# Have they have ever cancelled a show in midseason, after the first season? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687 "2005-09-27T16:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/1 "2005-09-27T16:09:31Z")
Plenty of shows don’t make it through the first season. Have they ever cancelled one halfway through the 2nd season, or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/2 "2005-09-27T16:44:12Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > Plenty of shows don’t make it through the first season. Have they ever cancelled one halfway through the 2nd season, or something like that? Yes. The 2003-2004 TV season had several such cases: _Boston Public_, _Boomtown_, _Good Mornign Miami_, and the _Dragnet_ revival were all cancelled midseason. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/3 "2005-09-27T17:35:49Z")
Tru Calling was renewed for a second season and they produced 5 or 6 episodes before it was cancelled (tho this was before any of the second seson was aired). the episodes (except for the last one - which was a Christmas episode) were aired. Brian ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Silence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Silence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Silence)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/4 "2005-09-27T17:38:43Z")
Boston Public lasted 4 seasons (2000-2004) and 81 episodes. > **[Boston Public (TV Series 2000–2004) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247081/)** > > Boston Public: Created by David E. Kelley. With Chi McBride, Anthony Heald, Loretta Devine, Sharon Leal. The lives of 10 faculty members at a high school in Boston weave in and out of dealing with trouble-makers, having a personal life, and keeping... ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/5 "2005-09-27T17:46:05Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Yes. The 2003-2004 TV season had several such cases: _Boston Public_, _Boomtown_, _Good Mornign Miami_, and the _Dragnet_ revival were all cancelled midseason. Canceling _Boomtown_ was a travesty that still makes me see red and is a good example how a program can be “improved” to extinction. It was an excellent ensemble show the first season, with interesting, sometimes convoluted, plots and steady character development. Apparently the ratings weren’t quite what the network execs expected, though. The second season started with immediate shark jumping, including a ludicrous plot and a lesbian scene that had no reason that I could see, other than it was a lesbian scene. After that, the show just died. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/6 "2005-09-27T18:02:53Z")
One show I can think of is Bob Newhart’s third sitcom (the one where he was a comic book artist with a twenty-something daughter who still lived at home). In the second season, they overhauled the show to have Bob working at a greeting card company rather than writing comic books. It didn’t work. The show was gone before Christmas. Also, wasn’t \*My So-Called Life \* cancelled in midway through its second season? ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/7 "2005-09-27T18:05:55Z")
On the syndicated side, they started a 2nd season of _Jack of All Trades_, but halfway through it’s 2nd season they cancelled it and expanded _Cleopatra 2525_ from 30 minutes to an hour, to fill the space. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/8 "2005-09-27T18:11:49Z")
> [@The Great Silence](#): > > Boston Public lasted 4 seasons (2000-2004) and 81 episodes. > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247081/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247081/) I think **Governor Quinn** meant to say [Boston Common](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0115115/). Pash ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/9 "2005-09-27T18:33:22Z")
> [@The Great Silence](#): > > Boston Public lasted 4 seasons (2000-2004) and 81 episodes. > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247081/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247081/) Yes, but it was mysteriously pulled from the schedule halfway into season 4 (this was around the end of January, after the show was moved to Friday…whoever thought that somebody would want to watch a show about SCHOOL on a Friday night???), and never returned. The show deserved to be cancelled at that point…it had been drilled so far into the ground, and was becomining nothing more that a ground for Jeri Ryan’s ego (who is now trying her best to ruin The OC), and a place to put the non-winners of American Idols. However, the show did at least deserve to have a final episode, which it didn’t. The most blaring example of the same thing was Last Comic Standing, which was cancelled with 2 episodes left to go in season 3. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/10 "2005-09-27T18:38:41Z")
The Mole, Celebrity Edition… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/11 "2005-09-27T20:55:41Z")
Arrested Development almost was. They shortened the second season from 22 to 18 episodes and almost cancelled it. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/12 "2005-09-27T21:15:43Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > The most blaring example of the same thing was Last Comic Standing, which was cancelled with 2 episodes left to go in season 3. I think it was worse than that. IIRC, the only episode left was the live finale. I was irritated, since I was following the show. What an f-you to the fans. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/13 "2005-09-27T22:23:11Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > Plenty of shows don’t make it through the first season. Have they ever cancelled one halfway through the 2nd season, or something like that? [S.W.A.T.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072560/trivia) ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/14 "2005-09-27T23:50:35Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > The show deserved to be cancelled at that point…it had been drilled so far into the ground, and was becomining nothing more that a ground for Jeri Ryan’s ego (who is now trying her best to ruin The OC), and a place to put the non-winners of American Idols. However, the show did at least deserve to have a final episode, which it didn’t. Just a quick sidetrack: is she the wife of the Ryan whose senate campaign got shut down by a sex scandal involving him forcing her to let people watch them have sex at parties? ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/15 "2005-09-28T00:42:31Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > Just a quick sidetrack: is she the wife of the Ryan whose senate campaign got shut down by a sex scandal involving him forcing her to let people watch them have sex at parties? [Yes.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/25/politics/main626069.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/16 "2005-09-28T00:44:28Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > Just a quick sidetrack: is she the wife of the Ryan whose senate campaign got shut down by a sex scandal involving him forcing her to let people watch them have sex at parties? Yup. Imagine that, a sex scandal working against a Republican. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/17 "2005-09-28T01:38:29Z")
> [@Pashnish Ewing](#): > > I think **Governor Quinn** meant to say [Boston Common](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0115115/). > > Pash No, I meant _Boston Public_. **fusoya** has given why. (Besides which, _Boston Common_ (at least according to my source) finished the 96-97 season.) Then, there’s the best-known (and, it appears, longest-run) series to be cancelled midseason: _Bonanza_, which was pulled in January 1973, during its’ 14th season. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/18 "2005-09-28T13:16:28Z")
I think **Joey** will fall into this category. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/19 "2005-09-28T16:24:53Z")
The American version of _Men Behaving Badly_ made it through its first season (1996), but then was cancelled shortly into its second. I’d say largely because of Justine Bateman and Ron Eldard leaving the show after the first season. The new roommate combination in season 2 just didn’t click. Worked much better with Eldard in season 1. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687/20 "2005-09-28T16:45:32Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I think **Joey** will fall into this category. Sadly, I feel Arrested Development will as well. thwartme [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-have-ever-cancelled-a-show-in-midseason-after-the-first-season/323687.md?page=2)