10 Horror TV Shows That Got Cancelled After Just One Season

In the early 1970s, ABC made two films for television that starred Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak, who dealt with unusual cases that involved mysterious murders and fantastical monsters. The broadcaster was impressed enough by these two projects that they attempted to continue with Kolchak's cases through a television show in 1974.

Much like the films that inspired it, Kolchak: The Night Stalker saw the reporter attempt to cover scoops on unusual cases and mysteries to sell them to potential news outlets. The further he goes into these investigations though, the more obscure and otherworldly the answers he finds seem to be.

Despite the films' popularity with audiences on ABC, the show just couldn't quite hit the same number when it came to attracting viewers. The key individuals who helped to make the movies stand out - producer Dan Curtis and writer Richard Matheson - didn't return to the series that left actor Darren McGavin to rewrite the scripts for some of the episodes. All of this culminated in a show with low ratings that was cancelled before all 26 episodes that made up the first season were filmed.

The influence of Carl Kolchak's short-lived series impacted the young Chris Carter, who cited it as one of his inspirations that led to the creation of The X-Files with its mysteries and the many monsters featured in each episode.