2023 has been a brutal year for networks refusing to pay fair wages and then turning around and wrongfully blaming cancelations on the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes. Yet this is a game TV executives have played for a long, long time, and we’ve hated every minute of it. Why should fans invest in a TV show when the network could axe it tomorrow? How many times have you heard someone say, “Is it renewed?” when you tell them to start something? Personally, we’ve heard it too many times, and the 2023 TV cancelations have been the worst so far.
No cancelation is truly worth it because it’s almost always the series with well-written, brilliantly established inclusivity that isn’t marketed enough for the general audience to know of its existence. Networks and streaming services will spend thousands promoting the familiar, perhaps even deeply toxic, procedurals, but they won’t invest a dime in the shows full of everything viewers could want. And this year—there’s been too much of it. We didn’t even want to make a list because there’s plenty out there with what we’re leaving behind. Shows like Netflix’s Lockwood & Co. had so much potential, and A League of Their Own took so much campaigning to get a conclusion at least—unfair, still in every way because they both deserve more. But here are the shows we’re mourning the most at Lady Geeks.
Shadow and Bone
Shadow and Bone had a lot of potential, but adding a series to Netflix is almost always a massive risk nowadays. No, they should’ve never combined the trilogy with the Six of Crows duology, but at the same time, we’re selfishly glad we got what we did with the Crows. Yet, there’s still so much story left to tell and one of the most sensational book-to-screen casts that we’ve ever seen that losing these characters feels personal to so many people. And with it we lose the potential spinoffs that could’ve taken the world by storm. Still, there might be hope for Shadow and Bone, with a fan-made petition garnering almost 200k signatures. (Sign here if you haven’t already.) If nothing else, maybe the writers could at least get the chance to properly wrap up stories instead of leaving us with loose ends. We get more Warrior Nun, after all—so here’s to hoping.
Blindspotting
For two seasons when Blindspotting was on the air, nothing else mattered. The writing, the acting, the directorial vision, and everything in between was a triumph in storytelling. It was a masterclass in every way to evolve characters and develop a narrative through unique formatting that allows thinking outside the box. In more ways than one, Blindspotting is a tour-de-force in storytelling, but unless you’re a fan of the movie and the cast, then you barely even knew that the show existed. Anytime we’d tell someone about it, the answer was always the same, “I didn’t even know that was a thing.” And with the surplus of streaming services nowadays, subscribing to yet another site for one show was always too much for people. Understandably so, yet Blindspotting deserved so much more than to be on a list featuring 2023 TV cancelations—it deserved to turn into something bigger and bolder. It deserves accolades all around for everything the series accomplishes as a true work of art.
With Love
With Love hurts a ton because it’s one of the most nuanced romantic comedies we’ve had in ages. People are constantly screaming about how they want more romance, and the show has everything. As a celebration of queer romances and a beautiful love letter to friends and families, With Love was brimming with an exceptional cast and plenty of warmth in every corner. It’s also one of the easiest shows to binge, providing the escapism we’re all searching for, yet the marketing was almost nonexistent. Prime Video barely ever promoted the film, dropping all episodes at once when it usually sticks to a weekly format and refusing to let it find its audience. It’s one of those shows that would’ve done so much better airing weekly, but it’s still one fans could revisit over and over again. It ends somewhat hopefully, yet it’s still so heartbreaking that there won’t be more.
Vampire Academy
After A Discovery of Witches ended, we weren’t sure we’d be invested in vampires again, but Peacock’s adaptation was everything we didn’t know we needed and more. Vampire Academy is the kind of show that deserves the same hype series similar to it got on the CW. And maybe if it were more accessible, then we wouldn’t be sitting here writing about its cancelation now. With its incredible cast, remarkably diverse romances, and thoroughly impressive worldbuilding that’s rare in fantasy nowadays, the series deserved a renewal. The books deserve better, and with every story full of potential, the arcs deserve completion. The 2023 TV cancelations ultimately started with this one, and it’s been downhill since then.
How I Met Your Father
As a series, How I Met Your Father was far from perfect, but like others, it deserved more than it got. Again, 2023 TV cancelations boil down entirely to the networks and the detail that they don’t market nearly enough as is necessary. It’s also worth noting that while people were hesitant to give the series a chance after their disappointment in How I Met Your Mother, there were few instances where the differences were palpable for the general audience. Smaller outlets shouldn’t have been the only ones promoting how it’s significantly better and more nuanced. The cast’s chemistry, the exciting relationships, and, more importantly, the friendships were too good for us to let go easily.
What are the 2023 TV cancelations you’re most bummed about? Let us know in the comments below.