There’s a kind of magic that happens when you come across a TV show that you really love. Sometimes these productions appear in our lives by chance, or through the recommendation of a friend, but after a few episodes, we get completely caught up in the story and characters. So much so that patiently waiting for each new episode and then discussing it with friends or on social networks becomes quite a ritual. With each season, the show gradually grows in our daily lives, until it becomes one of the TV series we recommend every time a friend runs out of shows to watch.
However, all of this can easily get frustrated as networks decide to abruptly cancel shows for a variety of reasons, leaving audiences behind. So series with huge potential, such as: Freaks and Geeks or Sense8, were canceled before their time, leading to much confusion and anger among fans. Of course, fans aren’t the only people affected by this: everyone involved in the production, from the director to the cast and crew, loses their jobs as a result of these cancellations, which are often justified by low ratings and other issues. reasons, but not always.
When a show is cancelled, there is generally little else to do but mourn. Still, some TV series have been lucky enough to get another chance to stay on the air thanks to another network recognizing the show’s potential. Here are eight stories of shows that got a second chance from a new network.
8/8 The Mindy Project
The Mindy Project is one of Mindy Kaling’s most successful TV series. She plays Mindy Lahiri, a gynecologist with a soaring career but a messy personal life and no luck finding love, who decides to change her bad habits to feel better and find the man of her dreams. This series premiered on Fox in 2012, lasting three seasons on the network. Ultimately, Fox felt the show didn’t perform as well as they’d hoped, so they eventually canceled it. Fortunately, Hulu eventually decided to run three more seasons of the show, which ended in 2017.
7/8 Arrested Development
This Mitchell Hurwitz sitcom revolves around the Bluths, a very dysfunctional and wealthy family now in financial trouble. Starring Jason Bateman, it aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006, spanning three seasons. Despite being a critically acclaimed production, Arrested Development wasn’t as well received as expected, so the network pulled the plug. Seven years later, Netflix returned to the series and delivered two new seasons, retaining the original cast and ending in 2019.
6/8 scrubs
Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Neil Flynn, Ken Jenkins, John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes star scrubs, Bill Lawrence’s sitcom that follows the daily lives of the workers at the Sacred Heart Hospital. The series premiered in 2001 and ran for seven seasons on NBC until its cancellation due to low ratings. ABC then decided to pick it up and released an eighth season in 2009, which would serve as the series finale. A ninth and final season was eventually released, but as the network switch was also unable to improve the stats, scrubs went off the air in 2010.
5/8 Project Runway
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn host and mentor Project Runway, the reality TV series in which contestants compete week after week for enough money to start their own design line, an article in Marie Claire magazine and a mentorship from a fashion design firm. It first aired in December 2004 on Bravo and remained on the network until 2008. After that, it continued to run on Lifetime for 11 seasons and returned to Bravo in 2019 for another three. In the last seasons, however, there were no Klum and Gunn to be seen, who were both working on another project. Instead, they were replaced by Karlie Kloss and Christian Siriano.
4/8 Gilmore Girls
Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel star in Gilmore Girls as Lorelai and Rory, a young mother and daughter living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, this series first premiered on The WB in 2000 and ran for six popular seasons before moving to The CW after The WB merged with UPN. The seventh and final season was produced there and premiered in 2007. Nine years later, Netflix picked up the show for a four-episode special called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
3/8 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of many examples of how important it is to give a series a chance to really get to the point. Created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur, this sitcom about police procedurals premiered on Fox in 2013, starring Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher. It follows Jake Peralta, an irresponsible but effective detective from Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct, and his daily life alongside his partners and the commanding officer on the scene, Captain Raymond Holt (Braugher). Brooklyn Nine-Nine ran on Fox for five seasons until it was canceled, but thankfully, NBC stepped in to save the day and award the series three more seasons.
2/8 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Buffy Summers, a teenager gifted with the ability to fight against the vampires and dark forces that haunt our society. Now a cult classic, this show is inspired by the 1992 film of the same name and created by Joss Whedon. The first five seasons aired on The WB from 1997 to 2001. Later, Buffy the Vampire Slayer switched networks, and the last two seasons aired on UPN.
1/8 Match
Tom Ellis plays in Match, Tom Kapinos’ TV series based on the DC Comics character of Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg. Lucifer, weary of hell and fed up with his own existence, moves to Los Angeles to discover what the mortal world has to offer. Once there, he uses his specialized skills and becomes an employee of the LAPD. This show premiered on Fox in 2015, but the network canceled it after just three seasons. A month later, Netflix gave the show another three seasons to air on their platform, from 2019 to 2021.