TV Shows That Ended In 2016
The Good Wife
THE GOOD WIFE
After seven seasons (and a pair of Emmys for star Julianna Margulies), CBS' legal drama finally rested its case in May, as attorney Alicia Florrick walked away from her politician husband Peter — and got a slap in the face from colleague Diane Lockhart. Diane's story will continue (minus Alicia) in the upcoming spinoff The Good Fight.
CASTLE
CASTLE
Detective Kate Beckett and crime author Richard Castle were inseparable for eight seasons on ABC's hit procedural. So it's fitting that rather than continue on without co-star Stana Katic, the show ended instead, with a flash-forward of Castle and Beckett happily watching their kids play.
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AMERICAN IDOL
Fox's singing competition was a ratings juggernaut, topping the Nielsens for a record eight straight seasons. But this year, the fat lady finally sang, with former judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul and past winners like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood returning for the April 7 finale.
RIZZOLI & ISLES (TNT)
RIZZOLI & ISLES
Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander teamed up to form one of TV's top crime-fighting duos for seven seasons on the TNT procedural. In the finale, Jane and Maura both left the Boston PD to go their separate ways — but not before jetting off together for a Paris getaway.
Penny Dreadful
PENNY DREADFUL
Fans were shocked when, right after Showtime's horror/drama wrapped up its third season in June, creator John Logan announced that the series would end there as well. But the spooky cult favorite went out in grand Gothic fashion, with Eva Green's Vanessa dying in an act of self-sacrifice at the hands of Josh Hartnett's Ethan.
Curse of the Bambino
MIKE & MOLLY
Despite her movie-star status, Melissa McCarthy famously said she would have stuck with this CBS sitcom "for 50 more years." Well, she only got six seasons, as the series signed off in May with Mike and Molly reminiscing as they awaited the birth of their adopted child.
Royal Pains - Season 8
ROYAL PAINS
HankMed closed its doors in July after eight seasons of breezy medical drama. In the finale, Hank left the richy-rich Hamptons behind to join Jill in Africa and use his medical expertise to help the less fortunate.
Person of Interest
PERSON OF INTEREST
Paranoia struck deep in CBS' tech-savvy procedural about a surveillance system that could predict crime. Fans and critics loved it, but it took a final bow in June after five seasons, with John Reese sacrificing himself to destroy the evil super-computer Samaritan.
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MASTERS OF SEX
Like Penny Dreadful before it, Showtime cancelled this period drama about pioneering sex researchers Masters and Johnson in November only after the series finale had already aired. But fans still got closure, with Bill and Virginia finally tying the knot.
Rectify_Renewed_Season3
RECTIFY
Sundance's patient, lyrical drama about a wrongly convicted death-row inmate getting a second chance at life concluded a stellar four-season run in October. And it ended with more new life, as Daniel envisioned — in a dream, maybe? — a happy reunion with the absent Chloe, with a newborn baby in tow.
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THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA
Debra Messing's police procedural/working-mom comedy tried to balance comedy and drama, but it got sent packing in May after two seasons.
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VINYL
One of the biggest TV disappointments of the year, HBO's retro rock drama boasted a great pedigree — and a sky-high budget. But viewers plugged their ears, and HBO reversed an earlier renewal and cut its losses in June after just one season.
JAMES D'ARCY, HAYLEY ATWELL, CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY
MARVEL'S AGENT CARTER
This Marvel Comics offshoot, starring Hayley Atwell as a 1940s secretary-turned-secret agent, was a critical darling, but that wasn't enough to earn it a renewal. ABC pulled the plug in May after two seasons.
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DEVIOUS MAIDS
Marc Cherry's campy soap, told from the perspective of a group of Beverly Hills maids, enjoyed a healthy four-season run of murder and mayhem on Lifetime before signing off in August.
Mythbusters
MYTHBUSTERS
Discovery's reality series proved science can be cool for 15 seasons by testing out popular theories and urban legends. It wrapped up in March with a reunion of the whole MythBusters gang and, fittingly, a couple of huge explosions.
CSI: Cyber Cancelled
CSI: CYBER
This spinoff starring Patricia Arquette and Ted Danson didn't enjoy the long life that other CSI shows did. CBS axed it in May after just two seasons.
i-am-cait-cancelled
I AM CAIT
E!'s documentary series about Kardashian dad-turned-transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner garnered plenty of buzz, but not much in the way of ratings. E! cancelled it after two seasons.
heroes-reborn-nbc
HEROES REBORN
NBC revived its mid-'00s hit drama... but not for long. After fans greeted the new episodes with a shrug, the network pulled the plug after one season.
