I'm a TV editor and these are 5 TV shows that should never have been cancelled – do you agree?

I was personally heartbroken when this gem of a period drama was cancelled after just one season. Despite rave reviews and an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, Prime Video pulled the plug on this historical romantic series in 2024. 

Starring Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel, this playful retelling of Tudor history reimagines the life of Lady Jane Grey, the "nine-day queen" who historically met a bloody end at the guillotine. In this alternate-history drama, Jane is unexpectedly crowned queen overnight and quickly becomes a target for the nefarious villains plotting to take her throne. 

With a supernatural twist, Tudor England is split between humans – known as Verities – and Ethians, who can shift into animal form.

Fans were devastated by the cancellation, launching a petition that garnered over 100,000 signatures and received public support from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. 

It is a massive loss that this gripping psychological thriller was axed after just two seasons. Undeniably one of the best crime dramas ever produced by Netflix, Mindhunter followed FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they pioneered criminal profiling techniques for the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit in the late 1970s. 

The series captivated audiences with its dramatised interviews with real-life serial killers like Ed Kemper and Charles Manson.

Despite widespread critical acclaim and a devoted cult following, the show was placed on indefinite hold after season two, and Netflix confirmed in 2023 that it would not be returning.

Fans were crushed when Netflix pulled the plug on The Society. This mystery teen drama, inspired by William Golding's Lord of the Flies, follows a group of privileged teenagers forced to forge their own society after the adults in their town mysteriously vanish. 

While the first season laid the groundwork for a second outing – ending on a cliffhanger that left the central mystery wide open – Netflix cancelled the series due to COVID-19-related complications. 

The good news? Lead star Kathryn Newton would return in a heartbeat. "I loved The Society and the cast is iconic," she told HELLO! earlier this year. "Everyone on that cast, I think we just got lucky. I don't know what happened. Chris Keyser picked a really good group of young actors, and they're all doing such amazing things.

"So I would do it in a heartbeat. I talk to Chris Keyser all the time, the creator and showrunner. You know what? Anytime, Netflix!"

This cult coming-of-age drama remains one of the defining series of the 90s, yet it was axed by NBC after a single season due to low ratings. Set at the fictional McKinley High School in 1980, the series follows a group of students navigating the painful realities of adolescence. 

Its creators, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, went on to become big names of 21st-century comedy, helping launch the careers of stars like Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and James Franco. 

Its abrupt ending is still mourned nearly 30 years later.

In 2024, Feig touched on the possibility of a reunion. "I mean, people always want to do a sequel, reunion or something and I'm not a fan of those kind of things," he told LadBible. "If I had a story, if some great idea came into my head, yeah, fine. Because also, the [actors] are still young – it is always sad when you do a reunion and they are all old. But they are all in their prime, so you never know."

The cancellation of GLOW in 2020 was a crushing blow, especially since Netflix had already renewed the series for a fourth and final season before reversing the decision due to the pandemic. 

The premature end was just as painful for the cast. Star Alison Brie described it as "the great heartbreak of my career." She told Decider: "But it will forever live on as, like, this great thing. I loved working on it — maybe more than anything I’ve worked on! — and I miss it a lot. But I feel very grateful for the time I had on the show."

Set in 1980s Hollywood, the series offers a fictionalised take on the true story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, following a group of women who reinvent themselves as professional wrestlers.