Every TV Show Canceled In 2021

Quite a few TV shows met their end in the past year; here’s every TV show that was canceled in 2021. The pandemic provided a unique landscape for television on the ever-growing world of streaming platforms coinciding with network and cable television. With more ways than ever to watch television, more shows are being made available to viewers – meaning more shows must get the chopping block.

Some had an expected cancellation due to low viewership ratings or poor reception. Other shows decided to end after long, healthy runs of over 10 seasons, even as their fan bases remained strong. Some shows, unfortunately, were canceled a second time after being revived on streaming services.

Regardless of the reasons why, 2021 made it clear that it’s harder than ever for a TV show to gain traction and stick around. On the plus side, it seems as though Hollywood is also getting better at knowing when to allow a series to go out on top. Even so, they’ll be missed. Here are all of the TV shows that were canceled in 2021.

Cowboy Bebop

The live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation on Netflix was canceled after just one season. Netflix made changes from the Cowboy Bebop anime that benefited the show and set it apart, giving the live-action remake more justification to exist and anticipation was high leading up to it. Unfortunately, the changes were too extreme and the Netflix adaptation removed everything that made the original anime a cult classic. Poor reviews from critics and viewers alike did not justify the show’s high budget. Its cancellation announcement came just weeks after its November premiere.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead premiered on AMC in 2010, but its current 11th season is finally its last. Adapted from Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name, the show garnered great success during its time, helping to fuel a large resurgence in the zombie subgenre.  However, viewership for the last few seasons took a dramatic nosedive, especially after season 9 when lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) left the show. However, The Walking Dead Rick Grimes movie trilogy is in development, and spin-off show Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed for a seventh season.

Better Call Saul

Breaking Bad’s spin-off Netflix show Better Call Saul will be ending on its sixth season, set to premiere in early 2022. Following Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, Better Call Saul has been very well-received during its time. The show has received 39 Emmy nominations during its run and, like fellow AMC properties Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, generated so much interest it got its own Chris Hardwick-hosted discussion show called Talking Saul. Because Better Call Saul’s viewership and ratings have always been relatively steady, its cancellation appears to be more about completing Saul’s story than anything else. Better Call Saul’s season 6 teases Breaking Bad similarities, leading to a potentially more wild, tragic, and gripping final season.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The hit comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine aired on Fox for five seasons until NBC picked it up from cancellation. However, NBC announced in February 2021 that Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s eighth season will be its last. The pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests put the show on pause, and it returned a year and four months after its previous season. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has addressed cultural matters in rather groundbreaking fashion and been acclaimed for its portrayal of LGBTQ+ representation through Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) and detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz). Still, the current climate around police brutality makes a show about the police hard to survive and eight seasons is a great run for any show. The eighth season delicately addresses the police system controversies and ends with the group going their separate ways, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine keeping their Halloween heists in an effort to maintain their bond.

Kim’s Convenience

Kim’s Convenience was canceled despite highly favorable fan reception for the show that follows a Korean family-run convenience store in Toronto. With supporting actor Simu Liu gaining further popularity for his lead role in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this past year, further attention came to the show. Sadly, the CBC-Netflix show was abruptly announced to be ending after five seasons, generating backlash from both viewers and cast members to revive it for season 6. Kim’s Convenience‘s focus on Asian characters and representation further contributed to the controversy surrounding its cancellation.  Sadly, the decision was reportedly made due to the producers leaving the show. Making the decision particularly frustrating is that serious efforts from cast members to revive it have been repeatedly shot down. A Kim’s Convenience season 6 revival would be highly welcome, but behind-the-scene tensions make it unlikely.

The Crown

While The Crown will return on Netflix in November 2022, it was announced in 2021 that seasons 5 and 6 will wrap up the acclaimed series, with the show long since planned with an arc that would take the royal family up to the 2000s. The Crown season 5 is expected to focus on the continuing reign of Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II in the early ’90s. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affected season 5’s production, which explains the late 2022 release. In the meantime, the show’s star-studded cast members have new projects coming out, with Matt Smith’s House of the Dragon coming in 2022.

