‘A.P. Bio,’ ‘Veronica Mars’ & More Canceled Shows That Got a Second Chance
Ratings aren’t everything when it comes to a TV show’s renewal. If a show is canceled, a vocal fan base has, in the past, been able to convince other networks to pick up their favorite program. In some cases, series develop even larger followings long after their time on air, leading to a revival from beyond the grave.
With a new season of A.P Bio now on Peacock, as well as the continued success of American Idol and Conan, we’re taking a look at eight shows that found success twice over.
Scroll down to see a list of series, past and present, that beat cancellation.
A.P Bio
Original Network: NBC
Saved By: Peacock
Where You Can Stream: Peacock
Starring Glen Howerton of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Patton Oswalt, A.P Bio focuses on Dr. Jack Carson Griffin, a Harvard philosophy professor who desperately takes a job as a high school biology teacher. Though canceled after only two seasons on NBC, the network quickly revived the series for their streaming service Peacock. The show aired its eight-episode third season this past September, with plans for a fourth season still unannounced.
Community
Original Network: NBC
Saved By: Yahoo Screens
Where You Can Stream: Netflix
This quirky sitcom about a disbarred lawyer’s enrollment in community college introduced network audiences to Donald Glover and John Oliver, as well as developed a cult following owing to its unique focus on meta-humor. It seemed that fans were in the “darkest timeline” when NBC canceled the series 2014. Thankfully, Yahoo Screens picked up the series for a sixth and final season. Now all that’s left is a movie.
Arrested Development
Original Network: Fox
Saved By: Netflix
Where You Can Stream: Netflix
Arrested Development was ahead of its time when it first aired in 2003. Featuring Jason Bateman and a young Michael Cera, the show centered on the Bluths, a dysfunctional family forced to deal with the legal repercussions of a corrupt real estate business. Without DVRs or dedicated streaming sites, however, casual watchers felt alienated by the show’s complex and continuous inter-season plot line. When Netflix produced its first run of original programming in 2013, the show was immediately greenlit for a revival that lasted two seasons (plus a re-imagining of season 4 called Arrested Development Season 4 Remix: Fateful Consequences).
Futurama
Original Network: Fox
Saved By: Comedy Central
Where You Can Stream: Hulu
Matt Groening’s sci-fi comedy about an intergalactic delivery company struck a chord with future minded viewers at the turn of the century. Unfortunately, interest in the series dwindled as episode airings became more and more disorganized. Through reruns on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, a second audience rediscovered the show’s balance of heart and “nerdy” humor, resulting in a five-year revival on Comedy Central.
Conan
Original Network: NBC
Saved By: TBS
Where You Can Stream: TBS
The controversy over Conan O’Brien’s start and abrupt end as the host of The Tonight Show is one for the television history books. After a bitter dispute over the show’s coveted 11:35 PM time slot, Conan agreed to leave The Tonight Show and not appear on TV for eight months in exchange for a massive exit package of $45 million. When this deal was finished, TBS immediately signed Conan. Though the show has undergone a few changes since its debut in 2010, it remains a staple of TBS programming to this day.
Veronica Mars
Original Network: UPN
Saved By: The WB (The CW) and Hulu
Where You Can Stream: Hulu
The cast, crew, and fans of Veronica Mars are renowned for their passion and patience. Starring Kristen Bell, the series centers on Veronica Mars, a self-professed private investigator who solves mysteries inbetween attending school. Shuffled from the now defunct UPN to the WB, the series was cancelled in 2007 only to be revived twice: first as a crowdfunded film and later as a Hulu original. Though there are no plans for another season, “Marshmallows” may also enjoy the show’s 2014 meta-spin off Play It Again, Dick (which aired on CW Seed, to add more confusion).
Clone High
Original Network: MTV
Saved By: MTV
Where You Can Stream: YouTube (Full Series)
This “high-brow” animated high school comedy about melodramatic clones of JFK, Abraham Lincoln, and Cleopatra (among others) created real-world panic after only one season. Hunger strikes broke out in India in response to the show’s unflattering caricature of Gandhi, forcing MTV to cancel the series. Owing to cameos in films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and multiple viral internet memes, MTV is set to reboot the series within the next few years.
American Idol
Original Network: Fox
Saved By: ABC
Where You Can Stream: ABC
The groundbreaking singing competition that launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, and countless other pop stars steadily lost its audience in its final seasons on Fox. After a two-year hiatus, ABC revived the series alongside the return of original host Ryan Seacrest. With new judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie at the helm, the ABC revival has already aired three successful seasons (with a fourth on the way).
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Seems weird to have this topic while leaving off so many obvious shows. Lucifer, Longmire, The Game, Brooklyn 99, American Dad, Cougar Town, Stargate SG1, The Mindy Project, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Baywatch, Clueless and Southland were all saved after cancellation by other networks and ran for multiple seasons afterwards. Not to mention the biggest save of all JAG, which ran for 9 more seasons and spun-off a whole universe of 30+ seasons of NCIS shows.
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