10 Revived TV Shows That Should've Stayed Cancelled
Sometimes, less is more.
The world of TV is a cruel one, beholden to the almighty dollar. If a show isn’t cutting the mustard, then more often than not, no matter how adoring its small but faithful audience, no matter how much of a critical darling it is, it’ll be axed by a ruthless exec.
Sometimes that’s the end of that - it’ll live on as a cult classic if you’re lucky, or be forgotten altogether. Other times, the tides will turn, the planets will align, a Kickstarter will be kickstarted, and the sacrificial show shall rise again.
On occasion, this can be a good thing. Deadwood was off the air for 13 years before its feature length revival which wrapped up David Milch’s vision in the most perfect way imaginable. And love it or hate it, time has proved that Family Guy was pulled way before its time.
Then there are the shows that come back when they really shouldn’t. Too many years have passed, the magic isn’t the same, the ideas have run dry. It happens: the revival can sound like a great idea, but in practise, it might be anything but. These are the shows that should have stayed dead.
10. Scrubs
Bill Lawrence’s hospital sitcom inspired a devoted fandom, with loyal viewers charmed by the gently surreal humour, occasional moments of genuinely poignant high drama, and star Zach Braff, here at his most bearable.
It had a solid eight season run, and while the quality had dipped sharply towards the end, the show geared itself up for an eighth and final run that was as good as it had been in years, closing on a beautiful episode celebrating the show’s history in an affecting way.
Like a problem gambler, though, they didn’t know when to quit. Cancelled after a fitting crescendo, ABC revived Scrubs for a ninth season focussing on a new crop of medical students, clearly with the intention of keeping the show going on indefinitely.
It didn’t work, for a simple reason: no one liked the new direction. The characters and actors were perfectly fine, but after eight years, no one was too interested in starting again afresh. They retained some players from the old show, but it wasn’t to be. It just ruined a nice ending, basically.