The shows that have been cancelled by FOX, NBC & ABC

[Husky]

"My Name is Earl" (NBC)

Though never dubbed Must-See TV, "My Name is Earl," which followed a petty crook on the road to redemption, had a strong following and actually delivered its fair share of laughs. Over the course of four seasons, Earl (played to perfection by man-boy extraordinaire, Jason Lee) mixed and mingled with some of the weirdest and wackiest characters to ever grace the small screen, including one of TV's funniest females, 2006 Best Supporting Actress winner Jamie Pressly, who portrayed Joy Farrah Darville-Hickey-Turner, a trailer trash she-devil with a heart of coal. But, after 96 episodes and innumerable El Camino, DNA test, and STD jokes, NBC decided to dump the show in favor of hanging onto Amy Poehler's questionable new program, "Parks and Recreation" … which should really be a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, not a sitcom. Excuse the sidebar. In any case, Earl and his trailer park crew have already bid adieu, and there's nothing we can do but to borrow one of Joy's signature phrases, "What the Hell?"

"Samantha Who?" (ABC)

You've got to be kidding me?! How could ABC pull the plug on its best comedy -- a truly hysterical show that starred America's sweetheart, People's Choice Award winner Christina Applegate, Emmy Award winner Jean Smart, the deliciously evil Jennifer Esposito, the heartwarming Melissa McCarthy, and the adorable Barry Watson? Here's how: When the network moved "Samantha Who?" from its comfy Monday night time slot post "Dancing with the Stars" (where it was pulling down nearly 15 million viewers each week) to the dumping ground on Thursday nights at 8:30pm, behind the now-defunct flub "In the Motherhood," the ratings tanked, and they decided to cancel the show. Why not retool it? Why not bring in some special guest stars? Here's an idea: put it back on Monday nights where it flourished! Or, God forbid, promote the show. What is wrong with you, ABC? You want people like Christina Applegate and "Ugly Betty's" America Ferrera to be the friendly faces of your organization, and yet you refuse to market their programs properly. Remember the good ol' days? You know, when ABC was the king of comedy programming? "Roseanne," "Home Improvement," "Coach"? What about the TGIF lineup which at one point featured "Perfect Strangers," "Full House," "Mr. Belvedere," and "Just the Ten of Us"? Huh? Despite a ton of disappointed fans, the awesomely funny show about an amnesiac with a naughty past is a goner. Here's to hoping that another network (CBS, are you listening?) picks up Christina and her crew and gives them the respect and chance they deserve to succeed. Pardon the rant, but clearly some of us are still in shock.

"Boston Legal" (ABC)

Back in 2003, fans of the legal drama "The Practice" were devastated when creator David E. Kelley suddenly fired most of the show's main cast members, including Dylan McDermott and Lara Flynn Boyle, and brought on '80s film star James Spader to head up a new cast. Turns out the move was the beginning of a quirky-but-brilliant new spin-off called "Boston Legal," which eventually boasted a cast of stalwart actors like William Shatner, Candace Bergen and John Larroquette. But after five seasons, plenty of Emmy nods and wins, and wild and wacky cases dealing with everything from homeland security to white supremacist musical acts to paparazzi murders, court finally adjourned for good.

"ER" (NBC)

For the fans who stuck with this medical drama for the full 15 seasons, one thing became pretty clear toward the end of its run: There were a lot less of us watching. The cast looked a lot different on the 331st episode than it did on the first, but the show will still go down in history as the longest-running -- and one of the best -- medical dramas in television history. While it may have run past its prime, "ER" took advantage of knowing which season was its last and treated fans to a trip down memory lane with appearances by favorite former cast members (George Clooney, anyone?) throughout Season 15, injecting enough excitement to bring former viewers back to the "ER" during those last few episodes.

"King of the Hill" (FOX)

Though it never rose to international super-fame quite like fellow FOX animated series "The Simpsons" did, "King of the Hill," which followed propane salesman Hank Hill and his family in a small Texas town, became a bona fide hit and a critical darling soon after it premiered 12 years ago. The series, conceived by "Beavis and Butthead" creator Mike Judge, helped pave the way for FOX's Sunday night lineup of animated comedies which now includes "Family Guy," "American Dad" and the upcoming "Cleveland Show." After a near cancellation during its tenth season, "King of the Hill" has been living on borrowed time the past few years and is finally ready to pack it in after its 13th season comes to a close. Die-hard fans can still find the Hill family in syndication. Rumors have been swirling that FOX has ordered a few more episodes in order to give the series a more fitting goodbye, but whether they'll air on the network or just be added to a DVD collection remains to be seen. Sounds like this breakup still needs closure.

