Sometimes shows end without a proper conclusion, leaving fans in despair and wanting more and more. Sometimes those cancellations are out of the blue and make no sense, while others, the markings, are on the wall. But once in a while, a show gets cancelled, and fans rally together and find a way to save it. If there is one thing in common with all of these is that cancellation always leaves the fans in a period of mourning as they try to get their shows back.
Here are seven recently cancelled television shows that we can’t believe are gone and wish would just come back to us.
The Wilds (Prime Video)
Prime Video was responsible for the most recent cancellation on the list, and there's already a vast campaign to get the show back. The Wilds was cancelled after the second season. Both seasons were acclaimed by critics and had a decent following, but Amazon still decided to pull the plug on their survival show. The first season followed a group of teenage girls whose plane crashed on an island, and as they try to survive, they unravel a mystery that might prove that this was no random accident. The show's second season delved even more into the conspiracy that found the girl crash while also introducing counterparts to the girls with a group of boys who found themselves in the same situation. The show faced criticism during its second season for the focus shift from the female perspective of the story to the male one. Still, it continued to be successful and the online discussion surrounding it never died down. The reason behind the cancellation is unknown, but fans have rallied and are now in the midst of a save-the-show campaign, hoping that someone will swoop in and bring it back from the dead.
Gentleman Jack (HBO Max)
Gentleman Jack tells the real-life story of Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) as she navigates her courting of Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) and her estate in Halifax in the 1830s. Taking stories from Lister’s diaries decoded just a few years ago, Lister and Walker are believed to be the first lesbian couple to have been wed. Cancelled by HBO following its second season, HBO’s British partner, the BBC, is now trying to find someone else to cover the cost of the series in the United States. But for now, the show is over for us. Gentleman Jack is the show with the best shot at returning from the dead. What makes the cancellation of this show so hard for fans is the way the show was never appropriately promoted or given a fair shot. After all, it’s an important show about a historical figure that had been lost until her diaries were decoded and showcased an LGBTQ+ relationship in a positive light while also never hiding from the truth of how complicated relationships are. Gentleman Jack is a beautiful show that deserves a second shot and a third season.
Batwoman (The CW)
With the recent news that The Flash would finish its run after the upcoming — and shortened — ninth season, it is no surprise that The CW decided to cancel Batwoman following its third season. A show that had a tumultuous run, with the first season not well received and its lead leaving the show at the end of it, with a recast imminent and then having to reinvent itself in its sophomore season, Batwoman never had it easy. Except, something happened during the show's second season, the addition of Javicia Leslie in the leading role brought life to the show, and all of a sudden, Batwoman was starting to be interesting again. Except, with the Arrowverse now ending on the network, the show’s cancellation makes sense, even if it doesn’t hurt any less. Especially with The Flash getting a ninth season, Batwoman and the other Arrowverse cancelled show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow could have had a shot closing their stories with one last season, just like The CW’s flagship show.
Made For Love (HBO Max)
With all the shake-ups happening with the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, it was just a matter of time until some underrated but loved shows that were cancelled as the merge took shape. One of those shows is Made For Love, a science fiction black comedy starring Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen and Ray Romano. The show follows a woman (Milioti) who escapes from a suffocating 10-year marriage to a tech billionaire. She then discovers that her husband (Magnussen) had her fitted with a tracking device, which is implanted in her brain and allows him to track her location, watch her live and know her “emotional data.” Made For Love was like nothing on television, weird and out there like nothing before. This little show should not have worked, but it did, because of some incredible performances — especially from Milioti, who finally got the platform she deserved. There is no doubt that more was planned for the show, and yet, its originality might have never given it the broad audience it deserved.
Queens (ABC)
Starring Eve, Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez and Brandy Norwood, Queens followed four women in their 40s who reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as legends in the 1990s hip-hop world. The tumultuous life of Queens ended when the show found itself cancelled after the first season. While the show was met with positive reviews, its uphill battle was too much, and the show was axed. While the show did okay in terms of ratings, it never was able to compete against more established shows that aired at the same time. When in the middle of the season, Eve left the show to focus on her pregnancy, the show found itself having to explain her absence even if it didn’t work with the story. Queens was filled with potential, and with two established singers, Eve and Brandy, on the show, it was poised to be one of the most successful shows of the season. And yet, it was never able to lift itself off the ground, and while it had a small number of followers, the show will be remembered as the show that could have become the new Empire and yet was never able to.
Why Women Kill (Paramount+)
Why Women Kill was cancelled even with a third season renewal already handed to them. Just a few weeks before production for the third season was set to start, Paramount+ axed the show. Launched in 2019 back when Paramount+ was still named CBS All Access, Why Women Kill was an anthology series that depicted death done by women over multiple decades. The first season starred Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Alexandra Daddario. It followed all these women over three decades, all living in the same home and dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The second season was set in 1949 and followed one woman’s attempt to belong no matter the cost. The second season starred Allison Tolman, Lana Parrilla, B.K. Cannon, Jordane Christie, Matthew Daddario, Veronica Falcón and Nick Frost. This show was witty and full of comedy, using its dark humor to showcase dark themes while never trying to become a PSA for anything. It was in its lane, special and unique, a show that deserved a shot at another season, especially considering it was cancelled after getting renewed.
Gentefied (Netflix)
Gentefied was the story of three Mexican-American cousins and their struggle to chase the American Dream, even though that dream threatens the things they hold most dear: their neighborhood, their immigrant grandfather and the family taco shop. Starring Joaquín Cosío, J.J. Soria, Karrie Martin Lachney and Carlos Santos, Gentefied suffered from what many Netflix shows suffer from, lack of promotion. With the amount of content being put out on the streaming service, many shows fall through the cracks if they do not do the numbers that the streaming giant like and Gentefied was one of them. After a successful first season, the show was renewed quickly for a second one, but the lack of promotion for the second season was evident, and when the show’s second season arrived, it was without much fanfare. The show was a breath of fresh air and depicted a story that is too often ignored while also being funny and witty, it never got the chance it deserved, and now, fans of the shows are left to wonder what could have been.