As we fans of TV are unfortunately accustomed to, sometimes a lot of promising series are #GoneTooSoon. That’s why here at TVLine, we’re giving an updated shout-out to the shows we loved but then lost after only just a single season, considering the one-and-dones from the past several years as well as previous reader picks.
In the list below, you’ll find an abundance of potential that was stifled too swiftly, as we stroll down memory lane to remember 40 shows that said goodbye after Season 1. From cult classics like Freaks and Geeks and Firefly to more recent losses like High Fidelity, Generation and Stumptown, we’ve handpicked the one-and-done series we’re still mourning the most.
Our wide-ranging list also includes dramas like Fox’s Pitch, quirky comedies such as ABC’s Selfie, and a ’90s teen drama that seems to have stood the test of time. There’s also plenty of TV grief to go around for shows like NBC’s high-concept thriller Awake, ABC’s Jason Ritter-led Kevin (Probably) Saves the World and HBO’s particularly strange Stephen King adaptation, The Outsider, among others.
Scroll through the photos below to see the shows we think were deserving of a Season 2, then drop a comment with the cancelled one-season series that would top your list.
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10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (2009-2010)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Freeform NETWORK: Freeform (fka ABC Family)
THE CAST: Lindsey Shaw (Pretty Little Liars), Meaghan Martin (Awkward), Ethan Peck (Star Trek: Discovery), Nicholas Braun (Succession), Dana Davis (Franklin & Bash), Larry Miller (8 Simple Rules)
THE PLOT: Based on the 1999 film of the same name, this comedy follows sisters Kat (Shaw) and Bianca (Martin), polar opposites who are trying to navigate life at their new high school.
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AWAKE (2012)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC NETWORK: NBC
THE CAST: Jason Isaacs (The OA), Laura Allen (The 4400), Steve Harris (The Practice), Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why), BD Wong (Law & Order: SVU), Wilmer Valderrama (That 70’s Show), Cherry Jones (24), Michaela McManus (One Tree Hill)
THE PLOT: When an L.A. police detective (Isaacs) and his family get into a serious car accident, he finds himself switching between two realities: one in which his wife died and in the other, his son.
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BRAINDEAD (2016)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS NETWORK: CBS
THE CAST: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Fargo), Danny Pino (Law & Order: SVU), Aaron Tveit (Graceland), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Nikki M. James (The Good Wife)
THE PLOT: When the funding for her latest film falls through, documentarian Laurel Healy (Winstead) takes a job working for her brother (Pino) in Washington, D.C… where alien insects are eating the brains of politicians.
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BUNHEADS (2012-13)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Freeform NETWORK: Freeform
THE CAST: Sutton Foster (Younger), Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls), Julia Goldani Telles (The Affair), Bailey De Young (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Emma Dumont (The Gifted), Kaitlyn Jenkins
THE PLOT: A former dancer-turned-showgirl (Foster) impulsively marries a persistent suitor, then moves to his sleepy California town where his mother teaches ballet.
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CONSTANTINE (2014-15)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC NETWORK: NBC
THE CAST: Matt Ryan (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Harold Perrineau (Lost), Angélica Celaya (Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio), Charles Halford (Rectify)
THE PLOT: Demon hunter John Constantine (Ryan) must grapple with the sins of his past… while protecting humanity from supernatural forces of darkness.
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ENLISTED (2014)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Geoff Stults (7th Heaven), Chris Lowell (Private Practice), Parker Young (Suburgatory), Angelique Cabral (Life in Pieces), Keith David (Greenleaf)
THE PLOT: Three very different brothers (Stults, Lowell and Young) find themselves all assigned to the same U.S. Army unit.
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FIREFLY (2002-03)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Nathan Fillion (Castle), Gina Torres (Suits), Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien), Morena Baccarin (Gotham), Adam Baldwin (Chuck)
THE PLOT: Set 500 years in the future, this sci-fi drama centers on the renegade crew of the Serenity spaceship as it explores unknown parts of the galaxy.
