Cancellation Carnage! Which Recently Cancelled Show Will You Miss the Most? Vote Now in Our Poll!

Dave Nemetz
·7 min read
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Every spring, we say goodbye to a host of cancelled network shows… and we know that some of those goodbyes can be especially tough.

In the past two months, the five major TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW — have axed a total of seven shows as they put the finishing touches on next year’s primetime schedules. That includes a CSI (CBS’ CSI: Vegas), an NCIS (CBS’ NCIS: Hawai’i) and a reboot of a beloved classic (NBC’s Quantum Leap), with familiar faces like Jon Cryer and Gina Rodriguez now looking for work as well. Sure, the networks are adding plenty of new shows for next season, too — but that doesn’t help ease the pain much, does it?

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We want to know which show you’ll be missing the most, though. So read on to see a full rundown of all the network TV shows that have been axed recently — you can always get the latest intel from our handy Renewal Scorecard, too — and then vote in our poll to let us know which shows you’re mourning the hardest. (It won’t help bring them back, but it can still be cathartic, in a way.) Plus, you can always vent your frustrations to us in the comments below — that’s what they’re there for, after all.

Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap
Quantum Leap

NBC dropped the axe on the sci-fi drama starring Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett in April after a two-season run. Based on the 1989-93 favorite led by Scott Bakula, Quantum Leap followed Lee’s physicist Ben Song as he bounced around time, inhabiting a new person’s body each week. Season 2 wrapped up in February with a finale that left Ben and Bassett’s Addison both trapped in the past. (Read our finale post mortem for more.)

Leap‘s sophomore run averaged 3.6 million total viewers and a 0.44 demo rating (with Live+7). Out of the 11 original dramas NBC has aired this TV season, it ranked last in audience and No. 9 in the demo (besting only the previously cancelled Magnum P.I. and La Brea).

Following the cancellation, Lee said in a statement: “Just wanted to say a thank you to our QL fans and those who’ve tuned in. Your support was felt and always warmly received. You all have made it the ride of a lifetime.” Bassett added: “So sorry to say… farewell leapers. Thank you so much for every moment of this amazing journey.”

So Help Me Todd

So Help Me Todd
So Help Me Todd

The mother-son legal drama led by Skylar Astin and Marcia Gay Harden was cancelled in April after two seasons at CBS. Astin starred as Todd, an aimless private investigator who goes to work at the law firm run by his mother Margaret, played by Harden.

In Season 2, Todd averaged 6.2 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), nearly matching its freshman numbers. Out of the 14 dramas that CBS aired this TV season, it ranked last in total viewers and bested only fellow casualty CSI: Vegas and the already-renewed NCIS: Sydney in the demo. (The finale aired May 16.)

Series creator Scott Prendergast paid tribute to the series following the cancellation news: “I took a story about me and my Mom and hundreds of people came together to build it into something else, something huge, something beautiful, something funny. Thank you to everyone involved, and to all our viewers. One million thank yous will never be enough.”

CSI: Vegas

CSI: Vegas
CSI: Vegas

CBS pulled the plug on this CSI offshoot — a revival of the original CSI that ran from 2000 to 2015 — in April following a three-season run. Paula Newsome starred as Maxine Roby, the head of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, with Marg Helgenberger reprising her CSI role as Catherine Willows.

CSI: Vegas is averaging 5.9 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), up 4% in audience from its Season 2 numbers and down a tenth in the demo. But out of the 14 dramas that CBS has aired this TV season, it ties for last in total audience and only bests NCIS: Sydney in the demo. The Season 3 — and series — finale will air this Sunday, May 19.

Helgenberger mourned the news on social media, saying: “I’m gonna miss my partners in crime solving. Each & every person involved with the making of this series brought their A-game each & every day. It was truly a pleasure & honor to work/play alongside such a fun & talented company of story tellers. Immeasurable thanks & gratitude to all for making this experience such a memorable ride. And to all the fans, we did it all for you.”

NCIS: Hawai’i

NCIS: Hawai’i
NCIS: Hawai’i

The Hawaii-set NCIS spinoff led by Vanessa Lachey got the heave-ho in April after three seasons at CBS. Lachey played Jane Tennant, who headed up a team of special agents based in the tropical paradise. The cast also included Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, Tori Anderson, Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon, with guest appearances from NCIS: Los Angeles alum LL Cool J. The series finale aired on May 6; check out a full recap here.

In its final season, NCIS: Hawai’i averaged 7.8 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 playback data), up 4% in viewers vs. Season 2 but down a tick in the demo. Out of the 14 drama series airing on CBS, it ranked No. 6 in total audience (behind Tracker, NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods and The Equalizer) and eighth in the demo.

Lachey posted a tribute to the show’s cast and crew following the news: “I wish we had more time, I’m sorry we don’t. I wish we had a proper goodbye, I’m sorry we didn’t.” Anderson — whose character Kate Whistler formed half of the fan-favorite couple #Kacy — added: “Having a really hard time processing this one… This is a huge loss for representation.”

Extended Family

Extended Family
Extended Family

NBC’s freshman sitcom starring Jon Cryer, Donald Faison and Abigail Spencer got nixed earlier this month after a 13-episode run. Cryer played Jim, who still lives under the same roof with his ex-wife Julia (Spencer), but things get awkward when she starts dating the owner of his favorite sports team (Faison).

Extended Family’s freshman run averaged 3.2 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (with Live+7 playback). Out of the three sitcoms NBC aired this TV season, it distantly trailed the recently renewed Night Court in both measures, but it handily beat Lopez vs. Lopez (which was renewed for Season 3). The season — and now series — finale aired on March 26.

Not Dead Yet

Not Dead Yet
Not Dead Yet

This Gina Rodriguez-led comedy got the axe earlier this month following a two-season run. Rodriguez starred as Nell, a journalist who writes obituaries and discovers she can communicate with the dead people she’s writing about from beyond the grave. The cast also included Hannah Simone (New Girl), Joshua Banday (Upload), Lauren Ash (Superstore), Rick Glassman (As We See It) and Angela Gibbs (On My Block). Brad Garrett joined the cast in Season 2 as newspaper owner Duncan.

In Season 2, Not Dead Yet averaged 2.7 million total viewers and a 0.3 demo rating (with Live+7 playback), down 21% and 40% from its freshman run. Among ABC’s three sitcoms, it ranked last in both measures. The Season 2 finale, which now serves as the series ender, aired April 24. (Read our finale post mortem with Rodriguez here.)

Housebroken

Housebroken
Housebroken

The Fox animated comedy about a bunch of neighborhood animals who go to group therapy together was cancelled earlier this month after two seasons. The voice cast included Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Clea DuVall, Nat Faxon, Sharon Horgan, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson and Jason Mantzoukas.

Season 2, which wrapped up last summer, averaged 460,000 total viewers and a 0.1 demo rating (with Live+7 playback). The cancellation caps Housebroken’s run at a total of 30 episodes.

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