These 10 TV Shows Were Canceled Almost Immediately

One of the hardest accomplishments in Hollywood is bringing a television show from an idea to the small screen, where millions will see the result of the efforts of hundreds of people in their pursuit of crafting entertainment. That's why it is painful and sad to hear about a show being canceled almost immediately, even if it was terrible. It's a rare thing, as most networks will air a complete season before canceling a low-rated series. However, some shows are just so bad that executives can't take the risk of continuing to air them.  

In the latest example, ABC "soft-canceled" Promised Land, a critically acclaimed drama about a family that runs a California vineyard. The show failed to draw a big audience, so ABC moved the rest of the already-produced first season to Hulu. The show was formally canceled in May, alongside Queens, which did see all 13 of its produced episodes air.

Another recent example of a show that was allowed to continue airing despite low ratings was NBC's science fiction series Debris. Even though the show never attracted a big audience, every episode of the first season aired before it was formally canceled. On the other side of that spectrum though, there is the infamous case of a show that was canceled in the middle of its debut.

Lately, some networks have been more open to giving shows a chance as live ratings mean less and less. This means it's rare for shows to be canceled before their seasons finish airing. It did happen recently though. In May 2021, ABC suddenly canceled the Katey Sagal-starring Rebel after only a few episodes aired. The rest of the already-produced episodes were shown to audiences, which was a consolation for many fans still disappointed the show was not renewed. Although Rebel was even created by Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, ABC executives said they just didn't see the show attracting a big-enough audience to keep it alive. Here's a look at nine other shows that were canceled extremely quickly.