5 Near-Perfect TV Shows That Were Canceled Before They Could Peak

These TV shows could have been all-time greats if they'd lasted longer. From Judd Apatow's future star-studded sitcom Freaks and Geeks, to HBO's attempt at Twin Peaks, Carnivàle, the shows here showed snippets of brilliance during their abbreviated runs. Yet for one reason or another, they didn't stick around long enough to fully grow into themselves.

It's extremely hard to get a show on television, and even harder to keep it on the air. These one and two-season series stand out as examples of TV that left viewers asking "what could have been?"

From '90s cult-classics, to modern near-hits that turned into misses, let's take a look at some must-watch, but short-lived shows.

Freaks and Geeks

1 Season, 18 Episodes; Aired 1999-2000

You can't get very deep into a conversation about one-season-wonder TV shows without Freaks and Geeks coming up. It's retrospectively recognized as a classic. Plus, the show is recognized as the ur-text of an entire generation of big and small-screen comedy, helping to spawn the careers of Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Linda Cartellini, Jason Segel, and more.

The show aired at the turn of the millennium, but it was set 20 years earlier at the dawn of the '80s, evoking previous coming-of-age period pieces like Dazed and Confused. Freaks and Geeks was an edgy teen comedy with a strong POV and a generational cast. Its sole season is great; if it had been renewed, later seasons could've been incredible.

Unfortunately, NBC fumbled the show. The network didn't realize what it had on its hands. Instead of nurturing the series, NBC hampered it by bouncing it around the schedule, then ultimately killed it. To this day, what Freaks and Geeks might have become long-term remains among the biggest "What If?" questions in network TV history.

The Lone Gunmen

1 Season; 13 Episodes; Aired In 2001

If you've been binge-watching The X-Files and loving it, you should know about its spin-offs. The Lone Gunmen was actually the second, following Millennium, starring Lance Henriksen, which lasted three seasons and nearly seventy episodes. Lone Gunmen wasn't so lucky. Despite the eponymous trio's popularity as X-Files supporting characters, their own starring vehicle didn't find its audience.

Yet looking back, The Lone Gunmen is a great addition to the X-Files universe. The creative team for the series consisted of long-tenured X-Files writers, including future Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. By the end of the first season, they'd seemingly found their rhythm and were really starting to cook.

Unfortunately, the show's long-term outlook was seemingly hampered by a real-life catastrophe. The show's pilot, which aired in March 2001, shared shocking parallels to the September 11th attacks six months later. This made it the source of unintentional controversy. Factor in declining ratings throughout Season 1, and it became an easy decision for Fox to nix a second order of episodes.

Carnivàle

2 Seasons, 24 Episodes; Aired 2003-2005

Carnivàle is often cited as HBO's lost masterpiece. The show premiered in 2003 as part of the early wave of transformative original programming HBO ordered in the wake of The Sopranos' success. Carnivàle was a contemporary of The Wire. It was a completely different viewing experience, for sure, but Carnivàle could have run just as long. It could be just as revered today.

Creator David Knauf had a six-season plan for Carnivàle, divided into a triptych of two-season arcs. After the first two seasons, though, HBO looked at the rising cost of the series and decided it'd had enough. Viewers who stuck with the show were left hanging. Plotlines went unresolved. Mysteries unrevealed. And the show's legacy is very different as a result.

Carnivàle could be talked about as one of the shows that changed television. Among the great series of the 21st-century so far. Instead, it's an example of the HBO shows that didn't survive the TV revolution. In the words of Marlon Brando's character from On the Waterfront, Carnivàle could've been a contender, but it ended up as a trivia question.

On Becoming a God In Central Florida

1 Season, 10 Episodes; Aired In 2019

Now, let's turn our attention to a few modern shows that could've been contenders, but ultimately didn't make the cut. The fact that On Becoming a God in Central Florida was limited to just one season is one of the great let-downs of the Peak TV era. Why? Because it was no fault of the show's own.

In fact, it was renewed for a second season. What happened? Covid-19 happened. The pandemic hit as On Becoming a God was gearing up production on its second season. The logistics of shooting the series in 2020-2021 weren't feasible, leading to its renewal being reversed. Which is a shame, because the Kirsten Dunst vehicle was legitimately great TV.

On Becoming a God in Central Florida chronicled Dunst's character's rise through the ranks of a multi-level marketing organization. Equal parts funny and exciting, the show at least feels complete as a one-season storyline, making it well worth the watch. But you can't help but wonder what unexpected directions On Becoming a God could've gone with a few more years to develop.

Heels

2 Seasons, 16 Episodes; Aired 2021-2023

Heels was a family drama mixed with a business drama, not unlike HBO's Succession. Except instead of running Roystar-Wayco, the brothers at the heart of Heels run the indie wrestling promotion founded by their late dad. The Starz series lasted two seasons, and ended on a big cliffhanger, but it was canceled before it could fully actualize its potential.

Heels was meant to be the prestige drama that professional wrestling fans crave. A scripted show based on the intricate, and incredibly dramatic, world of the wrestling industry. The series has its high spots, its moments where it climbs the ladder, reaches for the championship gold, and offers a glimpse of what it could have grown into.

Yet it also doesn't always click. Scenes and entire episodes where you can see why the network was willing to let it go. Still, Heels is a fun watch, even for non-wrestling fans. Maybe especially for non-wrestling fans. And if it had lasted longer in the Royal Rumble of Peak TV, it might have been able to accomplish some true greatness.

What do you think, readers? What other short-lived shows do you want Screen Rant to cover?