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Fans, streamers, rival networks and even Subway stepped in to save these endangered shows.
For most of TV history, once a show was canceled, it was canceled. The advent of the internet, however, gave fans a platform to express their support, as well as a way to organize. That led to a first round of un-cancellations, if you were, where series just jumped from one network to another. As streaming began to catch up to cable, endangered properties found new lifelines, like Hulu and Netflix. Some of these were acquired by streamers or rivals almost immediately, while others languished for years before receiving new life. These seven shows had dedicated and vocal audiences who made their love for their favorites known — and that helped bring them back.
7 Manifest
Manifest premiered in the fall of 2018 on NBC with a premise that seemed on par with Lost. In the supernatural drama, a plane full of passengers going from Jamaica to New York encounter heavy turbulence, but eventually land safety. However, once they land they discover that — in blip-like fashion — they’ve actually been gone for more than five years, and the world has written them all off for dead. Since their friends, families and coworkers’ lives went on without them, they can’t so easily blend back into society. Like Lost, Manifest also uses its characters’ backstories as a plot device. Show creators had originally planned for six seasons, but NBC unexpectedly canceled the series after year 3, which ended on a cliffhanger no less! Netflix swooped in to deliver Manifest a fourth but final season, with a premiere date yet to be announced.
6 Chuck
Chuck was a 2007 action comedy about an unassuming computer nerd who, after getting kicked out of college for cheating, winds up working for the CIA and NSA. The fish-out-of-water series elevated Zachary Levi’s status and found a devoted fanbase, but Chuck had a lot going against it. The writers’ strike hampered its first season, and the show aired against stiff competition in Dancing with the Stars and How I Met Your Mother. The series was frequently “on the bubble” and was slated for cancellation after Season 2, but fans rallied. Chuck won E! Online’s “Save One Show” contest, and viewers flocked to Subway (one of the series’ sponsors) to show their support. In the end, it ran for five seasons.
5 Family Guy
Seth MacFarland’s raunchy animated family comedy was a modest but controversial hit for Fox in 1999. The antics of the Griffins lampooned pop culture and pushed the boundaries of good taste, but its ratings declined when it was scheduled against Frasier and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Fox called it quits on Family Guy after its second season, but still went ahead with a shortened third season. When the series hit Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and DVD shelves at the same time, it became enough of a phenomenon that Fox reversed course and ordered another 35 episodes. It’s remained on the air ever since, with its 21st season premiering this September.
4 Futurama
Matt Groening’s follow-up to The Simpsons ran for 82 episodes on Fox. The animated sci-fi comedy followed the adventures of Fry, a pizza delivery boy who is cryogenically frozen and wakes up in the future a millennium later. Futurama is full of meme-able moments and inside jokes, many of which border on the for-mature-audiences side, despite their gleeful stupidity. That made it a perfect fit for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block. It was never officially canceled by Fox; it’s episodes just aired sporadically until they didn’t. But it remained a fixture of geek culture, and Comedy Central eventually picked up the show and made 52 more installments.
3 Community
Community’s fans famously wanted six seasons and a movie. The meta-comedy about a group of mismatched study partners at a community college was never one of NBC’s highest rated shows, but its cult following kept it safe for a while at the Peacock. The show used its thin conceit as a vehicle to make pop culture references about everything from Die Hard to Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, but it did have to contend with some behind the scenes drama. Creator Dan Harmon was fired then returned, and star Chevy Chase left partway through Season 4. When NBC canned Community after Season 5 (the gas leak season), Yahoo made fan’s dreams come (partially) true and renewed the series for a sixth and final 13 episode season. There’s no movie in the works, but most of the original cast members have expressed interest.
2 Arrested Development
Arrested Development was one of Fox’s most critically acclaimed series, with several Emmy wins to its credit. The dry-humored comedy about a dysfunctional family that loses its fortune is a precursor to shows like Schitt’s Creek, though the Bluths aren’t always as lovable as the Roses. Straight man, Michael, tried for three seasons to keep the rest of his absurdist family in check, but strong ratings never materialized despite strong reviews. Fox pulled the plug in 2006. There were rumors that a premium network, like Showtime, might come to its rescue, but Arrested Development was, well, arrested in development until Netflix acquired the show and produced Seasons 4 and 5.
1 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Michael Schur is sure bet when it comes to earnest, feel-good half-hour comedies. His cred from The Office and Parks and Recreation led Fox to take a chance on what sounded like a terrible idea: a police procedural that doubled as a zany comedy. Great casting and snappy writing somehow made it all work…for five seasons. Though Brooklyn Nine-Nine was embraced by critics and fans, a ratings dip spooked Fox, who canceled it in 2018. It only took NBC mere hours to come to the show’s rescue. Its eighth and final season just concluded.
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