Over the last year, more than 100 shows concluded their runs, and while it hurt to say goodbye to many of them, there is a select group that truly deserved to make it into 2023 with a renewal. Or in the case of one pick, to just see the light of day.
Below, TVLine has selected nine shows (and one streaming movie) that were unceremoniously axed as part of our list of the most unjust cancellations of 2022. Note: This roundup doesn’t include series that announced they were ending on their own terms, nor does it include every single comedy and drama that was cancelled in the past 12 months.
Instead, we’re highlighting shows that were unfair casualties of business and financial maneuvers like the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, and the sale of The CW to Nexstar. But don’t expect all of the victims of those cancellation bloodbaths to make an appearance. For us, there were two particular CW shows that definitely deserved better, while the shelving of the nearly complete Batgirl movie truly had us scratching our heads.
Then there are creatively promising series like Hulu’s Maggie and Prime Video’s Paper Girls and As We See It, all of which met their demise after just one season — before they were truly given a chance to find an audience and fulfill their potential.
And hey, Peacock, do you maybe want to reconsider letting go of one of your only buzzy shows in Saved by the Bell?
Scroll on to review TVLine’s list of shows that unfairly ended far too soon, then hit the comments with your picks for the most unjust cancellations of 2022.
Got cancelled despite… delivering the kind of emotionally impactful writing and acting that viewers have come to associate with creator Jason Katims (Parenthood, Friday Night Lights). And with the power of Amazon behind it, we imagine the critical darling also could have eventually nabbed some awards recognition.
Date of Cancellation: Oct. 20, 2022
Got cancelled despite… a very strong Season 2, a perfectly cast young ensemble and smart, moving scripts that made the dramedy a must-watch for both tween audiences and their folks. The death of Claudia’s Mimi didn’t hurt this much, guys!
Date of Cancellation: March 11, 2022
Got cancelled despite… it being downright batty that the Leslie Grace-starring standalone DC movie, which was bound for HBO Max and largely complete, would not get released anywhere. Instead it was basically buried in a deep hole, never to be seen, so that Warner Bros. Discovery could take it as a tax write-off. Amid conflicting reports of test screening feedback, WBD boss David Zaslav — tasked with trimming some $3 billion in company debt — said, “We’re not going to launch your movie until it’s ready. We’re not going to launch a movie to make a quota. And we’re not going to put a movie out unless we believe in it.”
Date of Cancellation: Aug. 2, 2022
Got cancelled despite… Bee’s status as one of only three female voices in late-night comedy (and a delightfully scathing one, especially during President Trump’s time in office). With Full Frontal now gone after seven seasons, only Peacock’s Amber Ruffin and Showtime’s Ziwe remain as late-night’s female hosts.
Date of Cancellation: July 25, 2022
Got cancelled despite… the fact that stalwart fans of the HBO/BBC co-production waited more than three years for Season 2 to see the light of day, only to learn just weeks after the sophomore finale that the progressive period drama would not be back. Jack‘s jilting is one of TVLine’s most-commented cancellation stories, which speaks volumes about how much the series will be missed.
Date of Cancellation: July 7, 2022
Got cancelled despite… the fact that this long-standing franchise, which began with The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, deserved to go out with a bang after 13 years on the network. Though the producers were able to scrape together a semi-satisfying conclusion, we’d have preferred to spend more time at the Salvatore School — and we probably would have, had it not been for Nexstar’s acquisition (aka gutting) of The CW as we knew it.
Date of Cancellation: May 12, 2022
Got cancelled despite… the fact that, much like Legacies, the long-running series would have probably gotten a proper final-season renewal if not for Nexstar’s then-pending acquisition of The CW. After seven seasons, the show deserved that much.
Date of Cancellation: April 29, 2022
Got cancelled despite… being an effortlessly charming romantic comedy that could have easily grown into a sleeper performer alongside How I Met Your Father and Hulu’s backlog of rom-coms if the streamer actually promoted it.
