The Killing, Longmire, Arrested Development, Full House and recently Gilmore Girls are shows which received the Netflix revival treatment, meaning they were cancelled before the streaming service picked them up again to produce new seasons. There are several other cancelled series fans are dying to see continued which could interest Netflix to bring back. Here I present some of them.
Firefly (2002-2003)
It’s no surprise to see Firefly in any kind of list like this one. This is the show everybody asks Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon about during Comic Con each year. Even Alan Tudyk mentioned last year the possibility of it returning for a second season. Could it actually happen?
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Over the past seven years Fillion has been attached to the show Castle, but now rumors of it ending soon are becoming more and more loud since nobody can assure whether Stana Katic and/or Nathan Fillion would sign on for another season. And while it seems that Whedon is taking a break after Avengers: Age of Ultron, he might be open to continuing one of his most fan-loved projects.
One thing is for sure, if Netflix were to revive Firefly, it would be praised upon by thousands upon thousands of “browncoats” all over the world.
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
This show created by “self-professed Star Trek geek” Bryan Fuller was cancelled prematurely after only two seasons when it was still quite popular because of its unique aesthetic, vibrant colors and quirky tone. The story about a pie-maker (played by Lee Pace) who can bring people, plants and animals back to life with his touch would fit in nicely amongst the rest of Netflix’ catalog. Think about the outside-of-the-box kind of comedy a show like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt presents, with a bit of romance, drama, and fantasy.
Dexter (2006-2013)
There are shows running for several years and they end the way Dexter did: not entirely how fans would have liked or expected. For what it’s worth, this was a great crime show which lasted 8 seasons and had somewhat of an open end that disappointed many people. In the same style as The Killing, it would be interesting too see one final season on Netflix to mend those broken hearts.
Chuck (2007-2012)
Zachary Levi has said time and time again that he’d be open to doing a Chuck movie or mini-series instead of a full-on revival. Still after 5 seasons and a weak finale, this fun spy, action show deserves a proper goodbye and Netflix could make it happen. While Levi is busy on Broadway until June, Yvonne Strahovski’s latest show The Astronaut Wives Club, was just cancelled after only one season on ABC. Is it this year a good opportunity?
Dead Like Me (2003-2004)
Another Bryan Fuller comedy, drama and fantasy show which got cancelled before it should have been. A young girl who dies on the street by a toilet seat that falls on her head gets recruited to work in a team of grim reapers to collect souls of people before they die. While the series ending essentially with a direct-to-DVD movie wasn’t terrible, it didn’t make the show justice. Over 10 years later, a wrap-up season or mini-series on Netflix feels like a sound idea to me.
Carnivàle (2003-2005)
HBO cancelled this great fantasy show, intended to form a cohesive arc every pair of seasons, ending after 6. But after the series finale episode in season 2 there were a few questions remaining unanswered to this day. The problem is that while fans would be definitely open to a continuation, even if it meant a jump forward in time, HBO is still in possession of the rights and also, the level of production design Carnivàle needs is fairly high. Would Netflix be up for that kind of investment?
Forever (2014-2015)
A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.
Why was this cancelled? Although ratings picked up toward the end of the season, the show wasn’t strong enough against the list of great series on ABC, including How to Get Away with Murder, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s Agent Carter. In the end, the interesting premise didn’t hold up for the network, which didn’t even own the show. That might have solidified the decision to cancel it. Still it had enough potential to be developed by Netflix if they were interesting in acquiring the rights. At least the lead actor, Ioan Gruffudd would definitely come back to it, as he was very sad when he learned the bad news.
Which shows would like to see come back by the hands of mighty Netflix?
