Every year brings a bittersweet mix of good and bad news for TV Fanatics. We discover new obsessions but lose some favorites.
And 2025 was no different, with some good shows meeting untimely ends. One would think that, given our vast experience with cancellations, these wouldn’t hurt. Wrong!
These shows disappeared with a piece of our soul, and we might never get it back. TV Fanatics Carissa Pavlica, Jasmine Blu, Denis Kimathi, and Alexandria Ingham unburdened about the worst cancellations this year.
For Carissa, Alan Tudyk’s alien comedy with more humanity than most humans, young Dexter Morgan, and the Landry family lore settled into her heart. Of course, that’s until Syfy, Showtime, and Hallmark dropped the axe.
Regarding each show, says:
Resident Alien (Syfy)
Resident Alien didn’t deserve this.
I know that’s how these things always start, but seriously — this one really hurts. A show that was weird and hilarious, sincerely heartfelt, and smarter than it ever needed to be, somehow kept slipping through the cracks.
And yet, against all odds, it survived long enough to give us a real ending. That shouldn’t be a consolation prize, but right now, it is.
Alan Tudyk’s Harry Vanderspiegel took us on a journey that reminded us what it means to be human.
It makes perfect sense in this screwed-up world that an alien would fall in love with the people he was meant to destroy. He did this despite how hard humanity tries to destroy itself.
That’s the beauty of Resident Alien. It reminds us that even if we get totally lost in our own foibles, someone is out there who can see through the masquerade to just how special we really are.
That such a silly show could do so much heavy lifting is exactly why we’re so very sad to see it go. It’s also why we’ll hold out hope of revisiting these characters someday.
Dexter: Original Sin (Showtime)
Dexter: Original Sin’s cancellation is just one of those wrong decisions.
This wasn’t some cynical cash-in slapping a familiar name on a hollow idea. It was a careful, character-first attempt to understand why Dexter became Dexter, without flattening him into a checklist of traits or cheap nostalgia.
What hurts is how much intention was baked into it. It wasn’t rushing to recreate kills or wink at the audience every five minutes, even though the casting alone reminded us of every moment that came before.
It was more interested in the formation of Dexter himself — in the slow, unsettling realization that something is off, that a moral framework is being assembled piece by piece.
Watching Dexter learn who he is supposed to be was the point. The show’s tone deserves more credit. Dexter: Original Sin understood restraint. Scenes breathed, letting us sit and squirm in discomfort.
It used the tension in the choices Dexter hadn’t quite learned to justify yet. That’s a tricky balance, especially with a legacy character this loaded, and the show was pulling it off.
The Way Home (Hallmark)
The Way Home was canceled long before its fourth season would air, ending what was to be a five-season arc about the time-traveling Landry family.
This was a big swing for Hallmark, and it paid off.
Yet before the third season, they decided to move the series from Hallmark Channel to Hallmark Plus, which set fans off so much that the decision was rescinded.
Did that keep people from watching Season 3 when it aired? We have no idea what shook viewers enough to turn away. But as a result, Hallmark decided to end the series before its five-season arc.
The shame here is that this was incredible, generational storytelling that examined the causes and effects of decisions made over time.
The relationships are complex and relatable, and even flawed characters are worth exploring.
As one of the fans who was looking forward to two more immersive seasons and was hopeful of a spinoff, knowing the end will be rushed toward a conclusion, possibly outside the original intention, this cancellation truly breaks my heart.
Jasmine’s heartbreak was young and swift, given that most of the shows she was robbed of were pretty new.
No more magnetic chemistry between Shanola Hampton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson, or Brandon Larracuente and Troian Bellisario. She says:
Found (NBC)
We could talk ad nauseam about how NBC’s NBA deal essentially decimated its scripted content lineup, and we have.
But it’s not cathartic when it all boils down to the simple fact that Found deserved a renewal.
The series balanced being completely off the rails with its darker themes, featuring a wickedly charismatic Gosselaar as Sir, and compelling social themes and examinations of whose stories slip through the cracks.
Hampton led a fantastic, passionate cast that poured their hearts into making this series special. Found’s crusade, when it came to centering powerful stories of the missing who are often disenfranchised, was inspired.