Date of Cancellation: Sept. 9, 2022
Got cancelled despite… a promising (but barely publicized) freshman season, in a genre — female-led science fiction — that’s still woefully underrated.
Date of Cancellation: Sept. 9, 2022
Got cancelled despite… all of the heartwarming nostalgia produced by the original cast’s reunion. Plus, the new kids were all massively talented, Tracey Wigfield’s writing was razor-sharp and the potential for Jesse and Slater’s rekindled romance was just heating up. Sigh.
Date of Cancellation: May 4, 2022
Wasn’t LOT informed of a possible last season by the head of CW?
Yes, I was about to say that… they knew they may not be renewed. The perfect ending was in play returning them to their respective time lines, then they made a left turn and gave fans an unnecessary cliffhanger. It had a 7 season run… nothing unjust about it. The producers screwed the fans. If the show had been renewed, the writers could have regrouped the teams quite easily.
Yep. Producers are 100% at fault for it. They knew. Just like Sliders trying to stick it to the studio at the end of its run. They both knew and decided to screw over their fans in the end anyway.(Sliders was more of a clusterfork though.)
I loved “Sliders” buy it should have ended when Jerry O Connell and his brother left the show. Not seeing Wade and The Pfofessor took away from the last 2 seasons. Not to mention, the ending was a cliff hanger that was never resolved. Why would Rembrandt go back when he’s the only one who never intended to leave their earth??
This is what’s so annoying, 7 seasons is a great run for a show and they were pre-warned that they may not be renewed, absolutely nothing unjust about it, especially when you see the other newer DC shows facing the same situation after 1, 2 or 3 seasons due to the Nexstar takeover. They had 7 seasons! they had a perfect ending set up and nothing stopping them getting the band back together in the future if the opportunity arose. It really doesn’t sit right with me that they did this.
Plus every season they were renewed was a minor miracle so they should have been prepared EVERY year for it to end.
Yep, the showrunner admitted that they were told but they decided to roll the dice and end on a cliffhanger. Crazy decision and unfair to the fans. When you’re on a network that was being sold and are an older show so costs are rising, are told that cancellation is possible, deciding to end on a cliff hanger wasn’t thinking about the fans at all.
Would have liked to see Legends get a final season but also a bit annoyed with them for not heeding the warnings and tying things up as much as possible.
Perhaps a good companion piece to this would be “Shows that SHOULD be Cancelled” – either because they’re just very bad or perhaps well past their prime, like The Blacklist.
I would like to see to see that as well. Fingers crossed.
That is a great suggestion just to see the comments section alone….There will be so many people out there adding the shows they think should have been on the list….and the ones on the list that shouldn’t. That would be popcorn making reading…..
Loved Maggie, it had an interesting gimmick and a great cast, boo Hulu!
I agree! I loved Maggie and was looking forward to a second season. Definitely boo to Hulu.
Yah +1. Wish they got to wrap up the storyline. It was just a cute show.
Maggie was an ABC burn off. The folks behind Legends knew cancellation was very possible. Seven seasons has already overstayed its welcome.
I completely missed the cancellation news, so I just found out about it now. I would have loved to see a second season.
What about The Wilds? I thought it had a strong second season and the cliffhanger ending set up what would have been an entertaining third season.
I think the show had gotten too repetitive by that point. Everyone’s story had pretty much been told, and frankly I don’t think there was much they could have done with a third season.
I really liked Paper Girls and was disappointed that it’s canceled
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This is a ridiculous statement…it’s was canceled for the same reason as all the other CW shows, Nexstar bought/acquired them and gutted 90% of the shows almost immediately. No one actor caused the massacre 🤦♀️
Agree
THIS, thank you! Glad I’m not the only one to think that comment was utter rubbish.
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Your post should be deleted. Totally off topic and pure delusion.
Too bad about GENTLEMEN JACK. It was a wonderful series, but HBO is like Godzilla, and shows it wants to eliminate are like Tokyo. Sayonara to the divine Suranna Jones as Anne Lister and her entire clan.