 Ozark

Netflix’s drama Ozark, fronted by Jason Bateman, centers around the Byrde family and their continuous spiral into a life of crime. With it still garnering excellent reviews and strong viewership numbers for Netflix, audiences were shocked to learn that Ozark‘s fourth season would be its last. However, it was a choice made by the series creators to end the show on their own terms having told the story they wanted to tell. Due to the ongoing production issues of the pandemic, Netflix announced that the season will be split into two halves, with the first half of Ozark season 4 airing on January 21, 2022. The release date for the second half is yet to be announced.

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders will be ending after season 6, despite strong critical acclaim and a large and loyal fanbase. Series creator Steven Knight implied in the past that the show may last for seven seasons, so Peaky Blinders ending after six seasons came as a blow to longtime viewers. Unfortunately, multiple projects for Knight and lead actor Cillian Murphy, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, affected this decision. However, there’s good news with the cancelation: Knight revealed last year that there were plans for Peaky Blinders to finish with a movie, so there will be more time with the Shelby family after Peaky Blinders season 6.

MCU Releases In 2021: What Worked & What Didn’t

Every Other TV Show Canceled In 2021

• Absentia
• All Rise
• American Gods – Season 3 was the last of this series based on Neil Gaiman’s epic.
• American Housewife
• American Princess
• Animal Kingdom
• Arthur
• A.P. Bio –  Peacock revived it with fan outcry when it was canceled after season two on NBC. However, upcoming season 4 will be its last.
• Atypical – Following the life of Sam, a character on the autistic spectrum. Atypical season 4’s ending left the story on good terms.
• Away
• Better Things
• Betty
• Black-ish – Season 8 will be the last for the popular ABC show starring Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, along with sister series Mixed-ish.
• Black Lightning – The CW will be ending this DC show after its fourth season.
• Bless the Harts
• The Bold Type
• Bonding
• Brave New World
• Bulletproof
• Call Your Mother
• Castlevania – Season 4 wrapped up the story, but a spin-off might be in the works.
• Claws
• Connecting
• Counting On
• Dead to Me
• Debris
• Derry Girls – This show following a group of Northern Irish schoolgirls in the 90s will end with season 3.
• The Duchess
• F is for Family – The Bill Burr-fronted animated sitcom will not return for a sixth season.
• Feel Good
• Filthy Rich
• For Life
• Good Girls
• Grace and Frankie – After seven seasons, this Netflix show starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin will be ending.
• High Maintenance
• Insecure
• The Irregulars
• Julie and the Phantoms
• Killing Eve
• The Kominsky Method – The Netflix show’s third season, without main actor Alan Arkin, was its last.
• The Last Kingdom
• Last Man Standing – Picked up by Fox after being canceled by ABC, this Tim Allen-fronted show will end after season 9.
• A Little Late with Lilly Singh
• Lovecraft Country – Despite positive audience reception and numerous Emmy wins, HBO canceled Lovecraft Country after one season.
• MacGyver
• Manifest
• Mixed-ish
• Mom
• Mr. Inbetween
• NCIS: New Orleans
• NeXt
• The Order
• Pandora
• Pose – This FX show that broke ground for LGBTQ+ representation ended on season 3.
• Prodigal Son
• Punky Brewster
• Ray Donovan
• Rebel
• Run
• Shameless – Showtime‘s long-running series led by William H. Macy ended after 11 seasons.
• Shrill
• Siren
• Special
• Supergirl
• Superstore – The NBC sitcom following the retail workers of the Cloud Nine big-box store ended after six seasons.
• This Is Us – After receiving wide acclaim throughout the show’s lifetime, This Is Us season 6 will be its last.
• The Unicorn
• Trickster
• Truth
• Vagrant Queen
• We Are Who We Are
• White Lines
• World of Dance
• Younger

About The Author

Allison Wonchoba
(79 Articles Published)

See also  Dexter: Every Original Series Death Referenced In New Blood's Finale

Allison Wonchoba is a Features writer on Screen Rant. She holds a degree in Cinema and English, and she knows (probably) all things film and TV. Working at Hot Topic for a couple years also helped her know all things pop culture-y. Once upon a time, she also interned at a radio station in Dublin, Ireland where she got more media training – and built up her Sudoku skills on the side. She likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain – and she knows that’s NOT a Jimmy Buffet song.

More From Allison Wonchoba