There are a lot of TV shows that stay on the air for years and years. These shows get multiple seasons and are airing for a long time, giving the show plenty of time to flesh out the characters, explore a wide variety of storylines, and gain quite a following. Some of the longest-running shows ever include The Simpsons, Big Brother, and Supernatural. While these shows have been on a super long time, there are other shows that aren't quite so lucky.
There are some shows that don't air for over a dozen seasons or more and instead, they only get a single season before they're canceled. There are some shows that are only designed to have a single season and end after telling their story, but that's not the case for every show that only has one season. Despite their short-run, shows that got canceled after a single season can often still be worth watching and often have a dedicated fanbase that wishes they could've gotten more episodes. To see 10 shows that were canceled after one season, keep reading!
Selfie
Selfie is a series that aired for a single season in 2014. The series stars Karen Gillan and John Cho and is a modern retelling of the musical My Fair Lady and the Greek myth that inspired it, Pygmalion. The series follows a woman named Eliza who is totally obsessed with trying to use social media to gain fame and attention. After she becomes concerned that followers aren't fulfilling enough, she turns to a marketing guru named Henry to help reinvent herself.
Although this series was definitely a clever take on modern society and the obsession that many people have with social media followers and attention, ratings for the series were low, leading to its cancellation.
Freaks And Geeks
Freaks and Geeks is a series that aired from 1999 through 2000 for a single season of 18 episodes. This series was produced by Judd Apatow and was the series that launched a lot of big-name stars into fame including James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Linda Cardellini.
The series follows a pair of siblings - Lindsay, a gifted high school student who is part of the "slacker" crowd, and her younger brother, Sam, who is a total geek. The series is a teen comedy that follows the lives of these siblings as they navigate the world of high school in the early 80s.
Grosse Point
Grosse Point is a sitcom that aired on The WB from 2000 through 2001. The series is a comedic one and a satire that takes a meta look at the behind-the-scenes drama that goes into creating a dramatic TV show, similar to other popular ones of the time like Beverly Hills 90210, the show that heavily inspired this one and was created by the same person.
The show follows the actors and actresses on a dramatic teen sitcom set in a Michigan suburb. For people that watched other real teen dramas, this satirical look at the shows is definitely a fun one to watch.
Eerie, Indiana
Eerie, Indiana is a horror-science fiction series that aired from 1991 through 1992 for a single season that consisted of 19 episodes. The series was a children's program, but it is definitely a fun one for anyone who is a fan of other creepy kids' shows because of its unique and spooky atmosphere.
The series follows a teenager named Marshall whose family moves to the small town of Eerie, Indiana. There, he's face-to-face with a huge variety of different bizarre urban legends that seem to have come to life in the most terrifying and surreal way.
The Get Down
The Get Down is a Netflix original series that got a single season, split up into two parts, that was released on the streaming platform in 2016 and 2017. The series was created by Baz Luhrman and is a music-based historical drama set in the 1970s.
This series is set in New York City during that time period and follows the change in the world of music as older genres like disco begin to fade from popularity and instead, rap and hip-hop start to rise and shine at the forefront of the music scene.
Chambers
Chambers is a Netflix original supernatural drama that had a single season released on the streaming service in 2019. The series follows a teenager named Sasha who suffers a heart attack and begins experiencing bizarre feelings and visions after receiving a heart transplant.
In order to try to get answers about what's happening to her, Sasha travels to a more affluent neighborhood in order to meet the wealthy parents of the person whose heart she received. As Sasha finds out, the truth of what happened to her heart's original owner is much stranger and darker than she thought.
Firefly
Firefly is a science fiction drama that aired from 2002 through 2003. This space Western is among the first shows that many people think of when they think about shows that were canceled after one season. Despite being canceled so soon into its life, this series has gained quite a following.
This series is set 500 years into the future and follows the people that work aboard a small transport spaceship. Even though the intergalactic civil war took place long before the start of this series, the drama for the characters has definitely not ended.
The Grinder
The Grinder is a comedic legal series that aired for a single season of 22 episodes in 2015. This series is a sitcom and semi-satirical look at Hollywood and the world of legal dramas.
The series stars Rob Lowe as Dean, an actor whose legal drama recently came to a close, causing him to move back to his Idaho hometown. After some consideration, Dean decides to join his family's law firm, believing that playing a lawyer on TV has given him the experience needed to become a lawyer.
Daybreak
Daybreak is a post-apocalyptic comedy that is set in a world in which all adults have become mindless zombies known as Ghoulies. This Netflix original series aired for a single season in 2019 and is based on the graphic novel series by the same name.
The show follows the main character, a teenager named Josh, as he tries to traverse the new world safely while trying to track down his missing girlfriend. The series is both creepy and hilarious and although it only got one season of 10 episodes, most of the major cliffhangers are tied up at the end of the show's run.
The Secret Circle
The Secret Circle is a supernatural teen drama that aired on The CW from 2011 through 2012. Like The Vampire Diaries, this dramatic teen TV show is based on a novel series by L.J. Smith.
The series follows a 16-year-old named Cassie who recently moved in with her grandmother in a small town in Washington after the death of her mother. After arriving there, Cassie learns that she's actually a witch and she's not the only one living in her new hometown.