11 TV shows that were canceled and then uncanceled

As the 2023 Writers Guild Of America kicked off, CBS seemed to think they could shuffle S.W.A.T. off the stage quietly. But star Shemar Moore had other ideas. He posted an impassioned defense of the series to his Instagram (per ), saying, “Its [sic] all about money, y’all. They said we’re canceled, but guess what I don’t think we’re done.”Turns out, he was right. Renewal talks picked up immediately after the cancelation was announced, and CBS acquiesced to giving the series a final season. “We have listened to our viewers and their outpouring of passion for S.W.A.T. and we have reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year,” Amy Reisenbach, President of CBS Entertainment and Katherine Pope, President of Sony Pictures Television Studios, said in a joint statement (via Deadline). “S.W.A.T. has aired for six seasons on CBS and garnered a devoted following. We are pleased that we found a way to bring it back and give closure to the show’s storylines and characters, which audiences deserve. Once again, we appreciate the talents and efforts of the cast, writers, producers and crew and everyone who has contributed to the success of S.W.A.T. We look forward to its return next season.”Moore expressed his gratitude in another , attributing the return to the fans’ support. “If we’re gonna go out, we’re gonna go out the right way,” Moore told the “HOMIES, FANS, n BABY GIRLS.” He added: “Trust me, we going out like motherfuckin’ champs.” [Mary Kate Carr]

Veena Sud’s slow-burn crime drama, ran for two seasons on AMC before it was canceled in 2012. , the show follows Detective Sarah Linden struggling to solve the death of a teen girl. Admittedly, The Killing has a lagging pace, but that’s by design. It became quickly beloved for Enos and her co-star performances—before AMC killed it. Less than a month in, FOX Television Studios struck a deal to bring it back and a 12-episode third season ran on AMC. The cable network continued with its twists and turns by canceling it a final time. Once again, fans worked their magic and Netflix stepped in to give The Killing proper closure for a short and sweet fourth season. [Saloni Gajjar]

Positioned as a mid-season replacement to American Idol, Fox’s had both big shoes to fill and a healthy viewership cushion to land on when it premiered in April 2011. The series, which chronicled the staff of Contra Security as they test their own security systems by staging various break-ins (hence the name), ran for seven episodes before being unceremoniously canceled in May 2011 along with Human Target, The Chicago Code, Lie To Me, and Traffic Light. However, when June rolled around, Fox picked up options on Breaking In’s cast—led by Christian Slater and Bret Harrison—through November, paving the way for more episodes. Ultimately, the series returned for a second, thirteen-episode season. [Hattie Lindert]

Back in 2013, Lifetime’s lived up to its name when the series was canceled after four seasons as a result of failed cost-cutting measures, then brought back to life three months later after Lifetime and Sony Pictures Television were able to come to an agreement on a whittled down budget. After the initial cancellation, the series—which followed a plus-sized attorney, Jane (Brooke Elliott), who dies after taking a literal bullet for her boss only to find her physical form inhabited by a fashion model, Deb Dobkins, who died at the same time—went on to air a fifth season and earn a 13-episode sixth season renewal. The series officially concluded after six seasons in June 2014. [Hattie Lindert]

RIP, you were gone too soon. NBC’s sci-fi series was like the opening of a joke: a historian, an engineer, and a soldier walk into a time travel machine. Despite this reductive description, Timeless was an entertaining drama following Lucy (), Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), and Wyatt (Matt Lanter) on their hijinks across time to stop the villain from changing the course of history for his benefit. The network canceled the show after season one in 2017. The outpouring of love from fans caused them to reverse course only three days later, giving . To give the show a proper conclusion, they at least revived it for a two-part finale several months later, so we can sleep in peace knowing how their lives turned out. Still, never forget we could’ve had more seasons of Timeless fun. [Saloni Gajjar]

