It is a delicate balance between giving a show too much and too little airtime. It's a shame when a show is cancelled partway through the airing or development of episodes. Often, television shows that run one or two seasons become revered and earn cult status.
There is no formula for the right number of episodes or seasons. It's also hard to turn down more seasons when people are still watching, even if the quality diminishes. But it can be done and likely saves the reputation of the show in the long term, like with NBC's recently concluded comedy, The Good Place. Here are 10 shows that ran too long and 10 cancelled too soon.
20 Ran Too Long: The Longer How I Met Your Mother Stayed On The Air, The Lower Ratings Fell
How I Met Your Mother developed a devoted following. With some unique twists on sitcom tropes, the wacky antics of Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney were entertaining in 2005. By 2014, after nine seasons and a divisive series finale, fans felt betrayed by their favourite characters and the showrunners Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.
19 Cancelled Too Soon: With 13 Episodes, They Didn't Even Let A To Z Finish The Alphabet
The romantic comedy premiered in 2014, with Katey Sagal as The Narrator and Rashida Jones serving as executive producer. The series was supposed to be Cristin Milioti's follow-up to her turn as the only good thing in season nine of How I Met Your Mother; she played the titular Mother. ABC cancelled A to Z in January 2015, despite favourable reviews.
18 Ran Too Long: That '70s Show Didn't Survive Ashton Kutcher's Departure That Late In The Game
There are several problems with the run of That '70s Show. The series ran 1998 to 2006, but spans three and a half years in the lives of six kids in Wisconsin from 1976-1979. The actors are full-on adults, playing teens hanging out in the Forman basement for eight seasons, and the lead leaves for the final season, abandoning the girl he spends the series pining for. Even if it ran too long, the series gave the world Mila Kunis!
17 Cancelled Too Soon: Undeclared Only Lasted 1 Season, But Still Launched The Careers Of Stars Like Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, And Charlie Hunnam
Judd Apatow's ability to spot star power is uncanny. As is the network's habit of cancelling his shows. Freaks and Geeks is legendary, but fewer people talk about Apatow's first attempt at showrunner on Undeclared. The show aired 2001-2002, centring around a group of college freshmen, lasting only one season.
16 Ran Too Long: CSI, Las Vegas Lost Its Charm After A Dizzying Number Of Cast Changes And Years On The Air
Would CSI: Las Vegas's welcome worn out so quickly if not for the constant stream of spinoffs. After its premiere in 2000, the show became wilder, attempting to raise the stakes. By 2015, little of the original cast remained, fans yearned for the good old days, preferring to watch daytime reruns over new episodes.
15 Cancelled Too Soon: Dramedy Dead Like Me Deserved More Than Two Seasons To Explore A Teen Grim Reaper
It's unfortunate that for a long time if creators did something conceptually different, the reward was cancellation. In 2003, Dead Like Me followed an eighteen-year-old becoming a grim reaper after her death. Even powerhouse Mandy Patinkin starring as head of the reapers couldn't save the show in 2004.
14 Ran Too Long: After A Breakout First Season Glee Got Convoluted And Lost Its Heart
2009 saw the premiere of the global phenomenon, Glee. Who didn't want to watch a show created by Ryan Murphy featuring talented singers taking on iconic songs? In theory, Glee struck gold but stumbled to stay shiny and relevant as the seasons passed. After losing a lead character to a tragic death (Cory Monteith), the show struggled until 2015.
13 Cancelled Too Soon: Who Doesn't Want To See Double Sarah Michelle Gellar Explore Her Dark Side In Ringer
Anyone who says they don't miss the days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on television is lying. While Ringer received mixed reviews when it premiered in 2011, critics praised Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance as two characters until the show ended in 2012.
12 Ran Too Long: Two And A Half Men Was Already In Decline When Charlie Sheen Left, They Should've Left Ashton Kutcher Out Of That Mess
Two and a Half Men became part of CBS' lineup in the fall of 2003. For a while, audiences were entertained by Charlie Sheen playing a pseudo version of himself, housing his divorced brother and nephew. An altercation between creator Chuck Lorre and Sheen in 2011 should have ended the show, but it limped on another few seasons until 2015.
