7 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Too Soon

You guys, I’m still really bummed about Enlightened getting cancelled. The more I think about it and rewatch it, the more I think it was one of the best shows produced on television in the past couple of years. But I also understand that this sort of show can only survive so long when next to nobody watches it. Unless someone like Netflix decides to pick it up—and this is 2013 after all, so surely somebody has to step in to keep a show like this from disappearing, right?—it will likely recede into that special little place in the cultural ethos reserved for cancelled TV shows that had their life support plugs pulled regrettably soon.

Darren Ruecker Apr 28, 2013 4:19 pm2017-10-22T00:46:51-05:00

3) Rubicon

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God bless Rubicon. This was a slow-burning show that was just beginning to get absolutely captivating at the end of its first and, sadly, only season. The unfortunate fact was that its level of engagingness and ratings numbers were trending in opposite directions. It started off with a sizeable viewership that dwindled as people lost patience with the speed with which it developed its character-driven conspiracy story.

Granted, it was following in the footsteps of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, two monumental shows from AMC that raised the bar for quality television. People’s expectations were high, and perhaps more specific than this show’s unconventional storytelling could accommodate. But I’d maintain that it deserved the patience those shows received in their first seasons. It had a compelling main character, anchored by a performance from James Badge Dale, who’s been killing it lately in supporting roles like his one scene in Flight.

Its supporting cast was stellar too. The working dynamic between the three other intelligence analysts was fascinating. They had some rich characters there that would have been great to have gotten to know more. The conspiracy was just getting started, and they were unfolding it slowly and quietly thrillingly. I guess it was too quiet.

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