There is a myriad of reasons why any given TV show can find itself in the crosshairs of cancelation, it might be after 1 season or it might be midway through its fourth. None of these reasons ever seem to soften the blow for dedicated fans, however, a lucky few might find that their beloved lost series has found new life in the form of a graphic novel.
More often than not these properties stick the landing while transitioning mediums due to the passion of comic book creators for the source material, the pure tenacity of fans to see their darling show succeed, and quite honestly a perfect storm when it comes to production and acquiring rights. Some TV shows make it, and some we can only wish to see continued.
Firefly - Dark Horse
The original cancelation tragedy. When Firefly's first season was aired on FX it was shown completely out of order, along with a first episode that was written and shot at the last minute, and a feature-length pilot being split up and aired last. Joss Whedon and the crew of The Serenity never stood a chance, but this show about misfits and underdogs was championed by fans and refused to die on its knees.
Not only did it break Box Set sales records resulting in a film adaptation, Serenity (2005), wrapping up the series but it also found new life in the form of many comic book series' that are still ongoing today. If you've ever wondered what Mal and Zoë went through in the unification war, or what Mal's mother is like then both the Dark Horse series Serenity and the recent Boom! Studios series Firefly, are well worth your time.
The Good Place
After 4 seasons the high-concept fantasy sit-com finally came to an end in early 2020, in an incredibly satisfying fashion. The show focused around Eleanor Shellstrop as found herself accidentally deposited in "The Good Place" after her death, having been a pretty terrible person on Earth. The finale didn't really leave the future of the show's main cast of characters up to interpretation, so how could it be continued in comic form?
Perhaps a comic book mini-series could focus on the misadventures of an Earthbound Micheal, or fill in the gaps of the thousands of Jeremy Bearimys skipped over in each season. What's a Jeremy Bearimy? There isn't the word count to explain it here, so go watch The Good Place and find out.
The X-Files - IDW Publishing
While yes, The X-Files has seen a revival in recent years in the form of it's 10th and 11th seasons, it hasn't exactly been excepted as a triumphant return by fans. Leaning a lot heavier into the mythology than the original monster of the week showcase that The X-Files first became popular for.
Between the original cancellation and the revival mini-series', X-Files actually had a 25-issue comic book run titled, funnily enough, X-Files: Season 10 published by IDW Publishing. Written by Joe Harris and overseen by show creator Chris Carter, anyone that misses the less lore indulgent X-Files should pick this up to see Mulder and Scully back to investigating paranormal mysteries.
Misfits
A British Sci-Fi comedy-drama that only ran for 5 fairly short seasons, Misfits centered around a group of young offenders on community service that get caught in a freak storm and embued with super-powers. This absolutely isn't Teen Titans, its crude, violent, and takes it's characters to some very dark places while maintaining a very British, hilarious, wit.
The show ended on somewhat of a disappointing and open-ended note, leaving loose ends from previous seasons, and changing it's cast dramatically due to actors' other obligations. A comic book wouldn't have to worry about actors' calendars though and could bring back old characters to interact with new and wrap up loose ends. Honestly, we just want to see Nathan and Rudy kick-off.
Torchwood - Titan Comics
The Doctor Who spin-off created by Russel T. Davies enjoyed an ever-growing audience during its original TV run of 4 seasons, eventually ending due to the creative team behind it wanting to move on the other projects. It's always had a strong repertoire of spin-off material, that mostly came to an end with the show, but one continued.
If you're looking for your post-Torchwood: Miracle Day fix of Captain Jack Harkness, look no further than the Titan Comics series that ran from 2016-2017. Written by John & Carole E. Barrowman, yes Captain Jack himself, it's a great filler while fans wait for the character's return.
Terra Nova
Terra Nova only ever aired for one wobbly season that started off with critical praise and positive ratings only to end with the opposite. It saw the Shannon family attempt to establish themselves in a human colony of the future that had time-traveled 85 million years into the past to escape overpopulation.
A second season was never intended by Fox, who instead attempted to sell the show to Netflix and the future of the Shannon family was lost forever. Unless a comic book series was to pick up where the show left off, with dinosaurs and military espionage it feels perfect for the medium.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Dark Horse
The second Joss Whedon series on this list, (there must just be something about his projects) Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a TV series originally based on a 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon. While the show was by no means "canceled before its time" and saw a successful 7 season run, the shows eventual ending was, however, met with loyal disappointment from fans.
The show's storyline was continued in a series of comic books produced by Joss Whedon himself under the titles Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight through to Season 12 respectively, all published by Dark Horse Comics.
Reaper
Following DIY store worker Sam Oliver as he's recruited by the Devil, his parents having promised the soul of their firstborn to the big red guy for health reasons, to track down and return Hell's escaped souls. Think Chuck but more supernatural.
The show only ran for 2 seasons with a monster-of-the-week format and a light overarching plot. The characters already felt like they were pulled kicking and screaming out of an indie comic book, so why not give the concept new life in that format?
Batman Beyond - DC
An animated show that ran from 1999- 2001, and saw an older Bruce Wayne training a high-tec teenage version of Batman named Terry McGinnis in a Blade Runner-esque future, developed by Bruce Tim, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. Not only was it a critical success but it also amassed quite the cult following which resulted in a quite convoluted post-cancelation comic book re-birth.
Not only is there a comic book version of Terry McGinnis' adventures that ran in tandem to the original Batman Beyond series, but eventually he was folded into the DC universe proper in 2010, and then was replaced as the Batman of the future by a previous Robin, Tim Drake, as a part of The New 52, but is now back as of 2016's DC Rebirth (Phew!). It gets a little messy but its good news if you loved the show, give it a whirl.
Pushing Daisies
Like Firefly, Pushing Daisies got the rough end of the deal when it was originally aired. While the first season was met with incredible critical acclaim, and a boat-load of awards, the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike saw too long between seasons and a drop in ratings that warranted cancelation.
Since then the continuation of the show has jumped from a comic book - whose publishing house was closed before publication - to a stage and film adaptation that was eventually shot down. Pushing Daisies revolved around a piemaker that could bring the dead back to life teaming up with a P.I. to solve murder cases, and we can't think of a better pitch for an ongoing comic series.