show and the work that so many incredibly talented people put into it. After seeing our show listed as the most watched or second most watched scripted show on the entire platform for about 70 straight days, this is not the outcome that I saw coming.”
However, a month later, Warner Bros. TV Group Chairman Channing Dungey confirmed the show failed to find a new home and was officially done.
Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic *The Wheel of Time* seemed to have a lot of life left in it. Based on Robert Jordan’s bestselling book series that spans more than a dozen novels, the show boasted big-budget special effects and was led by Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike.
But Amazon cut the story short, canceling the series in May after three seasons.
Fans thought the show was just hitting its creative stride in Season 3 and launched a #SaveWOT global campaign, buying billboards and flying a banner over Amazon’s Los Angeles headquarters.
Unfortunately, those efforts have been in vain so far, but showrunner Rafe Judkins told fans in June that he “certainly hopes” the show will continue in some form, “because this book series and these fans deserve to see the story finished.”
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Hit the comments below to tell us which of this year’s canceled shows you’ll miss the most!
https://www.tvline.com/2002740/most-disappointing-2025-tv-cancellations/