Agreed. Too bad the British partners were unable to get someone else to step in.
Anything that was a victim of Zaslav’s cuts or the Nexstar purchase of the CW (RIP Nancy Drew and Whose Line)
Charmed deserved another season given the recent cast changes and plus they lost the back 9.
I would have loved for Roswell, New Mexico to get a final season! We deserved a season to see a happy, wedded Malex and for Max and Liz to be reunited <3
Saved by the Bell stings the most for me.
Stargirl. I wish it had many more seasons, but at least they did give it a nice ending.
The Time Traveler’s Wife was so well done on HBO Max. It made you laugh & cry. The acting was outstanding.
Agreed. At the very least, it should have been done as a limited series and taken to the bittersweet conclusion similar to the movie’s end. Like you, I enjoyed a roller coaster of emotions, and felt the cast was fantastic.
I blame that fiasco on the creators not getting a guarantee full story run or 2 season run to tell the whole story. Just half-assing it was stupid!
I feel like with the foreshadowing in the final episode it wrapped it up nicely enough even though there was so much left to the story.
The acting was indeed great, but the show faced a lot of criticism over the notion that Henry was effectively “grooming” Clair by his frequent visits to her as a young girl. And even though I’m pretty sure they they never had sex until she was over 18, I think the mere fact that this adult naked man kept appearing to this underage teenage girl probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
HBO knew the source material & won the bidding war so they knew what they were getting into. While critics trashed it (as well as the movie), it has high audience ratings on IMDb & Rotten Tomatoes. I think it came down the Zaslav & Bloys & the huge debt/tax write-offs.
Also I think Moffat handled the supposed grooming aspect well. Henry was already married to Claire in the future & there was no inappropriate behavior on his part during the visits. In the series, they first have sex on Claire’s birthday but I can’t remember if that’s exactly how it happened in the book.
*Claire’s 18th birthday*
Add City on a Hill to that list. It was a well written show with Kevin Bacon in one of his best roles and a a terrific supporting cast. Hope that a streaming or other cable station picks it up.
Raised By Wolves. An inventive piece of sci-fi taken far too soon.
Agreed. The best Sci Fi show in many a year. Jaw-droppingly good.
Samantha Bee’s ratings were never very good and they peaked in 2018. The show was rightly cancelled.
Agree…sadly, she became too polarizing and off putting to many who used to love her show.
It’s telling that none of the arguments as to why any of these shows shouldn’t have been cancelled was that their ratings were good.
Poorly watched shows get cancelled.
This is not new or unfair.
So many on here I agree with – As We See It, Paper Girls, Saved by the Bell, everything at CW, etc. I’d personally add Q-Force – it felt like the reviews were tainted by well-intentioned “let’s protect the community from these stereotypes” but yet they didn’t get that the community was IN on the jokes. All the LGBTQ folks I know that watched it, loved it. It might have been canceled anyway, but the unfair reviews definitely did not help. And I say this as someone that does normally agree with critics but I truly feel they missed the mark here and the posts I saw from those in the community that actually watched it, cemented my feeling on that.
The cancellations I most regretted:
:
Legends
Batwoman
Ordinary Joe
Magnum (but luckily saved)
why do you regret them, you’re not the one who cancelled them.
re·gret
[rəˈɡret]
feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity)
:
I feel sad and disappointed for the loss of these shows, and for the missed opportunity of them continuing
I loved As we see it and am really disappointed it got canceled. I thought it was different and really well done.
I know that ‘PaperGirls’ might have been a little silly, but I enjoyed it and was looking forward to the 2nd season. That’s a shame.
When Amazon Prime cancelled “Night Sky” I was shocked. (starring J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek).
It was a wonderful show with a really interesting premise. I damn well wanted to see what was going to happen in the city they discovered at the end. Seriously disappointed that Amazon did this.
The CW’s cancellations stung the most. ALL of them.
How could “Stargirl” not be on this list? There was still so much potential for great stories to be told.