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FLASHFORWARD (2009-10)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale), Courtney B. Vance (American Crime Story), John Cho (The Exorcist), Sonya Walger (Lost)
THE PLOT: An FBI task force investigates a mysterious event in which nearly everyone on the planet loses consciousness for two minutes and 17 seconds — and sees six months into their future.
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FOREVER (2014-15)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer), Alana De La Garza (Law & Order), Judd Hirsch (Numb3rs), Joel David Moore (Bones), Lorraine Toussaint (Rosewood)
THE PLOT: A 200-year-old medical examiner (Gruffudd) assists the NYPD in solving crimes while trying to crack a way to end his own immortality.
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FREAKS AND GEEKS (1999-2000)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC NETWORK: NBC
THE CAST: Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me), John Francis Daley (Bones), James Franco (The Deuce), Seth Rogen (Future Man), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Martin Starr (Silicon Valley), Samm Levine (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp)
THE PLOT: Gifted high school student Lindsay (Cardellini) befriends a group of burnout slackers, while her younger brother (Daley) and his geeky friends navigate their freshman year.
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GENERATION (2021)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max NETWORK: HBO Max
THE CAST: Nathanya Alexander (Ocean’s Eight), Chloe East (Kevin (Probably) Saves the World), Nava Mau (Sam’s Town), Lukita Maxwell (Speechless), Haley Sanchez (Redress), Uly Schlesinger (Divorce), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits), Chase Sui Wonders (Betty), Justice Smith (The Get Down), Sam Trammell (True Blood) and Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope).
THE PLOT: A group of high school students explore their sexuality, testing their deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their highly conservative community.
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THE GRINDER (2015-16)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Rob Lowe (The West Wing), Fred Savage (The Wonder Years), Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
THE PLOT: After playing a lawyer on TV for many years, actor Dean Sanderson (Lowe) moves back home, thinking himself qualified enough to run his family’s law firm.
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GROSSE POINT (2000-01)
Image Credit: Courtesy of The WB NETWORK: The WB
THE CAST: Irene Molloy, Lindsay Sloane (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Bonnie Somerville (Code Black), Kyle Howard (Royal Pains), Kohl Sudduth
THE PLOT: Largely inspired by creator Darren Star’s time working on Beverly Hills, 90210, this satire follows the behind-the-scenes drama of a fictional TV show called Grosse Pointe.
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HELLO LADIES (2013)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO NETWORK: HBO
THE CAST: Stephen Merchant (Extras), Christine Woods (Flashforward), Nate Torrence (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), Kevin Weisman (Alias), Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live)
THE PLOT: A gawky, socially inept Englishman (Merchant) comes to Los Angeles, intent on finding the woman of his dreams, only to embarrass himself in front of women over and over.
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HIGH FIDELITY (2020)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu NETWORK: Hulu
THE CAST: Zoë Kravitz (Big Little Lies), David H. Holmes (Mindhunter), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Last O.G.), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Peaky Blinders), Jake Lacy (The White Lotus)
THE PLOT: A female record store owner and Brooklynite named Rob (Kravitz) tries to get over her past relationships through the lens of her favorite records and pop culture.
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HINDSIGHT (2015)
Image Credit: Courtesy of VH1 NETWORK: VH1
THE CAST: Laura Ramsey (She’s the Man), Sarah Goldberg (Barry), Craig Horner (Legend of the Seeker), Nick Clifford (Masters of Sex), John Patrick Amedori (Dear White People)
THE PLOT: On the eve of her second wedding, Becca Brady (Ramsey) is transported back to 1995 — specifically to the day of her first wedding — where she reunites with best friend Lolly (Goldberg), from whom she has become estranged in the present day.
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JACK & BOBBY (2004-05)
Image Credit: Courtesy of The WB NETWORK: The WB
THE CAST: Christine Lahti (Evil), Matt Long (Manifest), Logan Lerman (Hunters), John Slattery (Mad Men), Jessica Paré (SEAL Team)
THE PLOT: This drama chronicles the teenage years of brothers Jack (Long) and Bobby McCallister (Lerman), the latter of whom will go on to be the president of the United States from 2041 to 2049.
