10 Major TV Shows That Were Rescued From Cancellation

Cliffhanger cancellations can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, with new viewers reluctant to begin a show with a frustrating ending, lowering its chances at getting saved. That said, a great way to determine whether a show has staying power or might gain cult status in time is the reaction to the cancellation. Fan campaigns have rescued major TV shows, while others have been saved by streaming platforms that saw their potential, leaving us with TV series that were allowed to conclude and attract more fans over time.

The Expanse

Based on the book by James S. A. Corey, the six-season epic The Expanse is one of the greatest sci-fi TV show masterpieces of all time, but when Syfy canceled the show in May 2018, it could have ended after the third season, leaving viewers with a cliffhanger and no iconic moments like Naomi's heart-stopping leap of faith. The immense "#SaveTheExpanse" fan campaign that followed was supported by celebrities like Wil Wheaton and George R. R. Martin.

Within a month, Amazon had picked the show up for a fourth season, and The Expanse was renewed twice more, announcing its continuation shortly before each season aired. The show officially ended with season 6, but the book's authors told Polygon that while they had planned a six-part arc, they see this as a pause rather than the story's conclusion.

Lucifer

Lucifer is arguably one of the most controversial TV shows to air on mainstream TV. The casting of Biblical figures like Lucifer as antiheroes prompted boycotts and protests, but the show was canceled for more mundane reasons related to declining viewership. Showrunner Joe Henderson tried to persuade the network to reconsider using a diabolical strategy, ending season 3 on a major cliffhanger, and the resulting #SaveLucifer fan campaign attracted Netflix's attention.

Netflix revived Lucifer and improved its final seasons, completing the six-season arc of the show, which has become one of the best urban fantasy series on TV. At the time, Network TV was generally slightly less violent than streaming platforms, but Netflix embraced Lucifer's dark side. While the show was never graphically gory, Lucifer became darker in its final seasons while shifting its focus to the characters rather than the cases they worked on.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The police sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a 95% positive critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes and contains some of the greatest characters in American sitcoms ever written, yet Fox canceled the show after its fifth season in 2018 due to low ratings. With a quirky plot that turns the police procedural genre on its head, Brooklyn Nine-Nine did not immediately feel like a must-watch, despite keeping the viewers who discovered the show.

However, soon after its cancellation, NBC took on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, with Chairman of NBC Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt, telling Variety that he was impressed with the show's cast and humor. He explained, "ever since we sold this show to Fox I’ve regretted letting it get away, and it’s high time it came back to its rightful home.” The Emmy Award-winning series went on to last another three seasons.

Babylon 5

Game of Thrones' unpopular and rushed ending might have overshadowed the series, but Babylon 5's messy ending preceded Game of Thrones by 21 years, and this was due to the show's cancellation. The show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski, planned each of the episodes meticulously, but he had to edit his five-season plan to fit into four seasons after the Primetime Network Entertainment group dissolved.

Babylon 5 was then saved by TNT, which renewed the show for the final season, allowing Straczynski to give the series an extended ending. While the final series feels a little disjointed, it is a testament to the skill of the creators and writers that it fits into the remaining lore as well as it does, earning it a place among the greatest space operas of all time.

Futurama

Futurama is one of the longest and most rewatchable sci-fi TV shows of all time, blending the sci-fi and sitcom genres to create a show that is hilarious, emotional, and quotable. With Futurama still running today, it is hard to imagine that the series could have ever been canceled, but it has been the subject of several cancellations and renewals. First, Fox moved it to a less favorable slot before stopping commissioning new episodes. After Adult Swim and Comedy Central renewed interest in the series, Futurama returned in straight-to-DVD movie form, but it would be properly revived by Comedy Central.

The network commissioned 26 new episodes in 2009, which helped take Comedy Central to its highest-rated night in 2010, resulting in a renewal. Still, Futurama was canceled again in 2013, with a long period of syndication for old episodes, before Hulu revived the show in 2023, with season 14 premiering in summer 2026. So far, Futurama remains secure, but time will tell.

Cobra Kai

Netflix might have a reputation for canceling excellent TV shows, but it has, in turn, saved some masterpieces from cancellation. One of the best TV shows saved by Netflix is the Karate Kid sequel, Cobra Kai. The premise, with a washed-up Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso from the original Karate Kid movie finding themselves in a different kind of conflict might not have landed, but fans and reviewers could instantly see that the show had the potential to be a flagship series for Youtube Red (now Premium,) where it first aired.

Unfortunately for Cobra Kai, Youtube changed its business model, sticking to shorter-form video content rather than big-budget scripted series, which left Cobra Kai without a home. Netflix saved the series in 2020, releasing the earlier seasons at the perfect time, with the world in lockdown and looking for a bingeworthy TV series. Cobra Kai not only became a flagship TV series for Netflix, but inspired a trend for nostalgia that continues today.

Longmire

The Western revival has given a tired genre a new lease of life with some excellent neo-Western TV shows. However, it has taken time for the genre to transcend its association with an older audience, and this may have affected the phenomenal neo-Western, Longmire. While the series was extremely popular on the A&E network, it was abruptly canceled after its third season, reportedly due to difficulties finding advertisers for the audience's older demographic.

Netflix picked up Longmire, and as it operates on a subscription model rather than relying solely on advertising, this issue could be avoided whether or not it was the final decider for A&E. Longmire had six seasons, with the final one acting as an extended finale that wrapped up some of the loose plot threads. That said, the door has been left open for more seasons, with Walt Longmire saying, "goodbye is always implied."

You

Lifetime is a network more commonly associated with a soapy storytelling style and dramatic scandal-laden plotlines, which makes the acquisition of You an unusual move for the network. You is a dark and extremely disturbing story which attracted an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics, but this did not translate to a high viewer count and Lifetime canceled it after its first season.

With Netflix airing much darker shows with a similar tension-filled atmosphere as You, the show was perfect for the platform, proving that the right platform can drastically affect a show's reception. While the series declined in quality during its final season, it was a great addition to Netflix, where You finally got the recognition and appreciation it deserved, having found its target audience.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek was one of the most groundbreaking and influential TV shows of all time, but the series' ambition nearly killed it before it had the chance to become a sci-fi icon. Star Trek: The Original Series was so different to everything else on TV that it needed time to attract its core audience, which led to its first season attracting mixed reviews. When cancellation rumors surfaced, fans began a letter writing campaign that was the equivalent of modern viral social media campaigns, and Lucille Ball took a major hand in supporting Star Trek.

While this initially saved the show from cancellation, it was depleted, with a late timeslot and decreased involvement from Gene Roddenbury, resulting in a drop in quality. Star Trek was saved when it entered syndication, which allowed it to reach a wider audience and saw networks exploring the option for future series and movies as "Trekkie" culture grew, resulting in the major franchise we know Star Trek as today.

Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars is a TV show that became a cult classic after it was canceled, with the genre-bending teen drama often feeling ahead of its time. Unfortunately, it appeared that the ratings were not consistently high enough to continue, and the show was put on a frustrating hiatus. While the final episodes of the season were aired, the future of the show was not certain, prompting fans to start a series of campaigns to continue the story.

A Kickstarter campaign aimed at funding a Veronica Mars movie reached its goal within ten hours of posting, fans hired a plane to fly over CW studio with the message "Renew Veronica Mars CW 2006," and flooded the studio with Mars bars in the post. The Veronica Mars movie was released in 2014, and a revival series arrived on Hulu four years later, giving fans another eight episodes.

Source: Polygon, Variety