Let’s face it: nothing stings TV viewers worse than being in love with a good show only to see it canceled after one season. It’s the kind of pain you never escape cliffhangers that never unfold, characters left hanging, and that haunting sense that something wonderful was axed too early. Here’s a list of the 10 greatest single-season shows that should’ve been given much more time to bloom.
10. High Fidelity
Hulu’s adaptation of High Fidelity turned the tables with Zoë Kravitz starring as Robyn, a disheveled, music-crazed record store owner. It wasn’t a remake; it was a rework. Kravitz’s work made Robyn witty, humorous, and heartbreakingly authentic, and the show eschewed tidy tropes such as pushing her back with an ex. Cool, introspective, and supported by an amazing soundtrack, the show had all the components for a lengthy residency. Instead, it was over after one season, fans left with a great playlist but no encore.
9. Everything Sucks!
This Netflix dramedy, which takes place in the mid-’90s, captured the awkward genius of adolescence from the perspective of the drama kids and A/V nerds. At its center was the sweet romance between Emaline (played by a pre-Euphoria Sydney Sweeney) and Kate, which provided the show with its emotional epicenter. It was humorous, nostalgic, and sentimental—evidence that queer youth love stories have earned their place. Sadly, Everything Sucks! Never received the time to develop fully into the classic that it had the potential to be.
8. Crashing
Before Fleabag took over the world, Phoebe Waller-Bridge introduced us to Crashing, a chaotic, razor-edged comedy about twentysomethings squatting in a derelict hospital. The combination of jealousy, flirtatious anarchy, and sharp repartee made it a must-watch instant classic of Waller-Bridge’s brilliance. It also starred Jonathan Bailey (pre-Bridgerton fame). Obviously conceived as longer than a one-season show, Crashing left too many loose ends. If the price was the acquisition of Fleabag, okay—but still, viewers were owed something.
7. The Get Down
Baz Luhrmann applied his trademark spectacle to this ambitious Netflix drama of the creation of hip-hop in 1970s New York. Packed with colorful visuals, kinetic performances, and irresistible musical numbers, it was one-of-a-kind television. But the extravagant production cost Netflix a lot, and the series was canceled after being it into only two parts of a single season. The energy, ambition, and celebration of culture owed much more time to its development.
6. The Society
Half Lord of the Flies, half teen soap, this Netflix show chronicled a group of teenagers who find themselves in a world that’s a replica of their hometown without an adult anywhere to be found. Struggles for power, tentative alliances, and moral quandaries made it a compelling experiment in social dynamics. A second season was greenlit, actually, but pandemic-induced cancellations shut it down before it could start. The wasted potential of The Society still hurts, particularly because its secrets were only just starting to be revealed.
5. I Am Not Okay With This
Adapted from a graphic novel, the show was a combination of high school angst and supernatural mayhem. Sydney, a gay teenager trying to figure out her powers and struggling with her own sensuality, was played by Sophia Lillis. It concluded on a huge cliffhanger that effectively pleaded for season two. The romance between Sydney and Dina gave the series heart, while its dark humor distinguished it. Unfortunately, Netflix canceled it before it could level up.
4. Bunheads
This offbeat dramedy from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino featured a Vegas showgirl-turned-ballet instructor learning to navigate small-town living. Kelly Bishop (none other than Emily Gilmore herself) co-starred, adding the show’s extra bite and emotion. With Palladino’s signature whip-smart banter and an endearing ensemble of misfits, Bunheads might’ve easily become something great. But we only got one season, making it an underappreciated gem for devotees of smart writing and quirky humor.
3. My So-Called Life
Claire Danes took center stage as Angela Chase, a normal teenager struggling to get through high school, her friends, and her own feelings. The show was first in taking adolescence seriously and respectfully, exploring themes of identity and first love with unusual candor. To one generation of teenagers, it seemed real in a way that no other series had ever felt. My So-Called Life only ran for one season, but everything that followed was affected.
2. Freaks and Geeks
The greatest show of those pulled too soon. Featuring a cast that would come to own Hollywood, James Franco, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps, and Seth Rogen, Freaks and Geeks grasped the cringe-comedy of ’80s high school. It was unique in its depiction of blue-collar kids with dirty, real problems. The characters were well-written, the jokes biting, and the finale left viewers wanting more. It was short-lived, but the cult has never been touched.
1. Firefly
Few epitomize the one-season sorrow like Firefly. Joss Whedon’s space Western was not afraid to be strange and genre-defying when TV wasn’t yet prepared for it. Segments aired out of sequence, ratings faltered, and it disappeared nearly as quickly as it began. Yet fans never abandoned it. The love of Firefly spawned the movie Serenity and decades of fan loyalty. With its vast universe and deep characters, it might’ve been on the air for years. Instead, it was the biggest “what if” in television history.
These series demonstrate that a single season can be long-lasting. Whether it’s the bittersweet genius of Freaks and Geeks or the epic promise of Firefly, they remind us that occasionally the greatest tales are the ones cut down short because we never give up on imagining what could have followed next.