It was fresh, innovative, heartfelt, and necessary. And ironically, its cancellation only further highlights the same disparity the series so often aimed to examine.
Found’s characters were rich, each with a story of hardship, trauma, and resilience.
It was unafraid, bold even in delving into these themes in all their messiness and complexity. And it never shied away from allowing its characters to be layered and human.
Found will be hitting Netflix, and a whole new audience may fall in love with this series. That serves as some solace for the unjust cancellation of a unique series that left an indelible mark.
Duster (HBO Max)
Apparently, well before Duster hit the air, the powers that be decided that we couldn’t have nice things. I’m pretty certain the actors’ contracts expired before the series finally hit the airwaves.
But Duster was just good, old-fashioned fun. It was a wonderful romper of a show with such a great cast and served as an endearing nod to the Blaxploitation Era with its funky 70s crimefighting and vibes.
Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson were a divine partnership onscreen with fantastic chemistry.
We followed a spunky, pint-sized FBI agent navigating the misogyny and racism of a barely diversified federal agency as she worked with a getaway driver for a crime syndicate to take down the man who killed her father.
The series was unapologetically fun with just as much grit and heart.
Nina Hayes was a formidable lead, accompanied by the soft, gentle but haunted Awan Bitsui.
They hit the ground running with their investigations, bumping up against the unquestionable bigotry of the time, brushing it off with confidence and self-assurance, and reserving their deepest vulnerabilities for one another.
Yes, we totally shipped Nina/Anwan, by the way.
Holloway as Jim Ellis was divine; each moment of each episode peeled back more layers, revealing this charming antihero in a way that kept you glued to the screen and longing for the next installment.
Yeah, Duster biting the dust is still unforgivable.
On Call (Prime Video)
Sure, Dick Wolf has a zillion other shows on the air, and three different franchises across two different networks. But On Call provided something wholly unique compared to his standard fare.
A half-hour, gritty, dark police procedural on Prime Video resulted in an adrenaline-inducing, oddly cerebral cop show unlike what we’ve been seeing on broadcast for quite some time.
On Call was all grit and authenticity, with no real desire to be glitzy or glamorous, which often resulted in fresh-faced women like Troian Bellisario, Lori Loughlin, and Monica Raymund looking and feeling real — a rare feat on screen for women of all ages.
Bellisario and Larracuente’s onscreen chemistry crackled with tension and uncertainty, at times making their scenes feel trapped in police care and claustrophobic, as both spent much of their early days in a partnership after the loss of one of their own, trying to earn each other’s trust.
On Call was a refreshing, different take on the genre, darker than your standard procedural but not at the caliber of prestige, which added to its allure and our desire to see more.
Leverage: Redemption (Prime Video)
Can we take a minute to lament losing not just one of Christian Kane’s shows, but two? Almost Paradise also met an untimely fate during 2025, but it’s Leverage: Redemption that is hitting us the hardest.
To put it bluntly, we’re losing this delightful spinoff series at a time when we need it most. The world around us is utterly bleak, and viewers long for some form of leverage, hope, equality … hell, humanity onscreen.
This is precisely what the Leverage crew provided — an equaling of the scales, the ability to feel seen, heard, and respected — a beacon of hope for the everyperson and the “little guy.”
The series came off one of its biggest and best seasons yet, and felt like a marker of how much further it could’ve pushed things and what it could’ve explored.
Losing Leverage: Redemption is like having the last bit of hope, inspiration, and the notion of kindness and empathy, all in its simplicity, snuffed out.
The Wheel of Time (Prime Video)
I, Denis, felt cheated, robbed, and misunderstood by Prime Video and Netflix. Who said streaming was here to save us? Let me explain.
The Wheel of Time had a rough start. The first two seasons meandered a lot, with little progress being made in each episode. However, they built a strong enough foundation for an epic third season.
And The Wheel of Time Season 3 was a technical and narrative masterpiece, with the storyline making massive leaps while introducing new threads.
The cast seemed to have gotten comfortable in their roles and had fully immersed themselves.
The Wheel of Time’s cancellation hurts because of the missed opportunity and the potential that will never be realized.
