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 ...

7 of 19

45 The Playboy Club: Season 1

(2011) NBC's attempt to steal some of Mad Men's thunder was predicted to be the season's first cancellation, and it didn't disappoint, lasting all of three episodes. The lackluster 1960s-set drama, which starred Amber Heard and Eddie Cibrian, managed to draw the ire of the Parents Television Council despite being far less racy (this was a network show, after all) than its premise would suggest.

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