2025 was a year packed with excellent TV releases, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was a good year for the television industry. The best TV shows of 2025 might have received considerable fanfare, but that success isn’t indicative of how the year delivered to fans of the small screen overall. For every great TV release over the 12-month span, there seems to have been at least one beloved show that was unfairly axed. As the modern TV industry continues to grow more cutthroat, with studios becoming increasingly ruthless, it seems that even more shows with huge potential are unfairly cut short.
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There seems to be an ever-growing number of great recent TV shows that were cancelled before their fans felt ready to let them go. The age of streaming has had a profound effect on the TV industry in particular, seemingly resulting in far more cancelled shows than ever before. 2025 was no exception, with the year seeing many great shows being cancelled, even though they clearly deserved to continue their stories.
7) Resident Alien
With its main character considered one of the best sci-fi TV aliens, Resident Alien carved itself a respectable niche over the course of its run. Having aired for 44 episodes over four seasons, the show was officially cancelled in 2025. Considering its respectable run and the fact that it was able to come to a fairly natural conclusion, Resident Alien‘s cancellation isn’t too cutting, but it’s still a show that could easily have continued for more seasons of quality sci-fi storytelling.
6) The Residence
Over the past decade, Netflix earned a reputation for cancelling TV shows before their time. 2025 saw more of the same from the streaming giant, with one of its most promising new shows unceremoniously axed after a single season. The Residence starring Orange is the New Black alum Uzo Aduba as eccentric detective Cordelia Cupp as she sets about solving a murder in the White House. Despite being an engaging mystery-comedy-drama with a charismatic lead, The Residence was ruthlessly axed before it had a chance to really take off.
5) Based on a True Story
Based on a True Story had all the makings of a hugely successful TV show. Starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina as a married couple who start a true crime podcast to investigate a serial killer, the show’s first season aired in 2023, with its second season coming in late 2024. Taking the world’s ongoing obsession with true crime and podcasts and lightly satirising it in a comedic mystery thriller featuring a great cast should have been a recipe for ongoing success, but 2025 saw Based on a True Story cancelled before it could fully hit its stride.
4) Mythic Quest
Mythic Quest is one of the most underrated TV sitcoms of the 21st century so far, and was consistently overlooked by many from the very start. It found enough success to earn 40 episodes over a four-season run, but was ultimately cancelled in April 2025. Its story could easily have facilitated more seasons, as there was plenty of potential for the show to evolve, but instead Mythic Quest became another victim of 2025’s brutal TV show cancellations.
3) The Wheel of Time
As many major TV shows were cancelled in 2025, The Wheel of Time has become just another name on a long list. In years past, however, the show being axed would have been major news. Based on the award-winning fantasy novel series by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time delivered an incredibly crafted magical epic. However, the show’s three-season run was deemed to be enough, cutting The Wheel of Time short long before it was finished adapting the story of the book series.
2) The Franchise
Premiering on HBO in October 2024, The Franchise satirized the superhero movies of the MCU, DCU, and other comic book movie universes. Telling the story of the cast and crew working on a fictional superhero movie, The Franchise was praised for its comedic elements and light-hearted ribbing of the modern film industry. However, it was cancelled in January 2025 after a single season, cutting its story short despite its clear potential.
1) Neighbours
Though some audiences around the world may never have even heard of the Australian soap opera Neighbours, it is one of the most devastating TV cancellations of 2025. Following the residents of the fictional Ramsay Street, the show has been a staple on TV screens around the world since it first began in 1985. While a 40-year run is hugely respectable, the show’s cancellation is massively upsetting to its legions of fans, as it’s a show whose longevity has long since been proven.
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