Most Devastating TV Cancellations [SPOILERS]
I recently told you what a fan I'd become of one new television show. In a devastating round of cancellations to mark the end of the season earlier this week, The Grinder rested after only one season, to paraphrase Dean Sanderson (Rob Lowe)'s catchphrase from the show, along with numerous others getting the ax. Most surprising on the list might have been fan favorites Nashville and the long-running Castle.
It's always hard to get invested in a show only to find out its shelf-life is over. I was thinking of other shows whose cancellations I took hard over the years, and here are some of them.
- 1
The Wonder Years
This was the coming-of-age show for kids of my generation and while it had a nice, long run from 1988-1993, it was still tough to see it go, especially with the heartwrenching outcomes of the series finale, Jack dying and Kevin and Winnie not living "happily ever after". This was also the first show I had seen that was narrated by the lead character at a later point in life, a practice that would also be adapted later by How I Met Your Mother.
- 2
NYPD Blue
While The Wonder Years was my elementary and middle-school go-to show, NYPD Blue became appointment viewing as I headed into high school and beyond. Lead detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) went through a lot of partners, personal demons and difficulties with bosses over the years, so it was fitting for the season finale to see him end his career, and the show, as the head honcho himself, bringing a more sympathetic tone to the role of authority figure he had developed through his own struggles.
- 3
Cheers
I was too young to be a fan of Cheers in its heyday but you couldn't miss the hype that came with the ending of one of the most successful shows in television history, which it remains to this day. The series finale was a must-see for everyone and it lived up to the hype, ranking among the most-watched series finales of all-time.
- 4
Friday Night Lights
It was hard to imagine a TV version outdoing the movie and book it was based on, but each incarnation brought a different take to the story of the importance, for better or worse, of high school football in small-town Texas--and America. The small-screen version only lasted five years in the mid-2000s and many of the characters changed but Coach Eric Taylor, played by Kyle Chandler and his wife Tami (played by future Nashville star Connie Britton) were the glue that held this drama together through its entire run. It also gave us Michael B. Jordan, who took a recent major star turn in Creed.