When Charles In Charge first premiered on CBS in 1984, one thing quickly became clear: for all that the college-aged Charles (Scott Baio) presided over, he couldn’t control the series’ cancellation. After one 22-episode season, CBS axed the series due to poor ratings, but a case of good timing breathed new life into the sitcom, which followed Charles during his tenure as a live-in caretaker for affluent couple Stan and Jill Pembroke’s three kids Jason, Douglas, and Lila. Capitalizing on a timely trend of trying on first-run syndication for size when a network series didn’t quite land, Universal Television relaunched Charles In Charge in 1987, sending Charles to Seattle and saddling him with three new charges: Ellen Powell’s children Jamie, Sarah, and Adam. The show went on to run for four more seasons, ultimately concluding in 1990 after airing a grand total of 126 episodes. [Hattie Lindert]

, a post-apocalyptic drama about a small American town in the aftermath of nuclear attacks elsewhere in the country, was canned by CBS after so-so ratings. But fans wouldn’t stand for it: in one of the most impressive and successful fan campaigns in TV history, they banded together to send to the network, a reference to a line—“Nuts”—uttered by star Skeet Ulrich in the first season finale (which was itself a reference to a quote from Gen. Anthony McAuliffe at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II). Their peanut-based efforts paid off, and the show was granted a second season. Going from a slow burn 22 episodes to an abbreviated seven was a rocky transition, though, and the ratings did not rebound enough to justify . [Mary Kate Carr]

Roseanne enjoyed an impressive run in its first iteration, airing 10 seasons on ABC. When reboot/revival fever swept the nation in the 2010s, the classic blue-collar sitcom was amongst those to return, led by original cast members Roseanne Barr and John Goodman. Unfortunately, Barr’s politics got in the way, and an unfortunate tweet about Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett saw the entire operation . Given that Barr was the only liability of the cast, though, the network had the brilliant idea to try . Thus, the cancelation was reversed and , and has continued for a healthy five seasons so far. [Mary Kate Carr]

’s survival was a unique case of a series migrating overseas and finding a dedicated fanbase. The Austen adaptation was well received in the U.K., but primary network ITV nevertheless pulled the plug after the first season. But when the season aired on its U.S. home, PBS Masterpiece, renewed fervor got the Masterpiece folks interested in more, according to executive producer Belinda Campbell. “As soon as it became clear that it had done well in the U.S., that galvanized us. It took a fair amount of time after that to get the money together,” she told . Though the series suffered the loss of its romantic lead in Theo James, it was nevertheless renewed for a second and third season, which concluded with a series finale in April 2023. “What the fans did – it wasn’t just this social media campaign,” Campbell explained to The Post in 2022. “They sent gifts, they sent letters to me, to ITV, to Masterpiece. They did stunts, they drew Sidney and Charlotte in the sand on a beach in England. The amount of effort and ingenuity that went into it was incredibly heartening, and it spurred us on. It made Masterpiece think, ‘There really is an audience here, a dedicated fan base.’ It gave us something to hold onto while on that journey.” [Mary Kate Carr]

In October 2021, showrunner George Olsen broke the news on Twitter that his paranormal Syfy series had been canceled. “We’re committed to finding a new home for #SurrealEstate, and if there’s one thing The Roman Agency knows about, it’s finding new homes,” . “You can help us by keeping #SurrealEstate in your hearts, minds, tweets and posts.” Rather than a new home, though, the Canadian show wound up right back at its old home at SyFy. The network announced in May 2022 that the show would return for a second season in 2023, with stars Tim Rozon and Sarah Levy (both Schitt’s Creek alums) set to return. “Really??? Season 2???” a fan wrote on Twitter in May 2023. “Yeah, I was surprised too,” . [Mary Kate Carr]

Few series were canceled as frequently as Unforgettable, the police procedural starring Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh. It was first canceled by CBS after its first season, earning the distinction of the most-watched series to get canceled in the 2011-2012 season (per ). But when production company Sony TV began shopping the show to other networks, CBS changed its mind and conceded to a second season renewal. CBS canceled the show again after the third season, but the show was revived by A&E, making it the extremely rare case of a series saved from cancelation by its own network and another. The show didn’t last long at A&E, though, and was canceled for a final time after the fourth season aired. [Mary Kate Carr]