UNFORGETTABLE
UNFORGETTABLE
This police procedural, starring Poppy Montgomery as a detective blessed with a perfect memory, is one tough cookie, surviving two cancellations by CBS and a move to A&E. But its four-season run finally ended for good in January. (We think.)
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CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
Rob Corddry's Adult Swim hospital-show parody always attracted great guest stars, from Jon Hamm to Nick Offerman. But it closed its doors for good in April after seven seasons.
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MISTRESSES
This proudly trashy soap was a staple of ABC's summer lineup for four seasons — and even survived the departure of star Alyssa Milano — but it got axed in September.
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AWKWARD.
Jenna can stop being mortified now: MTV's ironic high-school dramedy got its diploma in May after five seasons.
Episode 510
HOUSE OF LIES
A cast that boasted the likes of Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell wasn't enough to keep this Showtime dramedy around. It ended in June after five seasons.
Galavant
GALAVANT
This medieval musical rom-com beat the odds by even getting on the air, so we should probably be thankful we even got two seasons before the axe fell in May. But don't lose hope, Gala-fans: Composer Alan Menken has said he wants to continue the series on stage.
Togetherness
TOGETHERNESS
Critics loved this bittersweet dramedy about a fractured L.A. marriage, but it never found an audience, so HBO cancelled it in March after two seasons.
limitless-recap-season-finale
LIMITLESS
This zippy CBS procedural, based on the Bradley Cooper film about a man who's given new abilities by a mind-expanding drug, was a surprise cut in May when the network axed it following its freshman season.
looking-the-movie-recap-series-finale-patrick-richie-reunite
LOOKING
HBO cancelled this frank and funny look at gay life in San Francisco after two seasons — but at least fans got a two-hour movie in July to tie up loose ends.
BrainDead
BRAINDEAD
CBS' summer series about brain-eating bugs run amok in Washington D.C. was probably too weird to live (at least on a network); it was cancelled after just one season.
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SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL
No more encores for Denis Leary's rock-band comedy: FX turned on the house lights in September after two seasons.
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UNDATEABLE
NBC's love-and-dating sitcom switched to a live format in Season 3 to shake things up, but even that — and a Backstreet Boys appearance in the series finale — couldn't save it from the cancellation axe.
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TYRANT
This ambitious political drama, about the family of a fictional Middle Eastern dictator, was certainly a big swing by FX... but it was also a miss. Its three-season run ended in September.
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HELL ON WHEELS
AMC's dusty railroad Western starring Anson Mount was a low-key favorite for viewers, enjoying an admirable five-season run. The series wrapped up in July, with ex-Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon boarding a boat to China.
Beauty and the Beast
BEAUTY & THE BEAST
The CW's dark, sexy take on the classic fairy tale ran for four seasons, but the spell was finally broken in September. (At least Cat and Vincent got a happy ending.)
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THE GRINDER
The defense rests, and so does The Grinder: Fox ended Rob Lowe and Fred Savage's legal comedy after its freshman season. (But what if it didn't?)
Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" Makes Its Debut With Host, Executive Producer And Writer Larry Wilmore
THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE
Let's keep it one hundred: Larry Wilmore's Comedy Central news show never caught on like Stephen Colbert did in the post-Daily Show timeslot, and was axed in August after a year and a half on the air.
muppets
THE MUPPETS
One of the biggest disappointments of last season, ABC's reboot of the beloved Muppets endured a number of creative reshufflings, but still got the boot in May after just one season.
The Jim Gaffigan Show
THE JIM GAFFIGAN SHOW
After two seasons on TV Land, Jim Gaffigan and his wife/co-writer Jeannie decided to end this family sitcom in August so they could spend more time with their (real) children.
john-mclaughlin
THE MCLAUGHLIN GROUP
PBS' long-running news roundtable signed off in August after 34 years, following the death of host John McLaughlin.
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BANSHEE
Cinemax's high-octane action series, about an ex-con hiding out in Pennsylvania's Amish country, gave us plenty of memorable fight scenes before signing off in May after four seasons.
impastor-recap
IMPASTOR
Buddy Dobbs couldn't fool people for long: TV Land's comedy starring Michael Rosenbaum as a gambling addict posing as a holy man wrapped up in December after two seasons.