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JANE BY DESIGN (2012)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Family/Everett Collection NETWORK: ABC Family
THE CAST: Erica Dasher (The Lake), Nick Roux (Wizards of Waverly Place), Rowly Dennis (Desperate Housewives), India de Beaufort (One Tree Hill), David Clayton Rogers (NY-LON), Andie MacDowell (Cedar Cove)
THE PLOT: After being mistaken for an adult, Jane (Dasher) must balance her dream job in fashion with her life in high school.
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KEVIN (PROBABLY) SAVES THE WORLD (2017-18)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Jason Ritter (Parenthood), JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sweet Magnolias), J. August Richards (Angel), Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Vice Principals), India de Beaufort (Younger), Chloe East (Generation)
THE PLOT: Kevin (Ritter), a down-on-his-luck man who survived a suicide attempt, moves in with his twin sister (Garcia Swisher), and shortly after encounters a celestial being (Hebert Gregory) who claims that God has tasked Kevin with saving the world.
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THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT (2018-19)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Mary McCormack (In Plain Sight), Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), Jack Gore (Billions), Christopher Paul Richards (Me, Myself and I)
THE PLOT: Two working-class, Irish Catholic parents (McCormack and Cudlitz) raise their eight sons in the 1970s.
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KINGS (2009)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC NETWORK: NBC
THE CAST: Ian McShane (Deadwood), Christopher Egan (Australia’s Home and Away), Susanna Thompson (Arrow), Allison Miller (A Million Little Things), Eamonn Walker (Chicago Fire), Sebastian Stan (Captain America films)
THE PLOT: Based on the biblical story of King David, this alternate-reality drama — which takes place in a modern-day United States — follows a hero (Egan) who rises to become the king of his nation.
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LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (2004-05)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Sean Faris (Pretty Little Liars), Chris Lowell (GLOW), Jon Foster (Windfall), Missy Peregrym (Rookie Blue), Jessica Lucas (Gotham), Kelly Osbourne
THE PLOT: Three teenage boys (Faris, Lowell and Foster) navigate the highs and lows of life at Woodrow Wilson High School.
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LIFE ON MARS (2008-09)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Jason O’Mara (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire), Jonathan Murphy (October Road), Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction)
THE PLOT: A New York City police detective (O’Mara) is struck by a car in 2008 and when he regains consciousness, he finds himself in the year 1973.
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LIGHTS OUT (2011)
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX NETWORK: FX
THE CAST: Holt McCallany (Mindhunter), Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black), Catherine McCormack (Genius), Stacy Keach (Prison Break), Meredith Hagner (Search Party)
THE PLOT: A former heavyweight boxing champion (McCallany) struggles to find his identity after retiring from the sport.
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THE MIDDLEMAN (2008)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Freeform NETWORK: Freeform
THE CAST: Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation), Matt Keeslar (Dune), Brit Morgan (True Blood), Mary Pat Gleason (Mom)
THE PLOT: Based on the comic book series of the same name, this dramedy follows a struggling artist (Morales) who is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces.
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MIRACLES (2003)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Skeet Ulrich (Jericho), Angus Macfadyen (TURN: Washington’s Spies), Marisa Ramirez (Blue Bloods)
THE PLOT: After leaving the Catholic Church behind for the way it dismissed a supernatural miracle that saved his life, Paul Callan (Ulrich) joins an organization that investigates unexplained phenomena.
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MOONLIGHT (2007-08)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS NETWORK: CBS
THE CAST: Alex O’Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0), Sophia Myles (A Discovery of Witches), Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars), Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines)
THE PLOT: A private investigator (O’Loughlin), who was turned into a vampire years ago on his wedding night, falls for a mortal woman (Myles).
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MY SO-CALLED LIFE (1994-95)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Claire Danes (Homeland), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Wilson Cruz (Star Trek: Discovery), A.J. Langer (Private Practice)
THE PLOT: This coming-of-age drama stars Danes as 15-year-old Angela Chase, who deals with the trials and tribulations of adolescence.
