Just last week, one of my favorite TV shows, “9-1-1”, which I have previously written about, was renewed for its ninth season. Despite my happiness about its continuation, I couldn’t help but think about all of my beloved shows that were cancelled too soon. Below, I’ll be exploring some shows that I think ended too early.
“The Society”
“The Society” was a Netflix show about a group of high school students from West Ham who were transported on school buses to what they thought would be a field trip; however, the students woke up to find out the trip was cancelled and they had returned home. Upon their arrival, they soon realize that the town is completely empty and they cannot contact or reach family members. A seemingly unending forest now surrounds the town, and the teens must begin to run their new community and survive on limited resources in the completely vacant town, which they name New Ham. The first season ends on a major cliffhanger as not only did the group finally begin to explore beyond the forests, but we also got the first glimpse back into the original town, where all of the other residents are very much alive. In the last scene, back in West Ham, we see that each of the names of students who are stranded in New Ham is written on a plaque in remembrance. This left so many unanswered questions: What happens to the teenagers? Where are they? Dead? Or in an alternate dimension? Unfortunately, it seems we will never have a conclusion after the show was cancelled because of complications with production, due to the pandemic in 2020.
“Shadow and Bone”
This one truly hurt me; “Shadow and Bone” was the TV adaptation of both the “Shadow and Bone” book trilogy and the subsequent “Six of Crows” duology. The books and show take place in the Grishaverse fantasy setting, which consists of several different nations, some of which are composed of Grisha, people who use magic. One of the nations, Ravka, is split by the Shadow Fold, a dark, dangerous area created centuries ago. The nation is at war with another to the north, and General Kirigan, or The Darkling, leads the Second Army and is searching for the Sun Summoner, who we learn to be one of the main characters, Alina Starkov. She is the only one who can destroy the Fold and possibly reunite Ravka. As this war continues to unfold, we also follow the “Crows,” a criminal gang led by Kaz Brekker, who are hired to capture Alina. The show was renewed for a second season and while it was not necessarily as successful as the first, it still remained enjoyable, particularly for fans of the book series, as several beloved additional characters and plot lines were introduced. My dad and I enjoyed watching this series, and we were definitely disappointed in its cancellation, especially considering the showrunner’s plan for the third season to serve as the conclusion.
“The Wilds”
“The Wilds” followed a group of eight girls from completely different backgrounds who were each sent on a young women’s empowerment retreat. The plane they are traveling on suddenly crashes and the girls are left stranded on a completely deserted island. However, it is made clear to the audience that the girls are actually unknowingly in a social experiment orchestrated by a scientist, Gretchen Klein. The show tracks the girls’ efforts to survive with the resources available, as well as scenes of each of the girls being interviewed in the future about their experience. The second season took a surprising and somewhat disappointing turn as an additional group of boys found themselves in the same situation on a different island and now the show was split between the two groups. The second season ends as both groups are now on the roof of Gretchen’s facility, shortly after she fled, promising to continue at a different location and soon introduce a new group. I was truly upset about the cancellation as I felt it had further potential; however, I definitely think that “The Wilds” walked so “Yellowjackets” could run.
Unfortunately, this article only scratched the surface of excellent shows that were cut short before they could develop further. A few others I could explore further come to mind, whose cancellations were just as frustrating.