If the show had been given one more season, it would have had the potential to stand alongside The Sopranos and Stranger Things. I guess we’ll never know.
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh (Prime Video)
I might have been the only one who watched this irreverent comedy about an Indian immigrant family beginning their lives in Pittsburgh. Still, that didn’t make it less enjoyable.
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh had the perfect balance of humor, heart, and irreverence. The characters were some of the most entertaining in comedies, and the show was never afraid to go there. It was ridiculous in a very amusing manner.
Television needs more comedies like The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh — comedies that spotlight forgotten communities, such as immigrants, while letting them find humor in life.
In a landscape saturated with workplace mockumentaries, shows like these are not only essential but also offer variety. That’s what hurts the most regarding the cancellation of The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.
Boots (Netflix)
Perfect queer shows don’t come along often because networks treat them as experiments, and when one fails, the effect is felt for years. Most of the time, we have to compromise on something.
You want a well-written, acted, directed, and paced story made by queer people with queer people for queer people? Well, tough luck!
Boots was a breath of fresh air with its premise of a gay teenager navigating boot camp in the 1980s. It was a story full of heart, laughter, and good characters.
Despite its impact on streaming and the culture, Netflix did that thing, robbing television of a genuinely good show. Cancelling Boots leaves television swamped with mindless slop that makes queer TV seem like a joke.
Hicks, Inner Cam, and besties Cameron and Ray, you will be missed forever.
Alex was left with mysteries and cliffhangers that she must forever deal with.
Thanks, NBC and CBS, not.
Was it a good decision to bury a sexy murder mystery so deep in the schedule that no one will watch it? What about rebooting a procedural four seasons into the story by having a new character take over the story?
She explains:
Grosse Pointe Garden Society (NBC)
There is a reason people don’t get invested in new shows anymore: things happen like the cancellation of Grosse Pointe Garden Society. This quirky crime drama became a wonderful escape each week, but it was canceled after just one season.
I’ve said before that the networks are their own worst enemies, and that was certainly the case with Grosse Pointe Garden Society.
The Sunday night death slot was an immediate issue, and while the move to Fridays could have been great, NBC should have opted for it first.
People aren’t watching much TV on Sundays anymore. It could have been a great Friday night escape from the start.
The series had everything we needed, from characters that had the opportunity to develop into well-rounded individuals to sordid romances.
On top of that, it wasn’t predictable. I had no idea who Quiche was until the big reveal, and that’s what makes excellent TV for me. Keep me on my toes and engaged while you do it.
Grosse Pointe Garden Society deserved more seasons, showing us how this unlikely friendship group could blossom as the new garden season began.
I also need to know Duck’s identity and where Alice was in those closing moments of the season (now series) finale.
FBI: International (CBS)
While FBI: International struggled to keep its original cast intact, the show didn’t lose too much steam over its four seasons.
The cases were intriguing and compelling as we watched how international authorities and laws affect efforts to get to the truth.
FBI: International Season 4 was a letdown, with so much focus on establishing Jesse Lee Soffer’s Wes Mitchell, but there was always hope that more seasons would allow the balance to return.
It’s one of the biggest reasons the cancellation hurts so much: the writers probably wouldn’t have invested as much time in the new character, knowing that other arcs needed to be wrapped up.
It’s the ending that makes me so mad about the cancellation of FBI: International, though.
While FBI: Most Wanted took time to wrap up storylines without feeling too rushed, International ended on a huge cliffhanger. And now? Well, we’ll never get a resolution.
It was a slap in the face to everyone who had connected to the show over the years, and those characters deserve better.
What These Cancellations Say
We’ll forever remain grateful for the chance to experience these stories. But we’re still hurt by their losses, especially when they could have been avoided.
Many of these cancellations expose structural issues in the television industry that could cause it to crumble if not addressed.
AI is already being used to craft viewer-centric outcomes if executives and creatives won’t give them to us. We might become the puppet masters now, if only to protect our souls and emotions.
Now’s your turn. Which one of these shows did you watch and will miss? Is there one we didn’t include that you think was not done justice? Don’t be shy. Drop a line in the comments section.
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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