RIP TV: Saying Goodbye to 25 Shows We Lost in 2018
9JKL: (CBS)
Cancelled after 1 season
Mark Feuerstein is very likable, but his semi-autobiographical comedy about living on the same floor of an apartment building as his meddling parents and “perfect” brother was very, very bad.
Alex Inc. (ABC)
Cancelled after 1 season
There’s nothing wrong with Zach Braff, and Tiya Sircar is TV gold, but this comedy—based on a podcast series—was doomed from the start, thanks to this trop-filled publicity stunt.
The Americans: (FX)
Series ended after 6 seasons
Dasvidaniya, Comrades! The critical darling ended May 30, 2018 with an epic ending for an epic series.
The Chew: (ABC)
Cancelled after 7 seasons
ABC’s Daytime Emmy-winning cooking series lasted seven seasons before it was cancelled and replaced it with an extension of Good Morning America called GMA Day. It was hosted by Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and — until Dec. 2017 — chef Mario Batali, who stepped down and was later fired after allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against him.
Deception: (ABC)
Cancelled after 1 season
The ABC crime drama was like Castle but with card tricks. While star Jack Cutmore-Scott was unbelievably charming (he exudes Cary Elwes-esque charisma), TV audiences quickly made the series disappear.
Dietland: (AMC)
Cancelled after 1 season
Joy Nash was a revelation as Plum Kettle, a plus-sized ghostwriter for a posh fashion magazine and Julianna Margulies was delicious as the mag’s ruthless and self-centered editor, but TV audiences fasted rather than binged on this dark drama about female empowerment.
The Fosters: (Freeform)
Series ended after 5 seasons.
The heartfelt family series ended with a three-part wrap-up in June. Good Trouble, a spinoff of the series starring Cierra Ramirez and Maia Mitchell, premieres Jan. 8, 2019.
Ghosted: FOX
Cancelled after 16 episodes (1 season)
The comedy spirit of stars Craig Robinson and Adam Scott couldn’t keep audiences from fleeing.
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World: (ABC)
Cancelled after Season 1
We hoped that Jason Ritter’s adorableness would (probably) save this series, but it didn’t.
Kevin Can Wait: (CBS)
Cancelled after Season 2
Killing off a main character is a great move if you’re a drama. But if you’re a comedy, it’s the kiss of death.
LA to Vegas: (FOX)
Cancelled after 1 season.
Dylan McDermott’s awesome mustache was a thing of beauty, but this zany workplace comedy never really took flight.
Major Crimes: (TNT)
Ended after 6 seasons.
It came as a major surprise that this spinoff of The Closer was still airing. Perhaps TNT finally realized it too, and ended the series in January 2018.
The Mayor: (ABC)
Cancelled after 1 season of 13 episodes
ABC’s much ballyhooed comedy about a young rapper who runs for mayor of his city as a publicity stunt—and wins!—was quickly impeached. The series starred Brandon Micheal Hall, Lea Michele, Marcel Spears, Bernard David Jones and Yvette Nicole Brown and lasted just 13 episodes. Hall currently stars on CBS’ God Friended Me.
Megyn Kelly Today: (NBC)
Cancelled mid-season
NBC’s mid-morning trainwreck lasted 13 months before it was detailed by its outspoken host and her offensive comments about blackface. In an instant, Kelly’s career went from Today to To-Done.
The Middle: (ABC)
Ended after 9 seasons.
What the Heck?!? After 9 Seasons, the exploits of America’s zaniest TV family ended on May 22, 2018. ABC passed on a spinoff following the adventures of Eden Sher’s character, Sue.
Nashville: (CMT)
Ended after 6 seasons.
The one-time ABC series moved to CMT for Seasons 5 and 6, before taking its final bow on July 26.
New Girl: (FOX)
Ended after 7 seasons.
The adorkable series starring Zooey Deschanel ended May 15, 2018. Series creator and executive producer Elizabeth Merriwether revealed that the series could have easily ended in 2017 after Season 6, but when FOX offered her the opportunity to say good bye to the series—and its fans—she jumped at the chance. “I think we saw these eight episodes as sort of a love letter to the fans,” she said in January, 2018.
Once Upon a Time: (ABC)
Ended after Season 7.
ABC’s Disney-centric fantasy series ended its 7 season run in May. We hope that they all live happily ever after.
The Originals: (The CW)
Ended after 5 seasons.
The Vampire Diaries spinoff ended Aug. 1, 2018 and begat its own spinoff, Legacies.
Quantico: (ABC)
Cancelled after 3 seasons.
The action-packed drama ended Aug 3, 2018, but don’t cry for series star Priyanka Chopra, as she’s had a pretty epic 2018: her BFF Meghan Markle became a Duchess, Chopra snagged singing heart-throb Nick Jonas, and was ravishing in red at their December, 2018 wedding.
Roseanne: (ABC)
Cancelled after Season 10, the series’ first season after being rebooted.
The new Roseanne series was everywhere in 2018. It was successfully rebooted. Renewed. Ruined by its outspoken star and her racist musings. Then cancelled. Then rebooted again as The Conners. Hopefully 2019 will be a better year for TV”s most unpredictable family.
Scandal: (ABC)
Ended after 7 seasons
Shonda Rimes’ most stylish drama ended its seven-season run on April 19, 2018.
Sense8: (Netflix)
Cancelled after Season 2.
When Netflix cancelled the sci-fi series after 2 seasons, public outcry was so great that the streaming service allowed the Wachowski Siblings to conclude the series with a 2-hour movie that premiered on June 8, 2018.
Timeless: (NBC)
Cancelled after 2 seasons.
The timeline-hopping series ran out of time on the Peacock Network, which aired a 2-part series finale on Dec. 20.
Underground: (WGN America)
Cancelled after 2 seasons.
The beautifully-shot historical drama was an unfortunate victim when WGN America shifted its programming focus from producing original content, to sourcing Canadian productions for broadcast in America.
The end of a year is a time for retrospection, reflection and remembrance.
While 2018 had no shortage of celebrity passings, TV Insider also pauses to remember some of the many, many, many TV series we lost this year, too.
Some of these series enjoyed long and fruitful runs on television before being allowed to end their stories with proper finales, but others were gone too soon with sometimes-abrupt cancellations.
Click through the gallery above for our In Memoriam tribute to 25 shows that came to an end one way or another in 2018.
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