Sometimes defining when a series is canceled can be somewhat ambiguous. Did the series end because the time came to conclude naturally or did they turn off the tap and they had to force events to give an ending to the story?
The truth is that there are cases in which you can give a decent ending to a canceled series (or even give it a final season some time later) but today we are going to relive some of those unsatisfactory endings of series that deserved more episodes to be able to say goodbye properly.
‘Penny Dreadful’
The series created by John Logan (screenwriter of ‘Sweeney Todd’), starring Eva Green and Timothy Dalton brought us back to English gothic literature characterslike Dorian Gray or Frankenstein, in a cloudy story, full of disturbing characters and with an unhealthy atmosphere that captivated us for 3 seasons.
While it cannot be said that the series does not have an ending, it left a bitter feeling due to the suddenness of the events of that last season, not to mention that many characters were left hanging and their plots were not resolved in a satisfactory and consistent way to be their final farewell. The taste in our mouths is even worse when we remember that, given the opportunity to revive the series, instead they brought us ‘Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’, which had little or nothing to do with it.
‘The OA’
Before Netflix became the hive of cancellations that it is now, this particular series created by Zal Batmanglij (‘The East’) and Brit Marling (‘Another Earth’), also protagonist. An enigmatic bet where a blind woman reappearedafter seven years in unknown whereabouts, With sight restored and a mystical story behind their backs.
A unique series that could have stayed in a single season but decided to continue with a second even more cryptic if possible. This sequel added more questions to the ones we already had and concluded with a most shocking cliffhanger that deserved to have been able to develop, if not because Netflix decided to put an end to his career. Too bad, because it was one of the most different proposals on the platform and could have given much more of itself.
‘Firefly’
Joss Whedon he is already an expert in cancellations. He happened to him at the time with ‘Buffy, Vampire Slayer’ (which yes, has an end, but would have deserved something less abrupt and more conclusive), ‘Dollhouse’, ‘Angel’ and with the series that concerns us. this story that combined western and space operawith Nathan Fillion at the helm of the cast, became a true cult title and could have flown very far, if they had let him.
All “thanks” to Fox, who mistreated the series by broadcasting it in a disorderly way, with the consequent cancellation due to low audiences. The success of the domestic format edition made ‘Serenity’ become a reality three years later. The film continued the adventures of its characters but, even so, it felt like little and left us wanting to have had more seasons.
‘as dead as me’
Another cancellation expert is Bryan Fuller, whose most beloved series have been hastily ended: ‘Hannibal’, ‘Raising Malvas’, ‘American Gods’… and ‘Dead like me’. The series about a teenage girl who dies suddenly when a toilet falls on her and becomes part of some sort of organization from the Beyond, he also met an untimely end.
Is black comedy always had a staunch community of fans but it was canceled after two seasons, among which Fuller’s departure from the series occurred due to the creative clash between him and the producers of the series. Many plots fell by the wayside, and five years later he tried to revive himself with a film that simply didn’t do the original justice.
‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’
In an age where lack of ideas abounds, rarely have we seen a more inspired ‘spin-off’ than this prequel to the ‘The Dark Crystal’ movie. Made with care and immense love for the original storythe series staged how the conflict between gelflings and skeksis arose, using puppets to bring the cast of characters to life.
Unfortunately, Netflix canceled it shortly after winning the Emmy to the best children’s program (surely, due to its high costs). It was very painful to see how such a careful and crafted series was left at the gates, with an open ending that deserved continuity beyond the conclusion that we already knew from the movie.
‘carnival’
Before ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and other titles that established HBO as a relevant brand, ‘Carnivale’ became one of its first big hits. Created by Daniel Knauf (‘The Blacklist’), its first chapter was the most watched on HBO at the time with his strange cocktail of fantasy, historical drama and circus creatures.
It was a series that polarized the audience and was declining until it was canceled after two seasons, leaving practically all the plot lines in the air and without any conclusion. An iconic series that, unfortunately, will remain eternally unfinished.
‘Close Enough’
Animation is also a victim of cancellations and you just have to take a look at the list of series that have received the HBO hack. One of them is ‘Close Enough’, the JG Quintel’s new adult series (‘Current stories’) that took us to the chaotic life in Los Angeles of a couple in their thirties with a five-year-old daughter.
This wonderful comedy lasted three seasons until HBO announced its end. Being episodic, we cannot say that it had a main plot that was not resolved, although that does not mean that the last episode was another autoconclusive more and did not give the definitive farewell that its characters deserved.
‘Sense8’
We end up with the beloved Wachowski sisters series, where we were presented with eight characters from different cultures with the ability to communicate and connect with each other, despite being in different places. A beautiful story that also included elements of science fiction and that it was originally intended for five seasons.
In the end it was only two, since it was one of the most expensive series to produce for Netflix, and at least they had a special of two hours to give a conclusion to the series. Even though they put all the meat on the grill and finished with a bang, the background plot was for much more and that is why it left us with a bittersweet taste.