The 2019-2020 season is done at this point and the final Summer shows are in the process of wrapping up. Of the eighty-plus sci fi and fantasy shows that have aired across the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services during the season, more than a dozen have been cancelled so far, with several more currently On the Bubble. In addition, over a dozen shows ended their runs (or their status is up in the air) which currently has us at over thirty genre entries leaving the schedule for good. Following is the roundup of the shows which have been cancelled or are ending this season (you can see the rundown of those shows still waiting for word on their fates at this link). Fans may want to make a Call to Action on the social networks for some of the cancelled or struggling shows to help get them another season. It worked for The Expanse and Lucifer and could work again with one or more of these shows. You can see the rundown of all of this season’s renewals at this link.
[Updated 12/28/20]
Shows Cancelled or Ending This Season
The 100 (CW, Final Season): This show has never been a strong ratings draw for The CW, but it does well in digital viewing and it has a dedicated fanbase that is active on the social nets. Fans were outraged a few years back when one of the major characters was killed off and that seemed like the death knell for the series. But the network kept it going and will let it wrap up, appropriately enough, with its one-hundredth episode.
3% (Netflix, Final Season): Netflix typically caps off its shows somewhere around the second through fourth season, and this one received a renewal for a fourth and final year which will allowed it to wrap up its storylines.
Agents of SHIELD (ABC, Final Season): This is long-running, well-liked, but low-rated show that has managed to stick around for seven years. Parent company Disney owns both Marvel and ABC and apparently wanted a tie-in to the MCU on television. Another Marvel show is in the works at the network (though not for the 2020-21 season), so don’t be surprised if some of the characters from AoS cross-over with that one.
Altered Carbon (Netflix, Season Ended, Status – Cancelled): Word is that this one almost did not make it to a second season, and Netflix has decided that it will definitely not continue to a third. According to Deadline, the decision was actually made back in April, though not announced until now, and was based on the streamer’s “viewership vs. cost renewal review process”. This one counts as yet another Netflix entry cancelled too soon.
Arrow (CW, Final Season): This is the show that kicked off the Arrow-verse and changed the face of The CW. The network’s superhero shows expanded to five additional entries, and one more–Superman & Lois–will be joining the team in early 2021. Plus, the network is considering an Arrow spin-off series, but that may not arrive until the 2021-22 season.
Brave New World (Peacock, Cancelled): As a new series on a new streaming service, I thought this one had a decent chance for renewal figuring that Peacock would want to support its originals. But it met with mixed reviews–currently holding only a 45% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes (though it does have an 81% Audience Score)–and it was expensive to produce at $100 million for the first season. It did wrap up its main story, but could have continued into a second season if the streamer had kept it going.
Castle Rock (Hulu, Cancelled): After a long silence following the end of this show’s second season, Hulu officially announced it’s cancellation. The now-standard line of increased costs during the COVID environment was given as one of the reasons for the cancellation, but the show also comes from Warner Bros. TV which is now focusing its content on new streamer HBO Max.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix, Cancelled): The Netflix four-season wall strikes again. This show was broken up into “Parts” which are essentially the same as seasons. The streamer has announced that the upcoming fourth “Part” will be the show’s last, even though a fifth part–and possibly more–was planned. This show has proven popular for Netflix, but that service does not have much interest in keeping its non-animated originals going more than about four seasons. Whether fans will lobby for this one to move to another venue (most likely The CW as this was originally considered a spin-off from Riverdale), remains to be seen.
Dark (Netflix, Ended): As with many Netflix originals, this show is wrapping up with its third season. The time-bending drama has developed some good buzz across its three-year run and had the chance to wrap up its storylines.
Daybreak (Netflix, Cancelled): In the past, Netflix typically let its originals stick around for at least two seasons, but the streaming service was much quicker to pull the plug this year. The post-apocalyptic comedy received little promotion and found itself cancelled after only one season, making it yet another one-and-done casualty of the Peak TV crunch.
Devs (Hulu, Status – Ended): This show was billed as a “limited series”, but it left open the possibility that its story could continue. There has been no word on a second season, and Alex Garland suggested in an interview that the story was complete, so I am counting it as ended at this point.
