10 TV Shows Cancelled Before Their Time

The first of two programs from the same showrunner to receive a far shorter run than it deserved, (nec)romantic comedy Pushing Daisies brought us the story of a pie-maker with a Midas touch.

Lee Pace’s Ned is cursed, or perhaps blessed with the ability to bring people back to life with a single touch - which would be fantastic, if a second touch didn’t cause them to die again, permanently. Alongside baking, Ned splits his time between assisting the police by temporarily reviving murder victims in order to solve their own case, and pining for his childhood sweetheart, whom he once brought back to life and can therefore never again touch. Ouch.

Thanks to its inventive plot, genre-bending narrative, and story-book-like visuals, Pushing Daisies received a good deal of critical and commercial acclaim, and was successfully renewed for a second season.

Disappointingly, this would end up being the quirky show’s last, as it was cancelled soon after. The reason for this has often been attributed to the 2007-8 Writers Guild Of America strike, which led to a significantly longer than planned gap between the seasons, and a subsequent decrease in viewership.

While we can’t blame writers rooms for striking for better pay in comparison to the huge profits reaped by large studios, it is a clear shame that Pushing Daisies suffered adverse effects as a result. Fans have long been eager to see Bryan Fuller's drama return to our screens anew, perhaps via streaming, and we can only agree that this show certainly deserves a revival (see what I did there?) more than most.