‘@TVGMMattRoush
Question: Here’s a fun and challenging summer task: Creating a Top 10 list of terrific TV shows that were undeservedly canceled after only one season. My list would include My So-Called Life, Freaks and Geeks and A Year in the Life. Which shows would make your list? — Matt
Matt Roush: Those three would absolutely be on my list, and another I fought for early in my career — CBS’s ahead-of-its-time Frank’s Place from 1987-88 — came immediately to mind. I tend to avoid this type of historical list question, because without ample time to do research I know I’ll miss something obvious. But in an effort to fill six other slots, here’s what I came up with: Nothing Sacred (ABC, 1997-98), Profit (Fox, 1996), EZ Streets (CBS, 1996-97), East Side West Side (CBS, 1963-64; caught that one on a cable or PBS replay), and while they aired over two short seasons, I’m including two series that collectively added up to just about a single season’s run: Norman Lear’s The Powers That Be from the creators of Friends (NBC, 1992-93, which introduced David Hyde Pierce) and ABC’s Pushing Daisies (2007-09, which never recovered from the 2007-08 writers’ strike). I know many of my readers would include ABC’s Forever to any such list, and I don’t disagree.
To submit questions to TV Critic Matt Roush, go to: tvinsider.com