"Without a Trace" (CBS)

Riding the coattails of CBS's massively popular Jerry Bruckheimer-produced procedurals, "Without a Trace" captivated viewers with its focus on an FBI missing persons unit headed up by Special Agent Jack Malone, played by Anthony LaPaglia. In addition to following one intense case per episode, the show gave viewers a look at the team members' complicated personal lives and emotional reactions to cases. Though the series managed to crack the Top 20 in the ratings during all seven of its seasons, "Without a Trace" is about to disappear for good.

"Prison Break" (FOX)

When "Prison Break" first burst onto the scene in 2005, the show quickly gained a solid fan base and whipped them into quite a frenzy. The show, about a man who purposely lands himself in jail to help his innocent brother break out, had the edge-of-your-seat excitement of "24" and the you-better-pay-attention mystery of "Lost." Unfortunately, the series began mixing things up a little too much, moving the setting to Central America, and losing its viewer interest along the way. Its new Friday timeslot this year didn't help matters and after four seasons, "Prison Break" will be taking a permanent one.

"Kings" (NBC)

Created by executive producer Michael Green ("Heroes"), NBC's drama "Kings" retold the timeless tale of David and Goliath. The epic story's young hero inadvertently rose to power amidst war, greed, power, and romance. Instantly, viewers were welcomed to the Kingdom of Gilboa, a modern-day monarchy led by the well entrenched King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane, "Deadwood"). Gilboa was at war with the neighboring Gath and on the battlefield was where young soldier David Shepherd (Chris Egan) emerged as Gilboa's symbol of bravery. King Silas invited David into the capital city of Shiloh, but soon realized that David may very well take over his throne. After airing four episodes in the Sunday 8pm timeslot, NBC relegated the drama to Saturday nights and allowed it to air its remaining eight episodes. "Kings" is a show that never really had a chance, which is quite a shame because it boasted a strong cast, the concept was unique, and the production quality was breathtaking. Regardless, the ratings dipped week after week, and with such low ratings it never stood a chance.

"Kath & Kim" (NBC)

"Kath & Kim," based on the Australian series of the same name, followed the fortysomething divorcée Kathy Day (played by "SNL" alum Molly Shannon), who thought she was finally about to have some time to herself to search for love. But when her narcissistic daughter, Kim (portrayed by Selma Blair of "Hellboy" fame), separated from her husband, she convinced her mom to let her move into Kath's tacky suburban Florida home. The house rules had changed, however, as Kath refused to cater to her bratty daughter's every whim like the good old days. There were plenty of fake nails, rhinestones, and big hair as these two over-the-top ladies took the suburbs by storm. NBC ended up airing only 17 episodes (just short of a full 22-episode season) of "Kath & Kim" before giving it the boot. Though the Australian version of the show became quite a hit in Australia and both Shannon and Blair were spot-on as the wacky mother-daughter duo, the American adaptation was apparently lost in translation for U.S. audiences as many critics considered it unfunny and practically unwatchable -- something comedies, um, should not be.

"In the Motherhood" (ABC)

Loosely based on the 2007 web series of the same name, "In the Motherhood" -- which chronicled the silliness and scariness of being a mom in the modern world -- starred "Will & Grace" vet Megan Mullally as a liberated single mom with an overly responsible teenage son, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" cutie Cheryl Hines as a divorced working mom of two who hires a male nanny ("SNL" alum Horatio Sanz) to help around the house, and relative newcomer Jessica St. Clair as a painfully sweet stay-at-home supermom. With at least three proven funny folks in the cast (Mullally, Hines, Sanz) and the amusing concept of motherhood, the suburbia-set comedy had huge potential, but the half-hour show was filled with watered-down, obvious jokes that were not very funny at all. After only airing four episodes, ABC pulled the plug, which was probably four episodes too late.

