The 10 Best One-Season TV Shows in Television History
When you think of great TV, several shows immediately leap to mind: The Sopranos, M*A*S*H, Game of Thrones—stuff like that. But if you’re looking for quality programming, you needn’t sink 116 hours into a 10-season binge-watch. In fact, some of the best shows ever only lasted for a single stellar season.
Now, it should be noted, there are countless factors at play when it comes the the life of a TV series. Sometimes—often, even—it’s a business decision (bad ratings). Sometimes, the producers just understand the value of quitting while they’re ahead (only one, tight, deft season was written). In any event, just because network execs give a particular show the ax doesn’t mean it’s low quality. Here’s proof.
Now, it should be noted, there are countless factors at play when it comes the the life of a TV series. Sometimes—often, even—it’s a business decision (bad ratings). Sometimes, the producers just understand the value of quitting while they’re ahead (only one, tight, deft season was written). In any event, just because network execs give a particular show the ax doesn’t mean it’s low quality. Here’s proof.
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- CreatorsStephen Adly GuirgisBaz LuhrmannStarsJustice SmithShameik MooreHerizen F. GuardiolaA ragtag group of teenagers run wild in the streets of the Bronx in the late 1970s.This Netflix original, from visionary director Baz Luhrmann, made a splash when it loudly debuted in all of its extravagant glory. Centering on the rise of hip hop in the Bronx during the 1970s, the show was ripe with sensational music, costume design, and electricity. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to keep up with its own hype and was cancelled after its first season.
- CreatorPaul FeigStarsLinda CardelliniJohn Francis DaleyJames FrancoA high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.This cult classic is the poster child for one-season wonders, and rightfully so. With a star-studded cast and an engaging season full of humor and angst, it’s a true shame we never got to see what happens after the finale’s cliffhanger.
- CreatorsLamar DamonAmy Sherman-PalladinoStarsSutton FosterKaitlyn JenkinsJulia Goldani TellesMichelle, a Las Vegas showgirl marries a man on a whim and moves to his sleepy coastal town where she winds up working alongside her new mother-in-law at her dance school.Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Bunheads had the same impressively quick-witted and sharp-tongued dialogue that Sherman-Palladino became famous for in Gilmore Girls. However, this show didn’t get the same fan club right away and only lived to see one season.
- CreatorJoss WhedonStarsNathan FillionGina TorresAlan TudykFive hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.This show blended together sci-fi and western tropes and themes to create a wildly fun, distinct world that felt like it deserved several seasons of exploration, at minimum. Just ask any die-hard fans of this show; they’ll be happy to tell you how the cancellation of Firefly was one of the greatest tragedies in television history. (In fact, you can still find true diehards posting about it in the depths of Twitter and Reddit.)
- CreatorWinnie HolzmanStarsBess ArmstrongWilson CruzClaire DanesA 15-year-old girl and her trials and tribulations of being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents, and school.Clearly audiences didn’t know what they had until it was gone when it came to this show, as My So-Called Life is now considered one of the best, most classic teenage dramas of all time. Plus, it gave us Claire Danes in her breakout lead role. We were not worthy!
- CreatorJudd ApatowStarsJay BaruchelCarla GalloCharlie HunnamCollege freshman Steve Karp, his girlfriend and their fellow dormmates embark on one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Unfortunately for Steve, his lonely and recently divorced father is tagging along for the ride.Following Freaks and Geeks, this show was Judd Appatow’s second attempt to make a hit TV show about the trials and tribulations of being a teenager trying to survive high school. Just like its predecessor, it only lasted one season and is now renowned as an underrated gem.
- StarsD.J. Jer-zMichelle WolfMichael HartneyComedian Michelle Wolf riffs on the latest topics and trends of the day.Fresh off her controversial performance at the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Michelle Wolf kept the punchlines coming on her own Netflix-produced talk show. The show was well-written, imaginative, and packed with delightful segments and sketches, but it was also the first of Netflix’s to air on a weekly basis—a move that streamers and binge-watchers weren’t quite ready for. Alas…
- CreatorJ.H. WymanStarsKarl UrbanMichael EalyMinka KellyIn a not-so-distant future, a human cop and an android partner team up to serve and protect.Karl Urban and Michael Ealy’s natural dynamic felt like enough to keep this sci-fi-horror cop show afloat as it found its footing, but unfortunately the ratings weren’t high enough for this to be the case. And for more small-screen frights, here are the 40 Best Horror Movies for Totally Freaking Yourself Out.
- CreatorEmily KapnekStarsKaren GillanJohn ChoAllyn RachelAfter being the subject of an embarrassing viral video, a self-involved 20-something enlists the help of a marketing expert to revamp her image in the real world.Selfie depicted and critiqued a generation that hadn’t yet become as self aware as the show needed it to be. It’s well worth a rewatch now, though, that we are truly living in the age of the selfie.
- StarsChris LilleyAsolima TauatiIro UtaifeauThe life of a public school epitomized by disobedient student Jonah Takalua, self-absorbed private school exchange student Ja'mie King, and megalomaniac drama teacher Mr. G.Australian comedian Chris Lilley made a name for himself when he played multiple characters in this hilarious mockumentary set in a fictional high school in Sydney. Lilley’s performances are impossible not to laugh at, and the entire series is ripe with quotable moments.
