20 TV Shows Canceled Too Soon and 10 That Overstayed Their Welcome (2009-2019 Edition)

For every show whose time on the air was too short, there’s always a show that overstayed its welcome. Here are 10 shows that should’ve wrapped things up sooner.

1. Dexter (2006-2013)

When Dexter was good, it was very, very good. When it was bad, it was horrid.

Dexter experienced plenty of highs during the first half of its run, but midway through the series, it began to struggle mightily, not always sure what to do with its antihero, Dexter, or his sister, Deb.

Their character development stalled and then altogether stopped making sense.

It continued to squander all of its potential for seasons, marching towards a slow, painful death. 

2. Girls (2012-2017)

HBO’s Girls premiered to much fanfare, and you’d often hear people discussing the “Girl” with whom they most identified.

Over the years, the fanfare fizzled. The girls stayed…girls. They didn’t necessarily evolve, and soon, the character’s mistrials and musings became grating.

The path of growing up isn’t a straight line, but the girls consistently seemed to be taking two steps back for every one step forward.

The show went out with a whimper; its finale, a bottle episode set months ahead, was divisive even for the fans who had stuck with the show until the very end.

3. Glee (2009-2015)

Few shows enjoy the lightning in a bottle success that Glee did during its first seasons on air. However, as with many shows that experience success early in their runs, the quality was not sustainable.

Plotlines devolved into pure camp and insanity, the show struggled to find its way when its core characters graduated and moved elsewhere, and it never truly recovered after the loss of leading man Cory Monteith.

It would have been better if it had concluded at the end of Season 3 right as Rachel moved on to follow her New York dreams, but the series continued on for an additional three uneven seasons.

4. House of Cards (2013-2018)

House of Cards‘ fate was unclear following star Kevin Spacey’s dismissal from the show for sexual misconduct. While Netflix initially planned to cancel the show, star Robin Wright lobbied for it to continue for one final season.

While Season 5 ended with the thrilling development that First Lady Claire would be taking the reigns in the Oval Office, Season 6 failed to impress. It was messy, convoluted, and primarily about Spacey’s character, Frank, despite the fact that he never once appeared onscreen.  

It mostly wasted Wright’s considerable gifts and concluded the series with an unceremonious thud.

5. How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

How I Met Your Mother filled a unique role; it was both a buddy comedy and a romantic comedy, and for years, it succeeded as both. However, as time marched on and more time passed without meeting the aforementioned Mother, goodwill declined, and the jokes grew stale.

A brief glimpse of the Mother during the Season 8 finale galvanized viewers and breathed much-needed life into the show.

Season 9 was almost entirely focused on the days immediately preceding Barney and Robin’s wedding; it was drawn out and ultimately seemed ridiculous in light of the revelation in the finale that their marriage only lasted a handful of years.

The finale of How I Met Your Mother seemed to undo the development characters had undergone for years. Overall, it left audiences exhausted and wondering why they’d stuck around for the highs and lows of the series.

6. Nashville (2012-2018)

After being cancelled by ABC in 2016, CMT quickly picked up Nashville, giving it a second chance. But given the downward spiral that defined the last two seasons, it’s hard to shake the idea that it should have just stayed cancelled.

Nashville‘s last seasons were characterized by a multitude of messy, terrible storylines, but none were more instrumental to its decline as the death of Rayna (Connie Britton). 

Some shows can survive their leading character moving on or being killed off, finding new life. Nashville was not one of them. 

Britton’s absence only underscored Nashville‘s weaknesses, and it limped on for another season and a half after she left.

7. The Office (2005-2013)

Michael Scott was the heart and soul of The Office, and his final episodes mark some of the series’ best moments. However, when Michael left Dunder Mifflin to start his new life with Holly, The Office probably should have closed up shop.

What followed were several middling seasons of unfunny bosses (somehow Catherine Tate, James Spader, and Will Ferrell, all naturally funny, were exceedingly not funny when they took over the top job), a misguided focus on Andy, and worse still, problems in Jim and Pam’s marriage.

By the time the show officially ended, its best years were far in the rearview mirror.

8. Once Upon a Time (2011-2018)

Once Upon a Time was never high art but it was fun, especially if you were a fairy tale fan. As time went on though, it started to flail, leveraging gimmicks, introducing and quickly abandoning characters, and leaving plot holes left and right.

Leading character Emma (Jennifer Morrison) evolved into a weaker character, much different from the strong woman she was in early episodes, and the show simply lost its way.

By its last season, much of the original main cast was gone from the show with Season 7 serving as a creative reboot that never quite took off. Audiences and fans lived happily never after.

9. Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)

Pretty Little Liars started out as light, frothy fun.

However, as the show continued, its plot twists became increasingly ludicrous and far fetched (even for the PLL universe) and didn’t lead to a very satisfying payoff. An ability to suspend belief is a requirement for a show like this, but the more the show twisted and turned, the less it seemed to adhere to even its own warped logic.

Its final twist, utilizing the dumb and overused evil twin trope, took the show to new lows. Audiences, and the Liars, deserved better.

10. Scrubs (2001-2010)

Scrubs, the show that launched the career of Zach Braff, was brilliant in its heyday.

It blended comedy, whimsy, and emotional depth like few sitcoms could. The Scrubs Season 8 finale, complete with a moving final montage set to Peter Gabriel’s “The Book of Love,” is simply perfect.

While the Season 8 finale would have been an appropriate ending to the series, ABC renewed the show for another season but with a twist.

Gone were the bulk of the show’s regulars and the show’s original hospital setting. Instead, the show primarily focused on a crop of med school students with a few assists from J.D. and Turk.

Overall, the format didn’t work; the show tried hard to make us care about this new group of students, particularly new protagonist Lucy, but audiences struggled to connect with them. Had it been its own show, it might not have struggled so much, but the Scrubs branding felt off.

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What shows did we miss? Sound off in the comments about shows you wish had aired for longer periods or series that went on past their prime!

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