The 2010s saw a seismic shift in the way we consume TV shows and how they’re made. With the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and (most recently) Disney Plus, television has splintered in ways we couldn’t have imagined even a decade ago. You don’t have to look far to find something in your niche and — concerns over things like the paradox of choice aside — you can usually be sure that that show you like is going to stick around for a while.
Yes, cancellations are still a part of the game, but even if your favorite new show gets axed after one season, it has a better chance than ever of getting picked up by a different network. Still, this doesn’t mean the 2010s didn’t have its share of TV series that had the plug pulled too soon.
Here are the ten saddest TV cancellations of the past decade.
10. The Last Man On Earth (2015 – 2018)
It’s always disappointing when a good TV series get canceled, but it’s even worse when that series ends on a cliffhanger. Such was the case with The Last Man on Earth, an oddball comedy created by and starring Will Forte, which concluded four seasons on an unresolved note in 2018.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, The Last Man on Earth was the rare piece of media to poke fun at our culture’s obsession with the end times, offering a reprieve from more dour fare like The Walking Dead. While it would have been great to get at least another season, The Last Man on Earth’s cliffhanger finale might have been the plan all along, as Forte admitted he approached every episode like it could have been the last.
Source: Screenshot via 20th Television/Fox