10 TV Shows Cancelled Before Their Time

Riverdale’s only mildly less insane cousin, the Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina saw success as the second Archie Comics property to be adapted for a teen drama audience. Taking inspiration from the comic’s horror spin on the character, the modern show initially took a much darker, more serious approach to the character, which resonated strongly with viewers, and was widely considered to be the overall better acted and crafted of the two series by fans and critics alike.

Sadly, this didn’t end up counting for much, as Netflix announced Sabrina's cancellation mid-2020, purportedly due to ongoing production issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Fans were outraged and fearful for the state of the upcoming final part’s release, and their fears were realised when the series ended by killing off both the titular character and her love interest, Nick, in the very last episode.

For many shows, this would be a final, if saddening conclusion. But this is the Archie Comics TV universe, and therefore there was plenty of room left for things to get weird. Dead main character? Doesn’t matter! The sixth season of Riverdale saw Sabrina’s character return for a long awaited crossover to wrap up loose ends from the sister show. However, this return elicited more anger than excitement from fans, as it was reasonably argued that if Riverdale could continue production and feature Sabrina characters to resolve their arcs, why couldn't the show itself?

Given the lunacy of Riverdale’s plot and a low degree of mutual viewers, this crossover left more questions than answers for Sabrina fans; primarily, why did they bother to kill her off in the first place?! If the show did have to end as it did, it’s a shame that the frequently resurrected characters weren’t peacefully left in the ground.