"Sit Down, Shut Up" (FOX)

From the creator behind "Arrested Development," the animated series "Sit Down, Shut Up" followed the lives of eight egocentric, insecure, and wildly immature staffers at a high school in a Northeastern fishing town. Their motto? The children always come second. From the accident-prone principal to the vain English teacher (voiced by Will Arnett) to the ostracized gym teacher (voiced by Jason Bateman) to the very jaded, aging German teacher (voiced by Henry Winkler), one thing was clear: These public servants were wacky, miserable, and totally unfit to mentor children. With the comedic pedigree of "Arrested Development" alums, there were high hopes that "SDSU" would be insanely funny, but the jokes felt forced, the characters lacked depth, and the combination of animated characters with live-action backgrounds was distracting. Even with the strong FOX animated lineup support, "SDSU" only aired four episodes and quickly disappeared. FOX is hoping viewers will forget about the animated mess and look to "Family Guy" spin-off "Cleveland Show" come fall.

Source

I'm kind of glad that they canceled " Sit down and Shut Up". It was Cartoon Network wise , boring and the real life background didn't make sence to me at all. And with My Name is Earl, they just left us with a big FUCK YOU. I hope TBS will be showing Reruns still.

And I never liked king of the hill that much, I only watched the last episode last sunday. And it already got canceled like SDASU.

edit: L-Ric Cleared it up for me thanks dude.

Edited May 22, 2009 by Husky

[Kitsune Inferno]

First off, only three of those shows were on Fox. Second, it's a fucking injustice KotH is getting canceled for a damn Family Guy spinoff...centered around Cleveland. (Yeah, I know Sit Down Shut Up is getting canceled for the same reason, but the thing is that show also sucked. Flanderization aside, KotH didn't.)

EDIT: Another nitpick, why the hell is this in Serious Chat? It's TV, the world isn't gonna fucking explode because your favorite show got shit-canned.

Edited May 22, 2009 by L-RiC

[Bear]

I am miffed about Without a Trace. Me and my Mum used to really like it.

[Husky]

First off, only three of those shows were on Fox. Second, it's a fucking injustice KotH is getting canceled for a damn Family Guy spinoff...centered around Cleveland. (Yeah, I know Sit Down Shut Up is getting canceled for the same reason, but the thing is that show also sucked. Flanderization aside, KotH didn't.)

EDIT: Another nitpick, why the hell is this in Serious Chat? It's TV, the world isn't gonna fucking explode because your favorite show got shit-canned.

What? None of these are my favorite shows dude. So what I didn't notice there was a TV section here.

[Kitsune Inferno]

Well, excuse me! It's not like the Entertainment subforum is hard to find. Then again, there's no reason half the topics in the Serious Chat couldn't just be in the Lounge. It's just one way people can get attention for their topic: posting it between politics, religion, and other important shit. Edited May 22, 2009 by L-RiC

[The Bossman]

Calm down, it's not as if it matters that much. It's already been moved anyway. I liked My Name Is Earl, but when it went on and on and on and on and on, I got bored. ER, never really watched, King of The Hill, I'll miss that, but the repeats in England are on ridiculously late, like 3:30AM, Prison Break, never watched, Kath & Kim, probably a poor imitation, and Without a Trace, I may have seen a bit of an episode, perhaps number 1. It was when a guys wife disappeared, and he was at a casino, I think. I don't care about the others.

[Kitsune Inferno]

Calm down, it's not as if it matters that much. It's already been moved anyway.

Gee, thanks for noticing that. Notice how it was moved after my last post?

Getting back on topic, at least Hulu exists. I can watch My Name is Earl all I want. Besides, sometimes shows getting canceled is a good thing. If shows don't get canceled, they run the risk of overstaying their welcome and becoming a shell of their former selves, like the Simpsons.

Edited May 22, 2009 by L-RiC

[Husky]

Calm down, it's not as if it matters that much. It's already been moved anyway.

Gee, thanks for noticing that. Notice how it was moved after my last post?

Getting back on topic, at least Hulu exists. I can watch My Name is Earl all I want. Besides, sometimes shows getting canceled is a good thing. If shows don't get canceled, they run the risk of overstaying their welcome and becoming a shell of their former selves, like the Simpsons.

