10 Great TV Shows That Got Cancelled After Just 1 Season
3. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Aaron Sorkin penned this comedy-drama for NBC in 2007, but despite having a lot of talent both behind and in front of the camera, it only lived for one season.
Studio 60 depicted a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a sketch comedy show and had an intriguing combination of drama, comedy, and meta-comedy. The pilot was incredibly well-received, with critics praising the directing and the performance of Matthew Perry, in particular. But after the pilot, things started going downhill.
The writing would start to fluctuate in quality, often going from satire to self-satire and losing that self-awareness that is crucial in a show like this. The ratings would drop with every episode, and soon enough the writing was on the wall.
NBC would shift it around in different timeslots, eventually deciding to not pick it up for a second season. Despite this, Studio 60 ranks so high on our list for a simple reason: when it was good, it was really good.
The talent involved was so bright that it would shine through even when the direction of the show was unclear, and in those instances when everything clicked and everyone was on the same page, Studio 60 was a hell of a watch. We can only regret that it wasn't given more time to define its direction and plant its feet firmly on the ground.