6 Canceled ABC Shows We Want to Return

Many shows have come and gone from ABC, but some of those were a bit premature. Cancellations are inevitable, even if a show has been on for more than a few seasons, while other shows never get a chance to really thrive if they’ve been canceled after just a season or two. No show is safe, especially these days when it seems a lot of networks have been cracking down, whether to save money or rework their schedules.

Since officially launching in 1943, ABC has had a slew of programming slates, from dramas to comedies to animated to reality. Some cancellations definitely hurt more than others, and some are still pretty recent, which only adds to the pain. While it’s hard to narrow down every show, here are just some that ABC canceled that need to come back, and this doesn’t include shows that moved to a different network to complete their runs.

Honorable Mentions

• Marvel’s Agent Carter
• The Company You Keep
• Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23
• One Life to Live

‘Ugly Betty’

Before America Ferrera was known for emotional monologues, she was starring as the titular character on Ugly Betty. The dramedy ran for just four seasons until ABC canceled it in 2010 due to low ratings. While there have been discussions of a potential reboot, nothing is concrete.

The series did just recently hit Netflix, which may help depending on how much it’s viewed. For now, it doesn’t seem like anything’s happening, but you never know.

‘American Housewife’

Not even five seasons could keep American Housewife from a cancellation. The family sitcom premiered in 2016 and ran until 2021, with ABC canceling the series just two months after the Season 5 finale. Fans and the cast were appropriately devastated and surprised, especially considering the fact that American Housewife.

With Anna-Kat and Franklin getting engaged, Trip and Taylor got engaged as well. Not only that, but middle child Oliver revealed he was considering not going to college, and Katie announced she was pregnant, with the Otto family officially expanding. Ending a series on a cliffhanger and multiple cliffhangers at that is not fun, so getting at least a conclusion to these cliffhangers, even if it’s not much, would be nice.

‘mixed-ish’

Despite its successful predecessors, black-ish and grown-ish, mixed-ish was not in the cards. mixed-ish centered on Rainbow Johnson’s early childhood years in the 1980s and growing up in a mixed-race family, hence the title. The series only lasted for two seasons, as ABC canceled it in May 2021, just days before the season finale.

It was definitely an interesting concept, and it would have been great to see the show continue, but maybe it just wasn’t time. Now with black-ish done and the final season of currently airing, maybe it’s time to bring mixed-ish back into the mix.

‘Scrubs’

Although Scrubs was an NBC show first, it did air on ABC for the final two seasons, so this one is being included. The medical comedy’s ninth and final season basically rebranded the series, despite the Season 8 finale acting like a series finale. ABC ended up canceling the show after Season 9, so fans didn’t get to see how the med school premise would work out, which may have been the better choice.

Another Scrubs series would give the show a chance to redeem itself after Season 9, and in 2022, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence guaranteed that a reboot or movie would be happening, so it’s only just a matter of time.

‘Castle’

Castle lasted for eight seasons on ABC before being abruptly canceled in 2016. The dramatic reason for the cancellation being that producers fired Stana Katic, but that reason is still not entirely known. After the firing, the series ended up being canceled before getting a ninth season, even though it was a sure thing.

Since there wasn’t much closure for the end of Castle, having the series come back would definitely be a dream come true. It’s hard to tell how the cast feels about a revival or each other, but since it has been seven years, a reunion of some type is long overdue.

‘Big Sky’

One of the more recent cancellations, Big Sky was axed after three seasons on ABC, with the finale airing in January 2023. Based on C.J. Box’s The Highway book series, the crime drama followed Katheryn Winnick and Kylie Bunbury as investigators who work on cases in Montana. Season 3 saw some big guest stars with Reba McEntire and Jensen Ackles, but neither of them were enough to save the show.

Each season seemed to have focused on a different mystery, while the characters also still worked on smaller ones. While it may not have been as big as some other procedurals, Big Sky was still a pretty interesting one. Even though it didn’t end on any big cliffhanger, it still would have been nice to get some sort of closure for everyone.