X2

I totally agree with that. Twelve years of total bullshit.

[WRX22B1998]

hmm i watch my name is earl, that show's pretty good. king of the hill i had no idea they were still making new episodes, all thats shown on FOX8 here is old stuff. kath and kim i heard was a massive fail, nowhere near as good as the aussie one. the rest of those i never really watched.

Edited May 24, 2009 by WRX22B1998

[Red_91]

The thing about cancelling these shows is that they dont give it a proper show finale, like Kyle XY which was on ABC (I think), I liked the show a lot but when I heard it was cancelled, I thought the last episode would be great but all it was, was a cliffhanger and didn't tie up any of the plots that were going on, thats the big thing that really gets me about cancelling shows, if they're going to do it, do it right, because then it just pis*** off the viewers.

[Nate10]

I'm going to miss new episodes of My Name Is Earl. :/

[Chris]

Prison Break was awesome but it was never really a show that should have gone on for more than 1 season when you think about it. Only due to it's huge success did they make more seasons. Was a great show, and I'm kinda sad it's gone now but it came to an end and to be honest, I'm not sure how much longer it could have gone anyway, the story would get so ridiculous.

Don't watch any of the others. My Name Is Earl was ok but I only saw the first season of it, kinda went off it. E.R used to be pretty good too, only watched from about season 8-10 though, so I've no idea what it was like recently.

[Bear]

They have cancelled Ugly Betty too. It is annoying, why can't they just do one final episode to sum up everything. Then again it seems to be a new thing not to sum up everything. L Word ended with a character being murdered but you never find out who did whats the point? Everybody Loves Raymond had the worst ending ever. That just pissed me off.

[Kitsune Inferno]

I'm still sore Fox canceled Fastlane on a cliffhanger. The Candy Shop's screwed and Billy's been kidnapped and tortured by the girlfriend of the criminal mastermind she, Van, and Deaq just killed with a diamond-loaded truck! Granted, each episode cost at least $2 million to make, but the show was a great mix of stupid and frickin' awesome!

[Husky]

I really hope that they don't cancel Everybody Hates Chris.

[Gycu]

I'm glad in a way Prison Break is finished but the ending was the most retarded ever.

As for Everybody hates Chris, now that's a show I'd like to run for ever, hope it's not cancelled yet, but there are still big chances it will.

[Ivan]

Prison Break was awesome the first season, then it just became lame.

[Connor]

I'm glad in a way Prison Break is finished but the ending was the most retarded ever.

As for Everybody hates Chris, now that's a show I'd like to run for ever, hope it's not cancelled yet, but there are still big chances it will.

Ah, Everybody Hates Chris, good fucking watch that is.

I doubt that will get cancelled, Chris Rock is just a genius, I mean, it's never gotten old for me.

[Spaz The Great]

The thing about cancelling these shows is that they dont give it a proper show finale, like Kyle XY which was on ABC (I think), I liked the show a lot but when I heard it was cancelled, I thought the last episode would be great but all it was, was a cliffhanger and didn't tie up any of the plots that were going on, thats the big thing that really gets me about cancelling shows, if they're going to do it, do it right, because then it just pis*** off the viewers.

Wasn't Kyle XY a show for like, preteens or something?

[Connor]

Saw that Kyle XY get advertised...Looked shit, sounded shit and generally caused shit, because it took the place of some good tv.

[Red_91]

Not sure if it was but I kinda liked it, one of my favourite shows after Heroes.

[Gycu]

Ah, Everybody Hates Chris, good fucking watch that is.

I doubt that will get cancelled, Chris Rock is just a genius, I mean, it's never gotten old for me.

I feel the same but I read somewhere the ratings for EHC season 4 were very low so there are reasons to cancel the show

I also agree they cancel shows and they get crazy or just plain stupid finales.

Dunno if it was on Fox but I was so pissed at the ending of John Doe ( starring Dominic Purcell ), it was canceled after one season.

[The Bossman]

Is Lost still on TV? I was interested when it was first on, but now, it's just ridiculous. That's one show that should have been cancelled after series 2.

[Bear]

Lost is still brilliant. It will be ending next year.

[Gycu]

I just finished watching Prison Break The Final Break, I'm still crying. :'( How can it end like that? /facepalm