11 Cancelled Too Soon: Rob Thomas' Party Down Was Underappreciated Despite A Cast Loaded With Famous Faces
Party Down features a catering company, consisting of struggling actors and actresses who don't want to be there. It ran two seasons from 2009-2010. Part of the show's demise is attributable to the loss of Adam Scott to Parks and Recreation and Jane Lynch to Glee.
10 Ran Too Long: 2 Broke Girls Did Little To Showcase Kat Dennings' Comedic Ability
The CSB show premiered 2011, the same year Kat Dennings co-starred in Thor. The titular girls are waitresses, with Dennings playing Max and Beth Behrs as Caroline, two friends hoping to open a cupcake shop. While their chemistry is entertaining, the jokes often don't land. The show felt it had been running a lot longer by the time it ended in 2017.
9 Cancelled Too Soon: Enlightened Starring Laura Dern Should Warrant Several Season Pickups
The 2011 dramedy, co-created by Laura Dern was released a few years too early. Dern dominates as dysfunctional executive Amy Jellicoe, riding the show's tagline, "About A Woman On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakthrough." If Enlightened came out in the later 2010s, it would have likely been embraced rather than cancelled in 2013.
8 Ran Too Long: The Netflix Mega-Hit Orange Is The New Black Stretched Its Source Material Beyond Recognition
There's no denying the cultural capital of Orange Is The New Black. The show dropped on the streaming service in 2013, based on the 2010 memoir by Piper Kerman, covering her year in a women's prison and became the most-streamed Netflix original.
7 Cancelled Too Soon: The Cast And Satirical Approach Of Better Off Ted Needed More Time To Flourish
Would Better Off Ted be better off in the era of streaming, where dark comedy, science fiction and niche hybrids thrive? Jay Harrington plays narrator and titular Ted, working for a stereotypical soulless corporation. Viewers want more uptight Portia de Rossi reigning over the office!
6 Ran Too Long: The Chemistry Of The Two Leads Couldn't Sustain Interest In Castle
While it was entertaining to watch Nathan Fillion star as a mystery novelist following around a detective in the NYPD to the point of believing he was a cop. There were some interesting aspects to the show, like Castle (Fillion) raising a daughter alone and the natural rapport between him and Stana Katic, but even that grew old.
5 Cancelled Too Soon: The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale Is Another Instance Of Netflix Jumping The Cancelation-Shark
With all the resources Netflix wields, it's frustrating when a show doesn't have adequate time to hit its groove and find out what it's supposed to be- that's how it felt with the introduction and cancellation of The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale in 2018.
4 Ran Too Long: The Jerry Springer Show Exploited The Narratives Of Disenfranchised People For Too Long
"Jer-ry. Jer-ry. Jer-ry." The audience chants into a rumble as the host picks apart delicate situations in the name of entertainment. Through its run from 1991 to 2018, Jerry Springer became synonymous with familial dysfunction in a way that's deeply unsettling. He now has another show called Judge Jerry.
3 Cancelled Too Soon: The IT Crowd Had An "It" Factor Audiences Still Talk About
Despite listed as running 2006-2013, The It Crowd only aired four seasons, each with six episodes, a three-year hiatus and a finale special. Few things were as fun to watch as tech specialists Moss (Richard Ayoade) and Roy (Chris O'Dowd) governed by manager Jen (Katherine Parkinson), who knows nothing about their field.
2 Ran Too Long: Modern Family Is Ending This Year, But The Amount Of Promotion Required Indicates The Interest Isn't What It Was
When the kids from the first season of the show begin having their own children, the show needs to end. Modern Family was a top comedy from the time it aired in 2009 into the 2010s. There was a sigh of relief when ABC announced the show would end in 202o.
1 Cancelled Too Soon: My So-Called Life Is A Seminal Depiction Of High School Angst That Barely Gets To Delve Into The Teen Psyche
At fourteen, Claire Danes plays sophomore Angela Chase. A part of My So-Called Life's legacy is the nuanced portrayal of adolescence, unlike anything else on the television landscape. The series premiered in 1994 and cancelled in 1995, leaving the series ending on a cliffhanger.