Dispatches from Elsewhere (AMC, Status – Ended): The numbers for this show dropped off notably throughout its first season despite a strong lead-in from Better Call Saul. Series creator Jason Segel indicated that it can be looked at as a limited series with each season standing on its own. There has been no word on the show’s fate since it wrapped up its inaugural run in Spring 2020, so I am going to count this one as ended at this point.
Emergence (ABC, Cancelled): This show developed a small but devoted following, and despite its low ratings it looked like it might have had a chance for a second season. With most of the pilots not completed due to the production shutdowns, it appeared the networks might be more willing to bring back marginal performers from the current season rather take a chance on an unknown property. But apparently ABC decided the ratings were too low and pulled the plug on this show. It could go on to be a cult favorite in a few years.
Future Man (Hulu, Final Season): This sci fi comedy was well-liked by those who followed it, but the streaming services have a tendency to cap off their shows around the third or fourth season. Its third season was announced as its last in advance, so it at least had the opportunity to wrap up its storylines.
The Good Place (NBC, Final Season): This series pulled decent if not spectacular ratings across its four-year run, though it never counted as a hit. According to series creator Michael Shur, the fourth season felt like the right time to end the show because he never believed this was the type of series that could run for years and years. But with the fourth season announced as its last, that gave the creative team the opportunity to wrap up all of the show’s storylines.
I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix, Cancelled): Work had begun on a second season of this show, though it never did receive an official renewal. Netflix has since decided to end it after one season due to COVID-related production issues.
The I-Land (Netflix, Ended): This was originally billed as a limited series, and it appears that it will end that way. Critical reactions to this show have not been good, and Netflix has plenty more development in the pipeline. So it seems unlikely the streamer will be ordering a second season of this show.
>Follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest ratings results as well as breaking news
Impulse (YouTube, Cancelled): This was one of YouTube’s early scripted originals, and it arrived on the streaming service with little fanfare. It did not get much recognition, but it did at least get a second season renewal. Unfortunately, the streamer has since backed away from producing scripted dramas (and perhaps all scripted programming), so the show fell victim to a shift in corporate direction. The producers tried to shop it around, but there has been little interest so far.
The Magicians (Syfy, Cancelled): For this show’s first four years, it was the top or almost top-rated show on Syfy. Its numbers dropped off in its fifth year, but it was already facing a barrier as no show has ever lasted for more than five seasons on the network. The creative team pretty much knew the end was coming and approached the show’s fifth season as its last.
The Man in the High Castle (Amazon, Final Season): As I recall, the creative team originally envisioned this show going for at least five seasons, and there was certainly enough story to carry it for another year. But with Amazon laying out significant money for the Lord of the Rings prequel series as well as Wheel of Time, it may be that network execs decided to cap off The Man in the High Castle with its fourth season because the money (this show has a hefty price tag) was needed for other properties. The final season announcement was made in advance, so it did get the chance to wrap up its storylines.
Mr. Robot (USA, Final Season): This critically acclaimed series never counted as a hit, but it still brought plenty of attention to its network while also pulling in a few Emmys. Its final season was announced in advance, so it had the opportunity to wrap up its storylines.
NOS4A2 (AMC, Status – Cancelled): This show’s ratings were down notably in its second season, even with the BBC America simulcast numbers included. It did manage to wrap up its main storyline, though, so at least it did not leave viewers hanging.
The Order (Netflix, Cancelled): This was not one of Netflix’s higher-profile shows and it did not receive much promotion from the streamer, but it was well-received by critics and fans. It ultimately succumbed to the corporate machinations of the company’s rapid-fire launch strategy of scripted originals in a saturated market.
The Rain (Netflix, Final Season): This Danish series has become pretty indicative of the best you can expect from Netflix originals these days: a three-season run with the third year announced in advance as the show’s last. While fans may want more from some of these shows, at least the creative team gets the chance to resolve the storylines without leaving the viewers hanging.
October Faction (Netflix, Cancelled): This supernatural drama is another Netflix series that was released with little in the way of promotion and that struggled to find an audience. It was not well-received by critics or fans, and it apparently did not draw a large enough audience for Netflix to justify bringing it back for a second season.
Penny Dreadful City of Angels (Showtime, Season Ended, Status – Cancelled): Coming as no surprise, Showtime cancelled this show after one season. The numbers were low through its first season (sinking as low as a 0.01 rating), and even though the premium cable channels pay less attention to the same-day viewing, those stats do act as a leading indicator of viewer interest.
