The best TV shows going off the air

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At a glance

• Lucifer (Fox)
• The Expanse (Syfy)
• The Mick (Fox)
• Great News (NBC)
• The Last Man on Earth (Fox)
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
• The Path (Hulu)
• Ash vs Evil Dead (Starz)
• Homeland (Showtime)
• Broad City (Comedy Central)
• Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon)
• Everything Sucks! (Netflix)
• Designated Survivor (ABC)
• The Crossing (ABC)

Don’t you hate it when you get totally invested in a TV series, only to find out that it will be coming to an end? Whether it’s a cancellation or a decision to end the story, it’s always tough for fans.

Sometimes, another network swoops in and saves a series, like with The Mindy Project, which was snatched up by Hulu after its cancellation by Fox, and Netflix with Arrested Development, which is still going strong with a fifth season coming later this month. Most recently, just one day after Fox surprised viewers by announcing it was canceling Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the popular series’ own production studio, NBC Universal, swooped in and picked it up for a sixth season.

Might there be hope yet for some of these awesome shows? Maybe, but it’s always hard to predict which shows will make the cut — which could well mean, save for a reboot 10 years from now, you’ll want to catch these last episodes before they’re gone. Here are the best shows which will (probably) be saying goodbye.

Lucifer (Fox)

This police procedural drama about the Prince of Darkness himself (Tom Ellis) moving to L.A. to run a nightclub — and help the LAPD solve crimes — has been canceled by Fox after three seasons. The fate of the final two episodes remains in limbo: They may air as “bonus” episodes, or be released for home video. Fan reaction, however, suggests that this cancellation may have come too early. As with other shows on our list, viewers launched an online effort to reverse Fox’s decision to pull the quirky drama, creating the hashtag #SaveLucifer in an effort to bring the show back. In the age of streaming, canceled shows with this kind of fanbase are only “mostly dead.”

The Expanse (Syfy)

It’s the future, and humanity has colonized the Solar System, while a conspiracy threatens survival. While Syfy only purchased rights for the first three seasons of this science-fiction series, the producer and financer, Alcon Entertainment, could end up finding another form of distribution to keep it going. Indeed, it has been reported that Alcon is shopping around a new home for the popular show, which ended its last season with a massive cliffhanger. It would be surprising if the series didn’t get picked up given its incredibly high scoring on review aggregator sites like RottenTomatoes, but for now, this sci-fi thriller has gotten the hook.

The Mick (Fox)

This sitcom, starring Kaitlin Olson as an irresponsible woman left to care for her niece and nephews after her wealthy sister and brother-in-law are arrested, ran for just two seasons. Earlier this month, Fox confirmed that it would not be returning for a third. While Olson was generally praised for her performance as a pseudo-twin of her character on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the series itself has failed to grab the numbers Fox hoped, dooming it to an early grave.

Great News (NBC)

Those still mourning the loss of another TV show that went away too soon, Difficult People, found something (or someone) very familiar in this NBC series: Andrea Martin. The SCTV alumn played a wonderfully overbearing mother in both shows, though her role in this sitcom from creator Tracey Wigfield (and co-produced by Tina Fey) didn’t get much chance to bloom, as the show ended after just two seasons. We can’t say we’re surprised — Great News offered plenty to like but may have been just a shade too quirky for network TV. That said, if you never caught the series its great performances (even from Nichole Richie!) and odd-ball storylines make it well worth a look, if only to imagine what might have been.

The Last Man on Earth (Fox)

In this post-apocalyptic comedy, former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte brings the hilarity as a man presumed to be the only human survivor after a deadly virus sweeps the globe. After discovering a woman, he marries her in an effort to repopulate the world (despite how annoying he finds her), before eventually finding a growing cast of other survivors. Always unpredictable and often raucously funny, the show ran for four seasons before Fox decided to pull the plug. The show started strong, averaging an impressive 5.75 million viewers among adults 18-49 for its one-hour premiere, but it didn’t have enough momentum in the saturated TV landscape to keep it up.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

This zany comedy from producer Tina Fey stars Ellie Kemper as the titular Kimmy, a childlike woman who tries to reintegrate into society after spending much of her young life in captivity in an underground bunker. The show hasn’t been canceled, per se, but it will wrap up after this coming season. The first six episodes of the fourth and final season will premiere on May 30, 2018, with the remaining episodes to follow later in the year. The series, which also stars Carol Kane, Tituss Burgess, and Jane Krakowski, has been commended for its brilliant ability to mix realistic trauma with laugh-out-loud scenarios and witty banter, receiving a total of 16 Emmy nominations (though no wins).

