What Were the First TV Shows Canceled Each Season?

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – November 1, 2017

This gallery was originally published in 2015 and has been updated for the new TV season.

They're usually not the worst (though, with a few notable exceptions, they're almost never among the best). And they aren't necessarily the most derivative or least interesting, nor are they lacking in talent. What they are, for a variety of reasons, is unwatched ... and thus extremely short-lived. We're talking about the fall TV season's first cancellations.

Like in 2016, this year's first cancelation came a bit later than normal—in early November. And, once again, it was not the season's lowest-scoring show that got the axe. How many canceled shows can you remember from past years? Find out in our brief look back at the last 18 years of television infamy ...

14 of 19

25 Hawaii: Season 1

(2004) Apparently, all that you need to make a Hawaii-set cop drama a success is a "Five-0" in the title. NBC's unrelated and poorly reviewed series, from Shasta McNasty creator Jeff Eastin (who would finally gain success with USA's White Collar) starred Michael Biehn and got the ax after a relatively generous 7 episodes. Leading to its downfall was the arrival of a much better Hawaii-filmed series in its same Wednesday night time slot—a mysterious new drama titled Lost.

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