The next time your favourite TV show gets cancelled, don’t despair. We talked a lot about slay or nay TV shows in the year 2019 and in 2020 it is going to be the major subject. There’s a chance it may come back someday. There are lots of shows that got cancelled, only to be brought back, much to the delight of their fans.
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24
The iconic, real-time action series ran for 8 seasons from 2001 to 2010. Each season contained 24 episodes and charted the events of a single day. After series was cancelled in 2010 to fans’ dismay, there were talks of a feature-length adaptation, but it was eventually announced that a shorter series of 12 episodes, 24: Live Another Day, aired in 2014. In fact, the show is making a second comeback, as it was announced in early 2016 that 24: Legacy is in development and will consist of 12 episodes. Jack Bauer won’t be in this second comeback, so whether it will be a success or not remains to be seen.
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Family Guy
The hilarious and sometimes offensive Family Guy first aired in 1999 and ran for three seasons until its cancellation in 2003. Thanks to people buying tons of DVDs and reruns getting impressive ratings, the show was revived in 2004 and is currently airing its 14th season.
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Arrested Development
Arrested Development originally aired for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. Even though the show earned heaps of critical acclaim and established a very loyal fan base, its viewing figures were just not high enough and it got cancelled. This is where Netflix comes in. The streaming giant saw the potential in this much-loved series and produced a fourth season, which was released in 2013. A fifth season is expected to be launched sometime this year.
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Futurama
Futurama was never cancelled outright, it just stopped being made and no formal cancellation announcement was made. The series, from The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening, aired for four seasons from 1999 to 2003. Groening wanted the show to be aired after The Simpsons, but Fox had other ideas and the show ended up being aired quite erratically – due to various reasons, at times it was hard to guess when the next episode would air. Comedy Central eventually agreed to produce four straight-to-DVD films, which ended up becoming the fifth season by being split into 16 half-hour episodes. Two more seasons of 26 episodes followed, before Comedy Central pulled the plug.
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The Killing
The crime drama gained a lot of fans throughout its first two seasons, however AMC cancelled it in 2012 due to low ratings. It was picked up for a third season thanks to a deal between Netflix and Fox Television. In 2013, the show was cancelled a second time by AMC, but Netflix agreed to conclude the series by producing a fourth season, which was then released in 2014.
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X Files
The highly influential sci-fi show ran for 9 seasons from 1993 to 2002 and wasn’t renewed for a 10th season due to falling ratings. Thanks to the show’s very dedicated and passionate fan base, two films were released. It was then confirmed in 2015 that a six-episode mini-series would be aired in early 2016. Even though the mini-series has got impressive ratings so far, there’s currently no word on whether fans can expect more X Files episodes in the future.
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Doctor Who
The iconic British sci-fi series lasted from 1963 to 1989, when it was cancelled due to low ratings. There was a TV film in 1996 to tide fans over, but it wasn’t until 2005 that the show was relaunched. Nine seasons of the ‘new’ Doctor Who have aired, with a tenth and eleventh confirmed. Since the show’s revival, its international fan base has also got considerably larger.