Aquarius - Season 2
AQUARIUS
NBC's 1960s crime drama, with David Duchovny's fictional LAPD detective chasing Charles Manson, was planned to run for six seasons... but only got two. The network closed the case in October.
grandfathered
GRANDFATHERED
The eternally handsome John Stamos played a bachelor who finds out he's a grandpa in this Fox sitcom, which was cancelled in May after just one season. (Leaving Stamos more time to appear on Fuller House.)
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MARON
Comedian Marc Maron's semi-autobiographical IFC comedy took a final bow in July after four seasons.
Amazon Pilots
GOOD GIRLS REVOLT
Amazon's period drama, about female researchers fighting against gender discrimination at a '60s news magazine, stopped the presses in December after just one season.
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INSPECTOR LEWIS
The long-running British mystery starring Kevin Whately as the beloved detective wrapped up in August with a three-episode final season on PBS.
ax-men-cancelled-history
AX MEN
History's reality series about the hard-working crews of a number of U.S. logging companies ran for nine seasons before getting... well, the axe.
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MARCO POLO
The ship has sailed for Netflix's international drama starring Lorenzo Richelmy as the legendary merchant: It was cancelled in December after two seasons.
Angel Probation
ANGEL FROM HELL
Jane Lynch's CBS sitcom — about a woman who discovers she has a guardian angel — didn't score heavenly ratings, so it got pulled from the primetime schedule in February after just five episodes. (The final eight episodes aired over the summer.)
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COMEDY BANG! BANG!
After confusing celebrity guests with surreal antics for five seasons, Scott Aukerman's IFC talk show signed off for good in December.
the-soul-man-cancelled-tv-land
THE SOUL MAN
Prayers for a sixth season of Cedric the Entertainer's TV Land sitcom went unanswered, and it aired its finale in June.
Roadies
ROADIES
Cameron Crowe doing a TV series about the crew behind a rock 'n' roll band's stadium shows sounded like a can't-miss. But it did miss, and Showtime shut it down after just one season.
faking-it-cancelled
FAKING IT
MTV's rom-com, about two teen girls who become popular after pretending they're a lesbian couple, broke it off in May after three seasons.
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CONTAINMENT
The CW's virus thriller from executive producer Julie Plec didn't survive to see a second season.
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MURDER IN THE FIRST
TNT's crime drama, starring Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson as a pair of San Francisco homicide detectives, headed to the morgue in October after three seasons.
bradley-james
DAMIEN
A&E's continuation of The Omen from former Walking Dead EP Glen Mazzara, featuring a grown-up Damien, was damned to a one-season-and-done fate.
American Gothic
AMERICAN GOTHIC
This creepy summer drama about a family rocked by accusations that their father was a serial killer wasn't exactly light summer fare, so maybe that's why CBS canned it after a single season.
Blunt Talk Season 2 2016
BLUNT TALK
Here's some blunt talk for fans of Starz's comedy starring Patrick Stewart as a British cable newsman: The network pulled the plug in December after two seasons.
Telenovela
TELENOVELA
Ratings for Eva Longoria's behind-the-scenes soap parody were never as caliente as the action on-screen, so NBC announced in May there wouldn't be a second season.
worst-shows-2016-houdini-and-doyle
HOUDINI & DOYLE
Fox's murder mystery imagined magician Harry Houdini and author Arthur Conan Doyle as a crime-solving duo. But it couldn't conjure up enough ratings to justify a Season 2.
deadbeat-cancelled-season-4
DEADBEAT
Hulu totally harshed the buzz of this stoner comedy starring Tyler Labine as a weed-smoking medium by cancelling it in June. But at least it got to roll out its third and final season on April 20 (hee hee).
UNCLE BUCK
UNCLE BUCK
Some TV-to-movie reboots work, like Fargo and Hannibal. This ABC reboot of the 1989 John Candy comedy, starring Mike Epps and Nia Long, did not. Its first and only season ended in July.
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DEAD OF SUMMER
This '80s-set summer-camp horror series couldn't scare up enough viewers to convince Freeform to order a second season.
Mad Dogs / Pilot
MAD DOGS
Amazon's crime thriller boasted a strong cast (Michael Imperioli, Steve Zahn, Billy Zane) and a seasoned executive producer in The Shield's Shawn Ryan — but that wasn't enough to earn a second season.
feed-the-beast-cancelled-amc
FEED THE BEAST
David Schwimmer's O.J.-fueled TV comeback didn't extend to this new AMC drama about two lifelong friends opening a restaurant together. The check came in September when AMC didn't order a second season.
