Has your favorite TV show been cancelled or will it be back for the 2012–2013 TV season? If your favorite series is on the list below, you have our condolences.
This list encompasses shows that have ended or have been cancelled and won’t be back for the 2012-13 season. It covers those that have gotten the ax roughly between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012. In some cases, the last episodes of shows aired months earlier but the network didn’t get around to canceling the series until later. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, try the 2010–2011 listings, the 2009–2010 listings, or maybe you’ve gotten lucky!
This list used to include Breaking Bad but, since the last half of season five won’t air until 2012-13 we’re putting it on the 2012-13 list.
Because there have been so many cancellations, we’ve split this list up into three pages. This is the first. You can also check out page two and page three.
Most recent additions: The Buried Life, Dog Whisperer, How to Rock, and Teen Mom.
Now, let’s take a moment to bow our heads and remember these fallen TV series…
3 (CBS)
The network pulled the reality series after just two episodes aired. CBS may get around to releasing the remaining installments.
101 Ways to Leave a Game Show (ABC)
We’ll never find out what the rest of the “ways” were. The last episode of the competition series aired on July 26, 2011.
Against the Wall (Lifetime)
This family cop drama didn’t catch on with a large enough audience so it was canned after one season on the air. The last episode aired in September.
Alcatraz (FOX)
The ratings started off strong but faded over the course of the season. It’s been cancelled and all 13 episodes have aired.
All-American Muslim (TLC)
This docu-series follows the lives of five Lebanese American Muslim families who live in Dearborn, Michigan. The show started off with decent ratings and positive reviews. Viewership had declined significantly by the end of the eight episodes so it wasn’t renewed.
Allen Gregory (FOX)
Co-created by and starring Jonah Hill, this animated series aggravated lots of people but didn’t keep enough of them coming back week after week. FOX aired all seven episodes and there won’t be any more.
Are You There Chelsea? (NBC)
This sitcom started out okay but quickly lost steam over the course of 12 episodes.
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (Disney XD)
After two seasons, the animated series is coming to an end. It’ll be replaced by a new show, Avengers Assemble, in 2013.
Awake (NBC)
It started out strong and had good reviews but viewers tuned out over time. It won’t be back.
Bent (NBC)
Execs contended that they weren’t burning through the six episodes when they aired them in three weeks. Regardless, the sitcom won’t be back for a second season.
Best Friends Forever (NBC)
The peacock network pulled the plug on future airings of this sitcom due to low ratings.
Blue Mountain State (Spike TV)
There won’t be a fourth season of the football comedy as the cable channel has decided to focus on reality programming.
Bored to Death (HBO)
Starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson, this show revolves around a man with writers block. The ratings dropped a lot in season three so HBO opted not to give it a fourth season.
Breaking In (FOX)
The sitcom was saved once from cancellation but won’t be rescued again.
Breakout Kings (A&E)
The show lasted for two seasons. The ratings started out strong enough but declined over the course of the 23 episodes.
Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures (Nickelodeon)
This kids’ sitcom was cancelled after one season. Only 18 of the 26 episodes have aired to date.
Bud United Presents: The Big Time (ABC)
This reality competition ran for seven episodes at 3pm on Saturday afternoons.
The Buried Life (MTV)
The guys’ travels have come to an end — at least in this incarnation.
Buried Treasure (FOX)
Leigh and Leslie Kelso may continue travelling the country in search of rare antiques but they won’t be seen on FOX.
Camelot (Starz)
The ratings weren’t great and there would have been production challenges in making a second season so the cable channel pulled the plug. The drama lasted 10 episodes.
Cash Cab (Discovery)
The game show that gave taxi passengers a chance to win cash prizes has ended after seven years on the air.
CHAOS (CBS)
A comedic action series, this show was delayed until late in the season. When it finally debuted, few noticed. CBS burned off most of the episodes on Saturday nights.
Charlie’s Angels (ABC)
The original series was a big success for ABC but this one flopped. Production was shut down after eight episodes and the show was cancelled.
Chuck (NBC)
Has there ever been a time when this TV show wasn’t in danger of being cancelled? NBC decided to renew it for a fifth and final season of 13 episodes, giving the cast and crew ample time to craft a series finale.