Project Blue Book (History Channel, Cancelled): The same-day ratings dropped for this show in its second year, but it was still doing well enough for a basic cable series in the Peak TV environment. But History Channel appears to be moving away from scripted originals as the network has also cancelled second-year historical drama Knightfall and its only other scripted series, Vikings, is in its final season.
>Keep up with the sci fi and fantasy TV shows airing each week with our Weekly Listings
The Purge (USA, Cancelled): This show proved to be a hit in its first year, but saw its same-day viewing numbers drop notably in its second season. It did make up some slack in delayed-viewing (the cable channels pay more attention to that than the broadcast nets) but apparently that was not enough to justify a third season, as USA is yet another cable network that appears to be moving away from scripted programming.
Runaways (Hulu, Cancelled): This appears to be another streaming show cut off at the third season mark, but corporate politics also played a part with this one. Marvel TV has been shut down and Marvel Studios (which produces the movies and the upcoming MCU TV shows on Disney+) has taken over full production of television and movies. Almost all of the Marvel TV projects have been cancelled or have ended, and this fan-favorite was carried out on that wave.
Siren (Freeform, Cancelled): The numbers dropped notably for this show in its third season, but it still performed at the same level as supernatural drama Motherland Fort Salem which airs on the same channel and was renewed. But apparently Freeform lost confidence in Siren and decided not to bring it back for another year. Fans are currently lobbying for a fourth season, so perhaps it will switch to another venue at some point.
The Society (Netflix, Cancelled): This show had originally been renewed for a second season but Netflix has reversed that decision. The streaming service cited the increased production costs in the current COVID environment as the reason for cancelling the show.
Star Wars Resistance (Disney XD, Final Season): This animated Star Wars entry never drew much of an audience and that likely factored into why it ended after only two seasons. Disney execs claimed that the second season “was a natural place to end the show with an epic finale” seeing as it leads into the The Rise of Skywalker which debuted in December 2020. But if the ratings had been higher, I’m betting this one would have stuck around for another season or so.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Disney+, Final Season): This series was cancelled during the Disney buyout of the Star Wars franchise, and even though it aired a sixth season of “lost” episodes on Netflix, it never fully wrapped up its storylines. But Disney decided to rectify that and gave the show a seventh and final season to complete the story that began back in 2008. Plus, an Ahsoka spin-off series could be in the works.
Supernatural (CW, Final Season): Technically, this show airs its final episodes next season because they were delayed due to the production shutdowns. But it was scheduled to end this year. It had a long run at fifteen seasons and remained a fan-favorite throughout. We won’t be seeing many more genre shows getting to the fifteen season mark in the current television environment.
Vagrant Queen (Syfy, Cancelled): This series debuted to poor ratings in Spring 2020 and saw its numbers slip even further during its first few airings. After its third episode, it was shifted out of Prime Time which was not a good sign. And Syfy has since officially announced that the show will not be returning for a second season as expected
V-Wars (Netflix, Cancelled): This show seemed to have some promise with Ian Somerhalder attached as one of the leads, but it was given minimal promotion by Netflix and did not find much of an audience. Those who watched the show liked it, but the streamer elected not to bring it back for a second season.
You can see the rundown of all the shows still waiting for word on their fates at this link
Wow, it’s amazing how much sci-fi/fantasy was purged over this last season. Hopefully though it makes room for plenty of great new stuff coming in the future to actually develop audiences instead of having people watching the bagillionth season of Supernatural instead.
Siren was cancelled 2 days before you posted this article. Fact checking is not hard.
Lot of shows to keep up with, no need to be snarky. I appreciate the heads up and will get that updated.
great reply
I absolutely hated seeing The Magicians end. Supernatural ending is going to be like losing your best friends. I have watched from the beginning and looked forward to it each week. Especially when all that was on tv was reality and talent shows for awhile. Vagrant Queen has grown on me, so of course it will likely be cancelled.
The 100, Agents of Shield, Arrow, The Good Place and Mr Robot had a good run and it was time for them to end. I was a little skeptical about the Magicians having a 5th season because I felt like season 4 felt like a series finale but it ended up being a good final season. I think they should leave Watchmen alone.
It was only in the last few episodes that I really understood what Syfy was going for with Vagrant Queen, I wish it had been better from the beginning.