4 Cancelled 2019 Shows That Should Have Been Renewed
Not only the Netflix ones.
We’re currently in the halfway through the 2019 Fall TV season, which means that a whole new bunch of broadcast show episodes have landed. A couple of shows have even premiered and been cancelled.
Of course, streaming services like Netflix don’t really give two shits about TV seasons, so their shows premiere as and when they have a slot. Either ways, what I’m trying to say is that:
A lot of shows have been renewed. These 4 shows below were not.
They deserve to be, and these are my arguments.
Please note: I’m not including TV shows that have been renewed for a finale season. They got the time to do a proper send-off, and hence don’t count.
American Princess (Lifetime)
This was one of my most recent binges, so the wound is the freshest.
A 10-episode first season brought to us by Jamie Denbo, Jenji Kohan, and Tara Herrmann introduced us to the world of Renaissance Festivals in the US. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t understand half the plot that was going on, because I’ve never gone to a Ren fair (they’re not easy to find in Singapore unless you count watching Shakespeare In The Park).
That was the exciting part, though, because they were showcasing an admittedly-niche market to the mainstream audience.
Weird accents, people of different backgrounds coming together, and drama — I was impressed that this was the first mainstream show I’ve ever seen about this topic!
Was it slightly kooky? Holy shit yes. Half the time you were watching episodes with one head cocked, just like a curious owl. Sometimes you were shaking your head at the decisions the characters made. All of the time, though, you were mesmerised by the stories.
And while the first season ended seemingly on a clean note, I would have loved to see what ideas the writers had for season 2.
Also it brought us the triple threat of Seana Kofoed, Rory O’Malley, and Mary Hollis Inboden all together on the same screen, so how could you cancel that?!
Tuca and Bertie (Netflix)
If you want to know how beloved this animated show about 2 bird BFFs was, just scroll through the thread of people who dressed up as the characters for Halloween.
I was introduced to this show because Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong are the two leads, and I am a huge fan of their work. The show hails from cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt, of BoJack Horseman fame, so that helped too.
And just like American Princess, it was ridiculous, in the best ways. By the time I had finished the first episode, I still had not understood what I was watching. By the time I reached episode 5 ‘Plumage’, I was rooting out loud for Tuca, and I was full-on sobbing watching episode 9 ‘The Jelly Lakes’. It was intensely inspiring for a show that had one of the kookiest theme songs I’d ever had.
And of course, it then got cancelled, because there’s only that much that a kooky animated show that showcases female friendship and is run and starring women can do.
How would Tuca and Bertie’s relationship have survived the former moving away at the end of Season 1? We don’t know. Instead, we just have a small story that’s wrapped up nicely. How unlike them.
Busy Tonight (E!)
I don’t really have live access to a lot of late-night shows because I live in Singapore (SNL is shown a week late on cable), so I watch a lot of clips on YouTube instead.
Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah do some really good shorts, so when Busy Tonight premiered with a slew of fabulously funny bits, I assumed that it would be renewed for eternity. Yes, even though it’s on E!, which isn’t known for late night.
Somehow, though, a host that knows her guests personally and manages to get them to spill ALL the beans still isn’t enough.
A call from freaking Oprah isn’t enough.
A sauna session with her famously attention-shy BFF Michelle Williams isn’t enough.
I mean…I don’t even know what to do. And it seems as though no other network wants to pick the show up?
I don’t understand how that’s possible when Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen has been on Bravo for the last 10 years. Like…are you serious?
All The Marvel TV Series On Netflix
Yeah, yeah, you knew I was going to go there.
Yes, of course I know why they were cancelled; I called it for Daredevil.
This doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck that a series of spectacularly-filmed and acted shows had to be cancelled.
After all, you’re shitting me if you say that Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter and Vincent D’Onofrio weren’t perfect for their roles. Rounded off by a cast like Alfre Woodward, Elden Henson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Eka Darville?
It’s the definition of cancelling shows at their height.
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