NBC’s cancelation of the supernatural drama Manifest following the third season greatly backfired, as the show skyrocketed in popularity afterward. An astronomical increase in streaming viewership worked in favor of Manifest, as Netflix saved the show by renewing it for a fourth and final season.
Some shows have been incredibly lucky to receive a streaming service revival, giving fans old and new a satisfying closure. However, the majority of shows, unfortunately, remain canceled. Similar to Manifest, quite a few shows earned both newfound respect and a new set of fans after being canceled.
10/10 Family Guy
Family Guy is a mammoth show that started from humble beginnings. Created by Seth MacFarlane, the show is about the outrageous antics surrounding the Griffin family of Rhode Island. The adult animated comedy was raunchy and hilarious, a surprise for the late 90s and early 2000s.
Following its abrupt cancelation in season 3, Family Guy was picked up for syndication by Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block Adult Swim. The combination of DVD sales and Adult Swim reruns greatly contributed to Fox renewing Family Guy. The show returned in 2005 and hasn’t looked back since.
9/10 Freaks and Geeks
The teen genre is always popular in Hollywood, which is why the creation of Freaks and Geeks was very fitting. Created by future Hollywood bigwigs Paul Fieg and Judd Apatow, the dramedy followed the ups and downs surrounding a motley crew of high schoolers living in Detroit, Michigan.
The show ended after one season, but its cancelation brought about new fans. 22 years following its ending, Freaks and Geeks has developed a large cult following and catapulted its cast to superstardom, including Jason Segel, Linda Cardinelli and Seth Rogen.
8/10 Arrested Development
Despite its low RT score, the Emmy-winning Arrested Development has had quite the journey since its inception. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer produced the sitcom revolving around the eccentric but wealthy Bluth family, with son Michael (Jason Bateman) being the only straight-thinking member. Arrested Development was kooky in its humor but got canceled after season three.
The show became hugely popular once it was available on Netflix, gaining a much-deserved following over the years. Netflix revived Arrested Development for two more seasons in 2013 and 2019, respectively, but they lacked the sparkle of their preceding seasons.
7/10 Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks, an early 90s show, seamlessly blended the procedural and mystery genres, with acclaimed director David Lynch being at the helm of the show’s creation. Its unique premise was a bit advanced for the average viewer, with low ratings ultimately leading to the show’s cancelation, ending on a cliffhanger.
Similar to Freaks and Geeks, Twin Peaks has established a cult following. The show has served as a source of inspiration for other series within the genre, including The X-Files and Supernatural. Following Twin Peaks’ 1992 movie, Showtime produced a third season in 2017.
6/10 Parks and Recreation
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Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the geniuses behind the hit American adaptation of The Office, made an entirely new series in Parks and Recreation. Borrowing from The Office‘s mockumentary style with a splash of political satire, the show focuses on a group of county officials for Pawnee, Indiana’s parks department.
Parks and Rec would get a new lease on life once it began streaming on Netflix and Hulu after its cancelation. Even though Amy Poehler’s female protagonist Leslie Knope made some dumb decisions, she is still an intriguing character to watch, as is the rest of her ragtag team.
5/10 Firefly
Merging genres is not an easy task to fulfill, but Firefly managed to combine space adventures and Western drama very well. The 2002 series centered on a space crew navigating a world hundreds of years into the future. In addition to its galactic story, Firefly also launched the careers of such stars as Nathan Fillon and Morena Baccarin.
The show is infamous for its cliffhanger ending in the first and only season. Impressive DVD sales played a pivotal role in the increased popularity after cancelation. Fans got their wish for a continuation of sorts in 2005 with the film Serenity.
4/10 Futurama
In its premise and Y2K debut, Futurama was ahead of its time. Created by Matt Groening of The Simpsons fame, the show follows goofy pizza delivery boy Fry and his adventures after falling a thousand years into the future. Despite positive reviews, the ratings weren’t substantial, leading to the show being canceled in 2003.
Similar to Family Guy, the show aired as reruns in syndication on Adult Swim after its cancelation, which brought about a network renewal. Comedy Central revived the show in 2009 before ending it with the seventh season in 2013. In 2022, Futurama was revived again, this time by Hulu.
3/10 The Wire
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David Simon and Ed Burns combined their knowledge of law and crime to create The Wire in 2002. HBO’s procedural crime drama revolves around the good and bad sides of the law and the streets of Baltimore. Even though Simon was open to a sixth season, the show was canceled in 2008 after five seasons.
Nearly fifteen years after ending, The Wire gained a newfound appreciation from both viewers and the masses as a whole for its depth and transparency. In 2013, The Writer’s Guild of America’s list of “101 Best Written Shows” included The Wire.
2/10 You
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Adapted from Caroline Knepes’s novel of the same name, the erotic/psychological thriller series You debuted on Lifetime in 2018. The show followed Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a man as deranged as he is charming, stalking the women he desires.
You increased in popularity after landing on Netflix following Lifetime’s cancelation. Such remarkable numbers prompted the streaming giant to renew a second season. Season 3 would not only solidify Victoria Pedretti’s Love Quinn as a compelling drama deuteragonist, but it would also end dystopian drama Squid Game‘s reign of having the number one spot in Netflix’s Top 10 shows.
1/10 Lucifer
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2022’s The Sandman is not the only television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed comic book series. Preceding the Netflix show would be Fox’s Lucifer, revolving around the devil himself raising hell in Los Angeles, fantastically played by Tom Ellis.
Fox’s decision to cancel Lucifer after three seasons due to low ratings ended up serving an ironic twist as the show propelled to the top of the Netflix charts (via comicbook.com). Netflix renewed Lucifer for season 4 and wrapped with season 6 in 2021, but the mixed ending has left fans craving a seventh season.
