Bryan Fuller is one of the most imaginative minds in television. He's created some of TV's most notable shows that are known for their excellent characters, quirky charm, and boundary-pushing storylines. Sadly, for many of Fuller's series, they were ahead of their time. While loved by critics and the audiences who did tune-in, they never seemed able to capture a big-enough audience to stick around for more than a few seasons.
But the instant one of his shows gets canceled, they're almost immediately added to the list of shows that were canceled too soon. Luckily, in recent years, it seems that audiences have finally caught up to Fuller and his shows are currently some of the biggest on TV. Here is every Brian Fuller show, ranked, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Carrie (2002) - 20%
2002's Carrie is Bryan Fuller's only credit that has a rotten rating. The made-for-TV movie was based on the classic Stephen King book, but ended up being panned by critics for being "just another Carrie adaptation" and for being too long (it has a runtime of 132 minutes.)
Despite the lack of critical praise, the film was a hit, airing on NBC to more than 12.2 million viewers. While it may be Fuller's lowest-rated endeavor, it certainly opened doors to future opportunities.
Mockingbird Lane (2012) - 60%
Mockingbird Lane, Fuller's other made-for-TV movie, fared much better with critics, scoring a 60%. The movie was a modern adaptation of the classic series, The Munsters, and starred Jerry O'Connell, Portia de Rossi, and Eddie Izzard, among others.
NBC was testing the idea of turning Mockingbird Lane into a series if ratings for the special were good. And, while it picked up almost 5.5 million viewers, NBC decided to pass on a series.
Wonderfalls (2004) - 75%
Fuller's first series, Wonderfalls, only lasted one season, but has become a huge hit since its cancellation. The show follows Jaye Tyler, who works in a gift shop next to Niagara Falls. One day, the souvenirs at the gift shop begin talking to her and demand that she help others. While the show never addressed whether it was a religious higher power talking to her, or just a general muse of goodwill, its similarities to Joan of Arcadia, which had premiered just the year before, couldn't be ignored.
After the show's cancellation, it was picked up by various networks around the world, like Sky, Logo, and Vision, and the Museum of Television and Radio even held a screening of the entire series in 2005.
American Gods (2017-Present) - 76%
American Gods, which airs on Starz, is based on the famous Neil Gaiman novel of the same name and follows protagonist Shadow Moon as he discovers that a world of magic exists all around him. He learns that Old Gods, like Horus and Anansi, are battling new Gods, like technology and media, to stay relevant in a changing world.
The show's cast is huge and it takes a bit of dedication to devote yourself to its big ideas, but those who do have said it's one of the best shows of the decade.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017 - Present) - 83%
Star Trek: Discovery was supposed to be the launch title of CBS' streaming service, CBS All Access. Its premiere ended up getting pushed back a few months, but upon its release, it proved to be a massive hit.
The show originally started off a prequel to the original Star Trek series and it stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, and Michelle Yeoh. The success of Discovery paved the way for more Star Trek series, like the highly-praised Star Trek: Picard, also on All Access.
Dead Like Me (2003-2004) - 87%
Georgia Lass is on her lunch break, when suddenly, a toilet seat from the deorbiting Mir space station falls from the sky, obliterating everything in its wake ... including Georgia. Afterward, she awakens to discover that she's now among the ranks of the undead and is employed as a grim reaper.
Throughout the series, Georgia struggles with the concept of death and, ultimately, finds a way to carry on. Like all things Fuller does, the show is hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time. During the series' run it was nominated for two Emmy's and fans of the show were so upset by the sudden cancelation after season 2 that a TV movie called Dead Like Me: Life After Death was released in 2009.
Hannibal (2013-2015) - 92%
Hannibal was lauded by fans and critics upon its release. Television horror is a genre that's hard to get right, especially when you're trying to reimagine one of the most famous horror villains of all time. The show was praised for its character development and superb writing, while also being noted for the fact that there was still enough gore and suspense to make it feel like genuine horror.
Like all of Fuller's hows, after Hannibal's cancelation, fans were livid. Fuller immediately went into talks with Amazon and Netflix for a potential revival or film spinoff. Fuller was even close to branching off and creating a Silence of the Lambs miniseries.
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009) - 96%
Pushing Daisies starred Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth. Unlike Fuller's other shows, it wasn't destined to end after a few seasons. It was highly popular and had excellent ratings. Unfortunately, Pushing Daisies was one of the many victims of the infamous 2007 writer's strike. Television came to a complete halt and production on all shows stopped. Networks began airing more reality TV and some even bought the rights to older HBO and Showtime shows, like The Sopranos, edited out the risque content, and aired them out of desperation.
After the strike ended, putting the pieces back together on newer shows like Pushing Daisies was too difficult and many were canceled. To this day, fans still demand a reincarnation of the show and it's been shopped around in various forms, from a TV show to miniseries and even as a Broadway musical.