10 Weirdest Reasons Popular TV Shows Were Cancelled

2. Young Justice - Nobody Bought The Toys

Aqualad Young Justice
Warner Bros.

By all accounts, Young Justice was a success. Ratings were strong, fans were receptive, and it was frequently pointed out as one of the highlights of Cartoon Network's DC Nation programming. The problem was, it just wasn't the right kind of success the network was looking for.

Yes, apparently there is a wrong way to be popular in the world of TV. Paul Dini once infamously claimed that part of the reason Young Justice bit the bullet was its popularity amongst the female audience, who "don't buy toys".

This gender aspect was downplayed by producer Greg Weisman a few years later, but he did confirm the series actually ended because of a lack of toy sales. Apparently the deal with toy maker Mattel funded the show, and they weren't reaping much reward.

It didn't matter how many people were watching, if those people didn't go out and pick up merchandise, the show wasn't making any money.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.