With cancellation and renewal season upon us yet again, it feels like the right moment to look back at some of the absolute gems NBC canceled before they got a chance to grow their audience. This year, NBC is off to a decent start, renewing its most popular shows while we wait for news on a few bubble series.
Throughout the years, fans have watched as broadcast becomes increasingly cutthroat, axing series left and right if they don't hit a seemingly arbitrary amount of viewers in a limited amount of time. And while many of the shows that fall through the cracks are regrettably forgotten, there are a couple of NBC series we still can't get over losing.
Good Girls
While it is a credit to this addictive comedic crime drama that it ran for four seasons and 50 episodes, an increasing rarity nowadays, it was still a serious bummer when NBC canceled Good Girls. Robbing fans of a fifth and final season also led to many stories being left unresolved.
What made the loss of Good Girls even more painful is that the series had developed a loyal fanbase who stuck around with the show through its various ups and downs. There are still rumors swirling online as to the real reason why NBC opted not to give this show a fifth season, but the truth is we'll probably never know, leaving us with many loose ends, such as Annie's arrest and the aftermath of Beth winning the city council election.
American Auto
When NBC announced a new series from Superstore creator Justin Spitzer, many of us expected that it would be a huge hit. American Auto turned out to be a delight and the exact kind of ensemble comedy many of us were seeking to fill the void left by Superstore's absence.
Like its predecessor, American Auto was a workplace comedy and set at a fictional car dealership called Payne Motors. Featuring Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer and even a cameo from Ryan Reynolds, it seemed like American Auto was being set up as another primetime NBC comedy. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, and the series was axed after just two seasons.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Jane Levy continued to prove that she is an absolute delight in this heartwarming jukebox dramedy series that only ran for two official seasons on NBC. From the beginning, it seemed like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was poised to become a breakout hit, maybe even the next Glee, as the endearing cast and catchy soundtrack made it easy and enjoyable viewing.
Centering on an up-and-coming programmer with the ability to perceive peoples' thoughts via song, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was utterly charming and infectious. But the quality did dip a little in its second season after season 1 mostly wrapped up the story. It seemed like the writers weren't sure what direction to the take the show next. Unlike other series on this list, this one at least received a wrap-up holiday film on The Roku Channel.
Timeless
Timeless is another one of those smaller shows you wouldn't expect to quickly amass a devoted fandom but it did just that thanks to its charismatic characters, heartfelt relationships, and ambitious sense of adventure. The series revolved around a team trying to prevent a shady organization from hopping around in time and altering critical events in history.
Throughout the series' limited run, we saw these heroes visit Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Watergate, the Salem witch trials, and more. In fact, the fans were so proactive about their love for this series, that they helped it get revived twice, first just mere days after NBC canceled it and later when NBC canceled it again, they brought it back to do a proper two-part finale. Still, it would have been nice to see this show get a longer run.
The Playboy Club
This crime drama series followed the lives of several employees at the original Playboy Club opened in Chicago. It had a stacked cast, with stars like Laura Benanti, Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan, Eddie Cibrian, and more, and while it was later pulled from the air midway through its first season run due to its low ratings, there are many of us who wish the show could have had a chance to continue.
The worst part is that only four of the seven filmed episodes were able to air and the series has basically become lost media, so we can't even revisit the few episodes that did make it to air. Afte rmaking its debut in September 2011, The Playboy Club got off to a very slow ratings start and unfortunately never picked up a huge audience.