The Closer (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick supposedly made the decision to end this top-rated series after seven seasons on the air. Though Brenda Leigh Johnson will depart, some of the characters will continue in a spin-off called Major Crimes.
Combat Hospital (ABC)
This series was a disappointment for the network and they only aired 12 of the 13 episodes. They cancelled the show and Shaw Media, who produces the show, couldn’t find another American outlet to help pay for a second season.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann (Current TV)
Using the same name from his long-running MSNBC show, Olbermann lasted less than a year before parting ways with Current TV.
CSI: Miami (CBS)
After 10 seasons, David Caruso can give back the sunglasses. The show ended with 232 episodes total.
Damages (DirecTV)
The show was picked up for two seasons when FX dropped it. It turns out that season five, airing Summer 2012, will be the show’s last.
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Rather than wait until the ratings dropped any further, the network agreed to close down Wisteria Lane after eight seasons on the air.
Dog Whisperer (A&E)
After more than 150 episodes and nine seasons, the Cesar Millan program is coming to a close. The series finale will air on September 15th.
Dog the Bounty Hunter (Nat Geo Wild)
A show that helped to put the cable channel on the map is ending after eight seasons.
Dragon Ball Z Kai (Nick)
This animated series ended after one season and 97 episodes. It’s being replaced Dragon Ball GT.
Ebert Presents: At the Movies (PBS)
Continuing the format of film criticism that was made popular by Ebert and Gene Siskel, this weekly program reviews a number of new and classic films. It didn’t find enough financial support and ended up being put on hiatus.
Escape Routes (NBC)
Sponsored by Ford, this competition series didn’t garner much interest on Saturday nights.
Eureka (Syfy)
Based on the ratings, this show was apparently too expensive to continue producing. The fifth and final season will air in mid-2012. After the cancellation announcement came down, the cable channel ordered an additional episode to allow Eureka some sort of proper finale.
Ev and Ocho (VH1)
Envisioned as a follow-up to Basketball Wives, this series follows Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Evelyn Lozada’s relationship. It was cancelled before any of the 11 episodes had aired.
Expedition Impossible (ABC)
This summer reality competition lasted 10 episodes and one season but the network apparently felt that a second season was, well, impossible.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
Ty Pennington and his crew are getting a little rest. The network has cancelled the reality show but will still air it as occasional specials.
Fear Factor (NBC)
Joe Rogan won’t have to witness any more disgusting stunts. NBC has dropped the series again.
The Finder (FOX)
This Bones spin-off stumbled out of the gate and just never caught on. It’s been cancelled after 13 episodes.
The Firm (NBC)
This highly-promoted legal series was a ratings disappointment and NBC burned off the remaining episodes on Saturday nights.
Want more? Check out page two and page three.
Lists of cancelled or renewed TV shows by network: ABC | CBS | The CW | FOX | NBC
What do you think? Are you surprised that any of these shows have been cancelled? Which one(s) will you miss the most?
I will miss Eureka, but it doesn’t surprise me. To be honest, I lost interest after they introduced the “alternate timeline” in Season 4. While it was an interesting idea, it just seemed pointless to watch if everything they spent three seasons building was now erased. Yeah, the first few episodes were interesting as we got to see how the town was different, but then it felt like I was watching an entirely different show. It would be like if in Dragon Ball, somebody wished that Goku was young again so he wasn’t as powerful as he built himself to… Read more »
So sad that One Tree Hill is over!! I love that show and everything it stands for! So glad it lasted for 9 seasons!
I will miss the following: The Closer, House, Men of A Certain Age. All very good, although House has suffered from silliness lately.
I am extremely disappointed that Eureka has been canceled. It was great fun to watch.
