Syfy's Channel Zero horror anthology show drew widespread critical acclaim, but that didn't save it from being canceled after four seasons. Long before horror stories were told through the mediums of film or TV, or even before they were written down in books, horror tales were spread through word of mouth. These passed-around horror stories came to be called urban legends, and have since come to inspire so much of what the horror genre ultimately became. Creepypastas, essentially urban legends originating on the internet, are the most recent evolution of the idea.

Channel Zero's concept was to adapt creepypasta stories for TV, although in practice, the actual adaptations sometimes deviated quite heavily from their source material. Sometimes the changes were for the better of the plot, especially when expanding a short story to six episodes, while other times these alterations left fans of the original stories let down. Either way though, Channel Zero drew rave reviews from the horror faithful, and also from mainstream critics.

Related: How Channel Zero: Butcher's Block Compares To The Original Creepypasta

Each of Channel Zero's four seasons have critics scores of 86% or higher, with season 2, No-End House, and season 3, Butcher's Block, both scoring perfect 100% scores. Many consider Channel Zero, especially season 2's No-End House, to be one of the creepiest shows to ever be on TV, and that's a high bar to meet. Sadly, following the airing of Channel Zero season 4, The Dream Door, the show was quickly canceled by Syfy. The reason behind the move is the old stand-by of TV cancellation: the ratings just weren't good enough to justify making a season 5.

channel zero pretzel jack jillian

Channel Zero, despite its positive reviews, never saw its cult fanbase translate into high ratings. Season 1, Candle Cove, was the highest-rated installment by far, but by the end of season 4, audience numbers had dropped by more than half. Channel Zero season 4, which featured memorable monster Pretzel Jack, even saw Syfy try an experimental release strategy, airing the season in a traditional week-to-week manner, but also dropping all six episodes online simultaneously, Netflix-style. Neither approach drew the viewership Syfy wanted.

As nice as critical acclaim and a loyal following is, TV is a business at the end of the day, and when enough people aren't watching a show, there's no real incentive to keep it going. Sometimes low-rated but critically acclaimed shows will get stays of execution in the hopes they'll win Emmys and propel a viewership rise for the next season, but sadly, the Emmys rarely recognize horror content, much less horror as visceral and disturbing as Channel Zero could often be. After all, Bryan Fuller's masterful Hannibal - which Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca also worked on - is arguably the most acclaimed horror show of the last decade, and it never won a single Emmy. In that light, it's not hard to see why Syfy canceled Channel Zero, even if its quality was high.

More: Channel Zero: Candle Cove's Tooth Fairy Monster Explained