4 Series That Were Cancelled Way Too Soon (& We're Still Mad About It)

We've all had our favorite TV-shows cancelled at least once in a lifetime. Shows barely get a chance to find their audience before executives pull the plug nowadays. And the worst part is not getting a proper closure, of course. Shows end on cliffhangers that will never be resolved, and just thinking about how many character arcs will remain incomplete makes it even more brutal.

And this is particularly frustrating not only because our favorite stories never got a completion, but also because some mediocre series somehow manage to survive.

All the wasted potential is another huge thing when it comes to cancelled shows. Think about how many actors, directors, writers never got their big break. It's heartbreaking, to say the least.

Today we're diving into 4 series that deserved better. Fair warning: this may reopen some old wounds.

Marco Polo (2014-2016): Netflix 's Historical Epic That Couldn't Survive Its Own Budget

It was first advertised as the new Game of Thrones series. And with its $90 million per season and grand vision of 13th-century Asia, the series promised to deliver.

And boy, did it deliver! The show brought us stunning visuals, epic battle sequences, and Benedict Wong 's unforgettable performance as Kublai Khan. The political intrigue was there, the action was intense, and the storytelling was actually getting better with each episode.

But despite season 2 earning a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix pulled the plug. Why? That massive budget we mentioned earlier came back to bite them. The streaming giant decided the viewership numbers weren't justifying those expensive production costs.

The show's creator, John Fusco, spoke to The Guardian about the cancellation, still upset about it:

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. There’s no other way to describe it – it was crushing.”

Grand Army (2020): The Raw Teen Drama That Was Abandoned Too Soon

If Marco Polo lasted two whole seasons, Grand Army got just one.

This Netflix drama followed five students at a public high school in Brooklyn, tackling everything from sexual assault to racial inequality. The show didn't pull any punches, showing the raw, often uncomfortable reality of modern teen life.

The series was praised for its authentic portrayal of high school life and great performances from its young cast. Critics loved how it tackled serious issues head-on, without the usual TV sugar-coating.

But maybe that realness was too much for the producers. The show got cancelled after just nine episodes, leaving important storylines completely unresolved.

As Redditor migos53 wrote:

“Could have been one of the best series in Netflix, I have so many questions then I realized it was canceled.”

And that's right — the story had a great potential to be the next 13 Reasons Why or Euphoria.

Mindhunter ( 2017-2019): The Crime Drama That Left Us Hanging

Now this one hurts. David Fincher's psychological crime drama was basically perfect. With Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany's incredible chemistry as the lead investigators, the show dove deep into the minds of notorious serial killers.

The production values were off the charts and the acting was phenomenal. And that creepy opening theme still gives us chills!

Yet after two brilliant seasons, the show went into indefinite hiatus. Fincher was busy with other projects and the budget was massive, and eventually in February 2023, he finally confirmed what fans had feared – Mindhunter was officially dead.

You can imagine the outrage. As Redditor itsyvngjay wrote:

“So Mindhunter is officially cancelled because of budget reasons, but serial killer glorifying show “Monster” (Dahmer) gets a next season?”

And as we've already mentioned, this is a very common thing in the industry – while mediocre shows survive, really good ones just simply don't have budget or ratings to keep going.

Altered Carbon (2018-2020): A Cyberpunk Dream Turned Nightmare

The world-building alone deserved at least 5 seasons, to be honest.

We don't get a lot of good sci-fi set in a cyberpunk world. That's why the loss of Altered Carbon was so devastating.

Season 1 was a hit. The show perfectly balanced its sci-fi elements with a murder mystery, all while deeply exploring questions about identity and immortality. This season was a masterpiece, no one can deny it.

Then came Season 2, but something has changed (for the worst, unfortunately). It felt super rushed and lost some of that neo-noir magic that made the first season so special.

“They took a phenomenal cyberpunk detective noir series and turned the second season over to people from the CW. What the f– was Netflix thinking? Did they not see the s–show that Arrow became?” Redditor corezon pointed out.

The cancellation hits extra hard because we know how brilliant the show could have been if they had stuck to the original formula.