10 Cancelled Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series That Deserved Better

Crossing our fingers for reboots and revivals.

Firefly Fox
20th Television

With what many consider the golden era of Television changing the landscape for how high concept (and high budget) TV could really be, it's no surprise how many amazing titles have come out in the past couple of decades. With many of these shows falling under the mercy of ratings, views, or other behind the scenes issues, however, it's also no surprise how many fall under the axe before their time, or fall from grace even before their eventual cancellation.

The sci-fi and fantasy genres in particular have had a surge in excellent serial storytelling, going from niche to firmly mainstream in some cases (such as HBO's cultural phenomenon, Game Of Thrones), with many broadcasters and streaming services opening up to great, otherworldly fiction.

Though there might be many good reasons, and many terrible ones, that a TV show could end on a sour note, or never even get a proper ending, it's safe to say that when it comes to the really excellent ones, it and its disappointed fans often deserved way better than it got.

And though there are dozens of such shows in the sci-fi/fantasy genres that deserve to be mentioned, here are ten of some of the more recent ones fans still miss until today.

Spoilers ahead for general plot points of these series!

10. Grimm

Firefly Fox
NBC

Grimm had a great run, with six fairly strong seasons to its name, but its monster of the week format, its close to horror fantasy edge, and its increasingly intriguing overarching mysteries got an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion after its announced cancellation.

There was clearly a lot planned for this show, with elements set up all the way back in Season 1 for the characters to discover, but unfortunately what fans got was a rushed conclusion, a weirdly set up romance between the main character and his longest running antagonist at the cost of a healthy romantic partnership, and a vision of the future where their kids take after their legacy without much setup or fanfare.

Characters were killed off, the story lost its more grounded elements to a somewhat convoluted conclusion, and while, unlike other shows that didn't get to have an ending at all, it actually got to bookend its tale, there was a lot left to be desired and a lot to be missed.

While it's uncertain that fans want a reboot, the world was interesting enough that more about it and its characters wouldn't be unwelcome.

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Writer, artist, professional animator. Indie comics and Hi Nay podcast creator. Queer Filipino storyteller || @MotzieD on Twitter || Originally from Quezon City, The Philippines. Currently based in Toronto, Canada || motziedapul.com