10 Great TV Shows That Got Cancelled After Just 1 Season
4. Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks has by now become a staple of every "cancelled too soon" list and this one is no different. Created in 1999 by Paul Feig and, more famously, executive produced by Judd Apatow, this cult classic lasted only 18 episodes but it created a legacy that is still going strong.
A textbook example of a good coming-of-age story, Freaks and Geeks brings the perfect combination of comedy and drama. Its characters seem like genuine people who you might have gone to high school with, and the show leverages that nostalgia to get you invested in the storylines.
Apart from great writing, the characters benefit from a very talented cast who breathe life into them. People like James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel were virtual unknowns at the time but used the show as a springboard for their careers.
Sadly, the production was notorious for constant creative differences and conflicts between the creators and the network and that culminated in its cancellation halfway through the first season. However, that wasn't the death of the Freaks and Geeks legacy, far from it. Just a couple of years later, Apatow would create Undeclared, a spiritual successor to it, that featured some of the same cast and followed the characters through their college life.