One Season Wonders (And Where To Watch Them)
There are some TV shows that are just too good for this world. They came into our lives to give us a taste of greatness, and then just as quickly were taken away. We only got one season, and now all we can do is pine for what could have been. Here are some of my favorite one season wonders, and where you can stream or buy them. I didn’t include some obvious ones, I didn’t include some overrated ones, and I didn’t include some you may think are essential because I’m just one person! I can’t know everything! But these are the shows that make me curse TV execs for cancelling too soon, too callously, and too carelessly.
Pitch (Stream on Hulu)
I already wrote a love letter to Pitch, so I won’t repeat myself. I will say though that every few weeks I remember that Pitch got cancelled and I let out a primal scream. I will be mad about this forever.
Ben and Kate (Only available to buy, for $10)
Dakota Johnson is getting more and more attention, but did any of you so called fans watch Ben and Kate?? Hmmm? Johnson plays a young mom who has a man-child brother, Ben (Nat Faxon) who moves in to help her raise her daughter, and you know, they all end up helping raise each other.. It’s funny and heartwarming and it never got a chance to achieve its destiny.
Bunheads (Stream on Hulu)
After Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino made a few more attempts at TV, but none was more Gilmore-esque than Bunheads. Sutton Foster plays a showgirl who impulsively marries Alan Ruck, who then promptly dies, leaving his new bride to help run his mother’s dance studio. Anyone who watched Bunheads loved Bunheads, and most likely wept when they watched the final dance.
Selfie (Unavailable to stream OR buy, disgraceful)
Do you every wonder why John Cho doesn’t have a slew of romcom leading man roles on his IMDb page? WELL HE DID. ONCE. He was Henry Higgins (Higgs, in this case) in the modern day Pygmalion sitcom Selfie. He and Karen Gillan were amazing together, the show was smart and funny and romantic and (you know what’s coming next) cancelled. I definitely streamed Selfie a year or two ago, but now it’s nowhere to be found. Hopefully some streaming platform will pick it up again soon.
Good Girls Revolt (Stream on Amazon)
Amazon is… not great at creating streaming content, and when they have a hit they just let it go. I initially judged Good Girls Revolt harshly, before even seeing it, and when I finally did I was shocked at how good it was. It’s still so frustrating, years later, that Amazon let this gem of a show die.
No Tomorrow (Stream on Netflix)
Sometimes The CW puts out shows that just exist. They’re not good, they’re not bad, they just ARE. It’s arguably what the network is built on. Then, sometimes, something special comes through, more special than it needs to be as a CW show, and that is exactly what happened with No Tomorrow. The plot, basically: A guy believes that the world is going to end, a girl feels like her life is directionless, they change each other’s lives. I thought the season finale was smart and satisfying and made me wish the show could have had a chance to continue the story.
Moonlight (Stream on CW Seed)
Not all one season wonders are great shows that we will miss forever. Sometimes they’re soapy shows about horny vampires. Moonlight has strong CW energy, but it aired on CBS. Not the best place for this kind of show, which I truly believe would have thrived with a summer season on The CW, or an inexplicable seven seasons on like, USA. The sexy vampire leading man (Alex O’Laughlin) is named Mick St John (WHAT) and he’s a vampire private investigator (OMFG) who is in love with the adult woman who’s life he saved when she was a child (WTF). I MEAN. I would have watched this show for 15 seasons if given the chance.