The Path (Hulu)

Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul stars as the member of a religious cult who starts to question its beliefs, causing friction with his firm-believer wife, played by Michelle Monaghan. The series also stars Hugh Dancy as the unofficial leader of the “Meyerist Movement.” The Path had plenty of interesting material to work with and boasted strong performances, but in April, it was confirmed by creator Jessica Goldberg on Twitter that the series would not be returning for a fourth season.

Ash vs Evil Dead (Starz)

This comedy-horror series, which ran for three seasons, and served as a sequel to the original trilogy, sadly ended in late April, with the series finale airing on April 29. Despite having acquired a large cult following, and starring Bruce Campbell in his seminal role as the chainsaw-wielding fighter of the dead Ash Williams, ratings had been consistently declining. Don’t fear just yet, though, as Campbell told Entertainment Weekly back in February that if the show did not get renewed, they might consider doing another movie.

Homeland (Showtime)

With an amazingly successful run through seven seasons, this spy thriller will be returning for an eighth, but the network has confirmed that it will be the last. Following the story of CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) who suffers from bipolar disorder, the series has received universal praise, and won several awards, including Golden Globes and Emmys, with one each for Danes and her former co-star Damian Lewis. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Broad City (Comedy Central)

This raunchy sitcom, which stars series creators Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson as two adventurous young New Yorkers who can’t seem to stay out of trouble, will end after its upcoming fifth season. The unique series, executive produced by Amy Poehler, has tackled everything from the foibles of 20-something dating to getting high on the sly in NYC, to the most embarrassing flight of all time. The Wall Street Journal’s Megan Angelo called the cult hit “sneak-attack feminism,” and empowering for women. We just call it hilarious.

Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon)

This Golden Globe-winning comedy-drama was inspired by the memoir of oboist Blair Tindall, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music, and starred Gael Garcia Bernal in a role inspired by famous conductor Gustavo Dudamel. While it might have only attracted a niche audience in its four seasons, the series is distinctive for its inside look at the inner workings of the New York City classical music scene. Cory Baker of TV.com noted that while the series does take many viewers into a world with which they might not be familiar, it doesn’t “get lost in the hyper-specific.” Those who love beautiful locations and intriguing interactions will want to give this shortlived series some quality time.

Everything Sucks! (Netflix)

It was a solid attempt at reviving the coming-of-age sitcom genre, a la series like Freaks and Geeks and Degrassi High. But this comedy-drama didn’t make the cut. As a parody of teen culture in the ‘90s, the 10 half-hour episodes follow a group of teenagers in a town called Boring, Oregon (and yes, Boring is a real town). While the show was lauded for covering pressing and topical issues like sexuality and mental health, it seems subscribers would rather watch a team of kids from the ‘80s fight a Demogorgon than see another group of awkward high-schoolers coming of age.

Designated Survivor (ABC)

Kiefer Sutherland takes his on-screen access to the White House to a whole new level as Thomas Kirkman, a low-level politician who is thrust into becoming the President of the United States following a terrorist attack that takes out the entire administration. He was spared, having been the (wait for it) designated survivor. As the humble, fair, yet increasingly tough President, the series shows just how difficult a balancing act the job of commander in chief can be, especially for a person who wasn’t prepared to serve in the first place. There might be a silver lining, though, as Netflix has its eye on the series, and may revive it for a third season.

The Crossing (ABC)

Blink and you might have missed this short-lived series starring Steve Zahn as a small-town police chief who finds himself in the midst of strange circumstances. Bodies wash up on the shore of fictional town Port Canaan, Oregon, and survivors claim they’re escaping a war from 180 years in the future. While some believed the show had the potential to be the next LOST, the mystery/thriller couldn’t quite catch a steady audience and was swiftly canceled before season one even finished.

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