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THE OUTSIDER (2020)
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO NETWORK: HBO
THE CAST: Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha), Jason Bateman (Ozark), Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown), Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit), Mare Winningham (American Horror Story), Jeremy Bobb (The Knick)
THE PLOT: Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the series follows Ralph Anderson’s (Mendelsohn) investigation into the murder of a young boy by a seasoned police offer. But when an insidious supernatural entity makes itself known, it causes the investigators to question everything they ever believed in.
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THE PASSAGE (2019)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell), Saniyya Sidney (American Horror Story), Jamie McShane (Bloodline), Henry Ian Cusick (The 100), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage)
THE PLOT: When a young girl (Sidney) is eyed as a test subject for a botched government experiment that turns people into infectious vampires, a federal agent (Gosselaar) risks everything to keep her safe.
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PITCH (2016-17)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Kylie Bunbury (Under the Dome), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell), Mark Consuelos (Riverdale), Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years), Ali Larter (Heroes)
THE PLOT: A young pitcher (Bunbury), chosen to join the San Diego Padres, becomes the first female player in Major League Baseball.
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PROFIT (1996-97)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Adrian Pasdar (Heroes), Lisa Darr (Popular), Jack Gwaltney (Damages), Allison Hossack (Reaper), Keith Szarabajka (Supernatural), Lisa Blount
THE PLOT: Jim Profit (Pasdar), a junior executive at a multinational company, uses bribery, blackmail, extortion and even murder to get ahead, despite cultivating a positive public image.
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RED BAND SOCIETY (2014-15)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Octavia Spencer (Truth Be Told), Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters), Ciara Bravo (Big Time Rush), Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key), Zoe Levin (Bonding), Rebecca Rittenhouse (The Mindy Project)
THE PLOT: A group of teenagers meet as patients in the children’s wing of a hospital and become unlikely allies and friends.
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SELFIE (2014)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), John Cho (The Exorcist), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth), David Harewood (Supergirl)
THE PLOT: A self-involved 20-something (Gillan) enlists the help of a marketing expert (Cho) to revamp her image.
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STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP (2006-07)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC NETWORK: NBC
THE CAST: Matthew Perry (Friends), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Amanda Peet (Brockmire), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys)
THE PLOT: This dramedy follows the executive producers and writers of a fictional live sketch comedy show.
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STUMPTOWN (2019-20)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC NETWORK: ABC
THE CAST: Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Jake Johnson (New Girl), Michael Ealy (Almost Human), Camryn Manheim (The Practice), Adrian Martinez (No Activity), Tantoo Cardinal (Longmire) and Cole Sibus.
THE PLOT: A sharp-witted Army veteran (Smulders) with a gambling debt works as a P.I., but her unapologetic style puts her in the firing line of hardcore criminals and the police.
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SWEET/VICIOUS (2016-17)
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV NETWORK: MTV
THE CAST: Eliza Bennett (Broadchurch), Taylor Dearden (American Vandal), Brandon Mychal Smith (You’re the Worst), Nick Fink (The Fosters)
THE PLOT: Two college students (Bennett and Dearden) take on double lives as wannabe vigilantes, targeting those who get away with sexual abuse on their campus.
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TERRIERS (2010)
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX NETWORK: FX
THE CAST: Donal Logue (Gotham), Michael Raymond-James (Once Upon a Time), Laura Allen (The 4400), Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break)
THE PLOT: Two best friends — a former cop (Logue) and a former criminal (Raymond-James) — open their own (unlicensed) private investigation agency.
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UNDECLARED (2001-02)
Image Credit: Everett Collection NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Jay Baruchel (Man Seeking Woman), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Carla Gallo (Bones), Seth Rogen (Freaks and Geeks), Monica Keena (Dawson’s Creek)
THE PLOT: A group of college freshmen navigates life at the fictional University of Northeastern California.
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WONDERFALLS (2004)
Image Credit: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox TV NETWORK: Fox
THE CAST: Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal), Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire), Tracie Thoms (Cold Case), Katie Finneran (Bloodline)
THE PLOT: While working at a Niagara Falls gift shop, recent college grad Jaye Tyler (Dhavernas) begins having conversations with inanimate objects who give her cryptic instructions for things she must do.
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