THE FAMILY
THE FAMILY
ABC's midseason thriller, starring Joan Allen as a politician whose son returns a decade after disappearing, never found an audience — or a second-season renewal.
Game of Silence
GAME OF SILENCE
NBC's crime thriller starred TV vets like David Lyons and Michael Raymond-James, but it still got silenced after wrapping up a 10-episode run in June.
bordertown-cancelled-fox
BORDERTOWN
Seth MacFarlane's magic touch didn't help save this animated comedy about two families living on the U.S./Mexico border. Fox yanked it from the lineup in May after one season.
bitten-bad-dreams
BITTEN
Thrice bitten, once shy for Syfy's werewolf drama starring Smallville alum Laura Vandervoort. It finished off a three-season run in April.
top-gear-usa-cancelled-history
TOP GEAR USA
The British version is a long-running hit, but History's American take on the car-loving talk show ran out of gas in June after six seasons.
Heartbeat - Season Pilot
HEARTBEAT
NBC's medical drama starring Melissa George as a heart surgeon never showed much of a pulse, and flatlined in May after a ten-episode freshman season.
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NOT SAFE WITH NIKKI GLASER
Comedian Nikki Glaser's sex-themed talk show didn't really get a satisfying ending; Comedy Central axed it in November after just one season.
Knock, Knock...House Creeping!
RUSH HOUR
CBS' reboot couldn't conjure up the magic of the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker movies, and signed off in August after 13 episodes.
cooper-barrett-renewed-cancelled
COOPER BARRETT'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE
Critics weren't kind to this Fox sitcom about a group of twentysomething friends. (And the unwieldy title didn't help.) It only aired ten episodes before Fox shut it down in May, burning off the remaining three over the summer.
party-down-south-cancelled-cmt
PARTY DOWN SOUTH
Party's over: CMT's reality series about hard-partying folks living together in a summer house wrapped up a five-season run in April.
Of Kings and Prophets
OF KINGS AND PROPHETS
ABC's sweeping Biblical drama only got to air two episodes in March before feeling the wrath of network executives. (Seven more episodes were filmed and already aired in New Zealand, but no word on when they might air stateside.)
second-chance-ratings-friday
SECOND CHANCE
Fox's Frankenstein-inspired cop drama (formerly known as The Frankenstein Code and Lookinglass) had more titles than it had seasons. It was declared DOA in May after an 11-episode freshman run.
ben-affleck-any-given-wednesday-with-bill-simmons
ANY GIVEN WEDNESDAY WITH BILL SIMMONS
HBO sent sportswriter Bill Simmons' weekly talk show to the showers in November after just four months on the air.
coupled-cancelled-fox
COUPLED
Mark Burnett was an executive producer on Fox's summer dating show, but viewers still swiped left, and Fox dumped it in August after a single season.
kocktails-with-khloe-cancelled-fyi
KOCKTAILS WITH KHLOÉ
Last call for Khloé Kardashian's boozy talk show: Its 14-episode run on FYI ended in April.
bella-and-the-bulldogs-cancelled-nickelodeon
BELLA AND THE BULLDOGS
Nickelodeon's sitcom about a high school cheerleader who becomes the team's quarterback got sacked in June after a two-season run.
the-musketeers-season-2-finale
THE MUSKETEERS
This new take on the classic swashbuckling tale moved to Hulu in May for its third and final season, after two seasons on BBC America.
the-meredith-vieira-show-cancelled
THE MEREDITH VIEIRA SHOW
She had long multi-year stints on The View and Today, but Meredith Vieira's daytime talk show got cancelled in January after just a year and a half on the air.
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CROWDED
Despite a cast full of seasoned pros like Patrick Warburton and Carrie Preston, this NBC sitcom never took off, and its one and only season ended in May.
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POWERS
This Marvel comic-book adaptation aired exclusively on PlayStation Network, but it was "game over" in August following a two-season run.
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RECOVERY ROAD
Freeform's drama about teens living together in a sober-living facility only got a single season before it was cancelled in May.
beowulf-cancelled-esquire-network
BEOWULF
The British fantasy series based on the classic epic poem aired here in the U.S. on the Esquire Network, and wrapped up its first and only season in April.
hunters-cancelled-syfy
HUNTERS
Syfy's alien-terrorist drama was based on a bestselling novel, but that didn't help much; it got axed in July after one season.
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GUILT
Freeform's murder mystery about a young girl who's accused of killing her best friend only got one season, ending in August.