10 Great TV Shows That Only Gained Popularity After They Were Canceled

10 Great TV Shows That Only Gained Popularity After They Were Canceled

Although shows like Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, and The Expanse were canceled before their time, they became cult hits with fans.

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Many of the most beloved TV shows of all time have enjoyed great commercial and critical success, and thus have been able to end on their own time and on the right note. Series like Seinfeld and Breaking Bad are iconic, which is at least partially due to their long and acclaimed runs on TV.

However, many shows have not been able to achieve a long television run. Regardless of whether they were successful with critics or beloved by fans, these shows have found their run cut way shorter than their creators initially planned. While this has caused some to fade into obscurity, other series have found a new life after cancellation.

10 Detroiters (2017-2018)

Created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin of Saturday Night Live fame, this Comedy Central show follows two ad salesmen (played by Sam Richardson and Tim Robinson) as they try in vain to make their mark in the commercial world. While the show found a niche audience during its run, Comedy Central canceled it after two seasons.

Tim Robinson’s unique brand of comedy was introduced into the mainstream when his show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson was released on Netflix. As I Think You Should Leave grew in popularity, many curious fans discovered Detroiters, which has started to gain a cult following.

9 Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013-2019)

The story of a family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together, Arrested Development was one of the most critically acclaimed comedies of its time. However, that critical success never really materialized into popularity with viewers, and according to CBR, the ratings-troubled show was eventually canceled by Fox after three seasons.

After its cancellation, Arrested Development began to gain a massive following through DVD sales and online streaming, as reported by Rolling Stone. Eventually, Netflix ended up bringing the show back for a highly-anticipated fourth season, as well as a fifth and final season. Though some fans have been disappointed by the revival, this taught Fox that there was always money in the banana stand.

8 Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)

Created by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) and starring future stars such as Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen, Freaks and Geeks focused on Detroit high school students as they come of age in the early 1980s. Another critically acclaimed show, this one lasted only one season before getting the ax.

Almost immediately after its cancellation, the show started to gain a cult following which only seemed to grow due to its sentimental writing and oddball humor. As the stars both in front of and behind the camera have grown in popularity throughout the years, so has the show’s fanbase.

7 Family Guy (1999-2003, 2005-Present)

Seth MacFarlane’s now-iconic comedy premiered in 1999 to high viewership numbers, though the audience would dwindle with each subsequent season. When the ratings hit a low point during season 3, Fox canceled the show despite the fact that it was gaining steam with both critics and audiences alike.

Family Guy only seemed to get more popular after its cancellation, with DVD sales growing exponentially and extraordinary syndication viewership, per The Baltimore Sun. Two years after its cancellation, Fox announced that it was bringing the show back to its animation lineup, where it has remained a mainstay ever since.

6 Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)

Created by Bryan Fuller, Pushing Daisies was more a victim of circumstance than anything. Developed right as the 2008 WGA Strike was beginning to take shape, according to TV Guide, the show was forced to quickly course-correct from a 22-episode first season to a nine-episode run. When the ratings began to dip in season 2, ABC decided to cancel it altogether.

Pushing Daisies won viewers over through its engrossing story, whimsical visuals, and oddball humor. Many fans were left disappointed when the show ended without much closure. Since then, Pushing Daisies has lived on through comics.

5 Veronica Mars (2004-2007, 2019)

Lasting longer than many prematurely canceled shows, creator Rob Thomas’ teen noir ran for three seasons on UPN and the CW. Though Veronica Mars consistently got decent viewership, it still wasn’t enough to avoid cancellation.

Veronica Mars’ popularity as a cult classic never waned, and a feature film revival was eventually funded on Kickstarter. The public fundraiser earned $5.7 million, breaking many records on Kickstarter, according to Variety. A few years after the film was released to theaters, Hulu released a fourth season of Veronica Mars.

4 Jericho (2006-2008)

Focusing on the residents of Jericho, Kansas as they deal with the aftermath of a massive nuclear attack, Jericho debuted on CBS in 2006. The show’s acting and directing were critically acclaimed, but this acclaim was not enough to override low viewership, and the show was canceled after one season.

After the cancellation, fans of the show started a campaign to bring the show back by sending nuts to CBS headquarters in reference to a line from the lead character Jake Green, as reported by ABC. This effort worked, and the show was brought back for a seven-episode second season before being canceled again due to low ratings, according to Reuters. Since then, Jericho has lived on through a comic series.

3 The Expanse (2015-2018, 2020-Present)

Based on James A. Comey’s best-selling book series, The Expanse debuted on Syfy to high critical acclaim and viewership numbers. This didn’t seem to convince Syfy to renew the show, as the network canceled it after three seasons.

After fan enthusiasm towards a revival of The Expanse began to gain some traction, Amazon decided to bring The Expanse back. Now that it has moved to an even bigger platform, the show’s audience has grown considerably, with many anxiously waiting for its sixth and final season to debut.

2 Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-2013)

From The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, this space-set animated comedy struggled to reach the same level of popularity and prestige as his earlier show achieved in its heyday, though it did find a somewhat niche audience. Debuting in 1999, Futurama eventually came to an end on FOX in 2003.

Futurama began to attract a larger audience when Cartoon Network began to show its episodes in syndication on its Adult Swim block of programming. Eventually, its popularity grew so much that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Comedy Central decided to revive the show, with its second run lasting from 2009-2013.

1 Firefly (2002)

From then-beloved creator Joss Whedon, Firefly contained many aspects of Whedon’s previous work that fans had come to love, including whip-smart dialogue, interesting and intelligent characters, and an inventive world. Firefly never ended up achieving the same popularity that several of Whedon’s previous projects had gained, though, leading to its cancelation before the first season was even finished airing.

Throughout its short run, the show had already begun to garner a devoted fandom, which only increased as time went on post-cancellation. As the fandom became more high-profile, Universal Pictures financed a follow-up film, 2005’s Serenity.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/cult-tv-shows-became-hits-after-ending/

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