T.V. is beloved by many, and everyone has a list of their favorite shows, including those canceled prematurely due to low ratings or other external factors. 

However, some shows were canceled for avoidable or downright ridiculous reasons. Even if you’re a hardcore television fan, you may be surprised by their inside stories. Here’s everything you need to know about why T.V. shows were canceled.

Kingdom Hospital vs. King

Hospitals can be scary places, so when horror master Stephen King made a deal with ABC to write and produce the haunted medical drama ‘Kingdom Hospital,’ it seemed like horror fans could be in for a classic. Unfortunately, the show’s only season was disorganized. Although it produced a solid batch of episodes that earned several Emmy nominations, behind the scenes, conflicts between King and the network doomed its chances of renewal. 

King, who is no stranger to Hollywood turmoil, was reminded again that while ghosts are scary, trying to create a successful T.V. the series is even more terrifying.

The writers of Freaks and Geeks remained faithful to the show’s premise.

One of the most beloved cult T.V. the show is ‘Freaks and Geeks .’It aired on NBC during the 1999-2000 season.

The dramedy was set in 1980, and its creators, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, drew from their awkward upbringings to create an emotionally honest and highly relatable show. However, despite its quality, ‘Freaks and Geeks’ was never a ratings hit, and NBC canceled it after only 12 episodes. 

Ancier’s main criticism of ‘Freaks and Geeks’ was that the characters never achieved any victories. Apatow refused to abandon the premise of the show, and as a result, the ratings did not improve. The network eventually canceled the show, but it launched the careers of several future stars, including Rogen, Segel, Franco, Cardellini, and Phillips.

The CBS rural purge.

In the 1969-1970 T.V. CBS programming chief Fred Silverman observed that ABC and NBC series with multicultural casts, set in urban environments, or appealing to young and hip viewers, such as NBC’s ‘Laugh-In’ and ABC’s hit thriller ‘The Mod Squad,’ were receiving the most media attention and top advertising rates. Silverman also noted that CBS had few such shows on its schedule.

Despite bringing in large audiences, the CBS slate primarily appealed to rural or aging audiences. Silverman boldly decided to cancel these series types, which still had sizeable audiences, and replace them with hip, urbane shows. 

Amazon Studios canceled the renewal of ‘A League of Their Own’ and ‘The Peripheral’ season 2. Based on William Gibson’s novel, the sci-fi series had a $175 million budget for its first season but received a ‘lukewarm’ audience response. Some insiders at Amazon believed that the show should have been renewed in a different place due to its high budget. 

Shortly after the show’s cancellation announcement, Amazon suspended Joy and Nolan’s development deal due to the AMPTP companies cutting off long-standing deals with writer-producers.

 It is unclear if Donald Trump was directly involved in the show’s early end.

The third and final season of Cartoon Network’s ‘OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes’ was cut short from the original plan for the series. The action-comedy cartoon ended prematurely due to a decision made by the former President of the United States, not the network, according to creator Ian Jones-Quartey.

In a 2021 interview with Creative Talent Network, Jones-Quartey stated that Donald Trump opposed the merger because Warner Brothers owns CNN. 

Due to the delays in the merger, “OK K.O.!” aired its entire run on Cartoon Network before the launch of HBO Max.

During the Disney Afternoon lineup, the famous and action-packed show ‘Gargoyles’ was frequently interrupted by the O.J. Simpson trial.

The show was initially successful, and its creator, Greg Weisman, was even approached by CEO Michael Eisner about expanding it into a larger universe. However, ratings declined in the second and third seasons, produced by a different team for Saturday mornings, which would have been better received.

HBO Max’s significant content deletions have had a worrying impact on the streaming industry. In June 2023, Paramount+ removed several shows, including ‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,’ ‘Queen of the Universe,’ ‘The Game,’ and ‘Star Trek: Prodigy,’ which was still in production. The removal of ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ from Paramount+ seems particularly unwise given that the kid-friendly animated series had already been renewed for a second season due to its success.

Despite being removed from Paramount+, production for season 2 continued in hopes of finding a new buyer. It is puzzling that Paramount+, which advertises itself as ‘The Home of Star Trek,’ would not want to host a new ‘Star Trek’ series. Fortunately, unlike many other streaming series, ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ is available on Blu-ray. This means the first season can still be watched legally despite the frustrating deletion.