My husband and I enjoyed Combat Hospital very much.
house(fox) new
they cant take it off that is only one out of 7 tv shows i watch i love house 🙁 i hate fox network i hope they go bankrupt !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am really pissed! They need to stop taking the good shows away and leaving the crap on! It started with me when they took: 1)”SAVING GRACE”, now it’s 2)”Hawthorne” 3)”Memphis Beat” and finishing off with taking away: 4)”In Plain Sight”!!! Seriously, people there has to be ways of stopping/protesting these shows being cancelled! It’s just not fair!! Isn’t there some producers out there that will create a tv station that will pick up all these favorites? They have this channel called “Retro” and it has all the old shows from the 70’s & 80’s. So why not the shows… Read more »
While I completely agree with you that it’s not fair at all when TV series are cancelled, a series being cancelled vs. a series getting a chance to end on its own terms are completely different. Hawthorn and Beat got cancelled after 3 & 2 seasons with many things up in the air because it was not expected to end just then. However, In Plain Sight was given a chance to wrap up their storylines and be a complete series with an official ending. Not to mention, 5 seasons is pretty good considering most shows are lucky if they make… Read more »
i am so sad that the cw is not bringing back chloe king i love that show.
maybe that’s why its not coming back, it was on ABC Family… lol
but there is talk of it getting a continuation movie, so who knows.
I am shocked to hear that the Nate Berkus show will be cancelled. It is a very enjoyable show, and Nate is a perfect host. Not only does he bring humour, fashion, and decorating in one platform, he makes it thoroughly enjoyable with his participation. What will Nate be doing?
House and Breaking Bad are examples of how good TV still can be. But every good show comes to an end and with a full season to wrap up loose ends the writers can really surprise us with something special to remember.
Hate House is going.
Really liked In Plain Sight. Nice to have a show with a strong female lead that is also physical. Mary is really cool.
Hate to see the Closer go. It took me a while to get into it, but then I couldn’t get enough. So sad.
Very disappointed about House and The Closer. How to Make It In America was a good program. Sorry it won’t return. People took Skins the wrong way. I looked at it as “This may be what your kids are doing!!!!” or “How not to be a teen!” The groups that wanted this show gone are in complete denial about today’s youth. It was extreme, but I personally know people that grew up like this. Ask some young adults about the kick backs they have gone to in their youth. I knew HawthoRNe was not going to return. I really did… Read more »
Eureka(Syfy)
I will miss this show very much. It had humor and style but ran out of steam because there were too many loose ends. It must be very difficult to not only write a show but to execute the ideas of a writer. Congradulations on the semi-animated Christmas show. It was very clever.
Sad day! Can’t believe they cancelled against the wall! Been waiting for it to come back on since the last episode. Man this stinks first a&e cancels the cleaner now this!
I’m so sad Season 5 of Breaking Bad will be the conclusion…not only because it’s no doubt the best show on TV and almost as addicting as a drug itself, but because it feels like Walt has just now reached an important phase of his arch (becoming the kingpin). Of course, the creators will surely think of some kind of genius way to focus more on the consequences of Walt’s actions than the progress of his meth operation…however, I think many fans of the show would rather see Walt build his OWN operation from scratch and go through season-after-season worth… Read more »
– Allen Gregory (FOX) not surprised. that show was annoying and shallow – Bored to Death (HBO) too bad. it had a great cast, that brought somethign unique to the screen. a show with personality. – Breaking Bad (AMC) no surprise, to be honest. while it was intriguing to watch, they were struggling with the writing, or so it appeared to me. – Chuck (NBC) FINALLY! i never liked that show. – Eureka (Syfy) always liked this show, but, pretty obviously, in creative troubles. farewell, eureka! – House (FOX) NEW this is sad. really sad. one of the best shows… Read more »
Breaking Bad…struggling with the writing??? You could have said anything else and I would have kept my opinions to myself…but that show’s writing ONLY GETS BETTER. I could agree with you that some aspects of the show are somewhat ify here and there, but for the writers to expand so much on Gus Fring’s backstory and keeping the Mexican cartel story alive SINCE THE END OF SEASON 1??? You ask me, those writers deserve gold metals, ESPECIALLY FOR SEASON 4! Who ever thought Hector Salamancha would have been the one to personally bring down Gus? You can’t even try to… Read more »
It’s those bloodsucking network goons who are ******** things up!
I agree with GaleBetticker555 Breaking Bad is the best show on TV if you ask me!