0
0
When your show gets cancelled it can feel like an unexpected punch in the stomach, but it’s even worse if the series ends with a cliffhanger.
It’s a brutal reality that seems to be happening more these days in the horror and science fiction genres, leaving fans with the unfulfilled hopes by axing a series prematurely.
In my opinion, many of the series that begin to find their footing seem to be getting thrown out earlier than usual, which is most likely due to the fact that there is an abundance of content out there and not all of it can attract a large enough audience.
Nevertheless, here are a couple of shows that I miss dearly and wish would come back just for one more season to complete their arcs.
RIP
Krypton
March 21st, 2018 – August 14th, 2019
As we all know, there is no shortage of superhero origin stories or prequels on the small or big screen, one could even say there are too many.
However, this series had an incredible way of spinning some of what geeks already knew about iconic characters, while also adding more dark material to the mythos.
Following the reluctant hero Seg-El (who is Superman’s grandfather) this sci-fi series brought legendary villains like Brainac, Lobo, Zod, and Doomsday into the fold, while also explaining both the fall of the doomed planet Krypton and the lineage of the most famous superhero born there.
It was an action-packed show that didn’t take itself to seriously and wasn’t afraid to show gore or more horror elements within its science fiction narrative.
I had high hopes going into this series because of the show creator was none other than David S. Goyer, who is well known within the genre for writing darker superhero films like the Blade trilogy, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, and Batman Begins.
It exceeded my expectations and honestly, I could have watched 10 more seasons of the characters in it.
The show ended before completing its story arc, and the final episode was extra was gut-wrenching because it introduced characters from DC comics mythos that would have made for phenomenal additions.
Deadly Class
December 20th, 2018 – March 20th, 2019
After one short season of only 10 episodes, this 80s set bloodbath of a thriller was shot down by the American channel SYFY, and the ending left anything but closure.
Deadly Class brought about all the nostalgia of Stranger Things, but added all the gore of a horror movie from that era as well, so to me it was pretty close to perfect.
It was a unique series that was fun, as well as hyper-violent, which probably lead to the issue of it attracting a larger viewing population in order to keep it on air.
There were also enough wildly insane characters on the show to create interesting spin-offs for years to come, but alas SYFY didn’t see it the same way and like many shows before it on that channel, it met its bitter end with an unresolved conclusion.
Scream (TV Series)
June 30, 2015 – October 18, 2016
On the list, this might be the strangest entry of them all due to what happened to the series…
In an unprecedented action from the studio the series was rebooted going into the 3rd season, and with the change came a complete switch of the narrative.
Season 1 and 2 of the series were faithful to Wes Craven’s slasher vision, and the character of Noah (seen in the video above) truly felt like placing any dedicated horror fan right in the middle of the story.
The first two seasons came to somewhat of a conclusion, but there was more that could have come from the series overall, and with the reboot, fans were robbed of that continuation.
Turning popular film franchises into TV series is becoming more common, and with it, there have been some major hits and others that missed the mark.
Scream felt like a perfect balance of lightness with characters, with true to its core slasher vibes for the fans of the 90s era film franchise.
Again, the series is worth the watch for the character of Noah alone, but there are several others in the show who are also excellent.
The writing makes you feel like it’s going to be predictable at first, and then the last-minute twists really can throw you for a loop.
Watchmen (TV Series)
October 20th – December 15th 2019
Watchmen was my favourite TV series of 2019 and in my humble opinion, it is probably the best comic book related show to ever be created.
It was a tough task modernizing Alan Moore’s game-changing novel, but not only did they pull it off, but they also added so much more to the great story.
Regina King’s role as Angela Abar/Sister Knight was brilliant, bold, hilarious, and captivating to watch literally anytime she was on screen.
The writing and production of the series are some of HBO best to date, and that’s saying a lot because routinely that channel gives us such classic shows.
When I heard that there were no plans for the show to continue past the first season it was devastating. Even before the extremely climatic last episode, the series seemed to be setting up a new world of possibility based on author Moore’s epic work.
The ending cliffhanger is one that fans of the show will debate over for years to come and has already spawned numerous theories of what really happened after the last scene.
With thousands of new series duking it out every year the expectation of them all coming to a satisfying ending is next to impossible.
As a fan of science fiction and horror, I am aware that some of the shows that I personally like may not be the cup of tea of broader audiences, so the fact that they make it on air for a season is always such a delight.
As the streaming services continue to expand we can obviously expect more cancellations and debuts, and so the golden age of television soldiers on to excite me and, of course, sometimes break my heart.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for following my site. The theme I use is Jumla and I really like it. Hope you’re doing well, and if you enjoy the site the Facebook page also posts quite frequently as well. All the best!