The Most Heartbreaking TV Show Cancellations of 2025

With cancellations of our favorite shows happening every week, why do we even watch television anymore? Maybe because we're masochists, or maybe it's because there's truth to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's old adage, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Who are we kidding, that's hogwash! I would never have gotten invested in that Doctor Odyssey throuple if I had known ABC would cancel the show just a few episodes later. 

But that's the circle of life on TV. Shows come, and then they go, but some are harder to lose than others. 2025 has already seen several cancellations that stung, from new shows that were barely given a season to institutions that were axed for (probably) political and business reasons.

Here are the TV show cancellations of 2025 that have bummed us out the most.

This was a weird one. The Noel Fielding comedy about an accidental highwayman who leads a ragtag band of misfit thieves was deep into filming its second season when Fielding pulled out of production for undisclosed reasons. With Fielding out, the decision was made to cancel The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin and scrap what was shot of Season 2, leaving us all without TV's most dashing and well-dressed crook. 

Cancellation announced on Jan. 16

What's the opposite of "hallelujah"? Danny McBride's raunchy comedy about a family of televangelists ended in 2025 after Season 4, but at least it went out on its own terms. "The Lord spoke to me and said it's time to wrap this sucker up," McBride joked to Variety in January. The final episode aired on May 4.

Final season announced on Jan. 23

Prime Video's charming one-and-done comedy The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh followed an Indian family who immigrated to America. And what better way to be introduced to America than to wind up in legal trouble when they became the prime suspects in a case after their neighbors' house was destroyed by arson? Naveen Andrews starred. The first season was binge dropped on Oct. 17, 2024.

Cancellation announced on Feb. 7

CBS swatted down S.W.A.T. in March after eight seasons, but it wasn't the first time fans had dealt with that news. The Shemar Moore procedural was originally canceled after its sixth season in 2023, only to see that decision reversed for a seventh and final season. In 2024, CBS changed its mind again, and an eighth season was ordered. This time, however, its cancellation is final. The good news is that Moore will likely continue on in a S.W.A.T. spin-off called S.W.A.T.: Exiles, though Moore's Hondo will be joined by new coworkers.

Cancellation announced on March 6

The Summer I Turned Pretty was always slated for a three-season run — one season for each of the books in the Jenny Han series it's based on — but Prime Video could have easily placated us with more seasons spent teasing which brother Belly (Lola Tung) will pick in the streaming TV adaptation: Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). Just let her go back and forth between them for 15 seasons! At least the show will go out on its own terms in its series finale, which will reportedly include some changes from the ending of the book series. 

Final season announced on March 7

Mythic Quest has gone offline. The Apple TV+ series about the employees of a video game company was one of the streamer's best-reviewed comedies, and starred Rob Mac, Charlotte Nicdao, Danny Pudi, and David Hornsby. Though it was canceled after four seasons, the series finale was patched with a new scene to give the show a proper ending. The revised final episode was released in April.

Cancellation announced on April 11

Apple TV+'s comedy Acapulco is closing the doors on Las Colinas for good after Season 4. The heartwarming telenovela, which featured dialogue in both English and Spanish in near equal parts, follows a young Mexican man in the 1980s who realizes his dream of working at the local resort, while also catching up with him in the present day, after he's become a hotel tycoon. Season 4 premieres on July 23, and the final episode is expected to air on Sept. 17.

Final season announced on May 6

Just when things were getting rolling. Despite a much improved direction in its third season, The Wheel of Time was canceled in May. The fantasy series, adapted from the ultra-popular books by Robert Jordan, earned its highest marks from critics and fans in Season 3, but Prime Video cited financial reasons due to slipping viewership for its decision to stop Time. The final episode aired on April 17.  

Cancellation announced on May 23

Perhaps the biggest casualty from the 2024-2025 broadcast TV season — at least for John Oliver — was Doctor Odyssey, the Joshua Jackson-led fever dream from creators Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken. Centered on the medical staff of a cruise ship, Doctor Odyssey blended a medical drama, a disaster movie, a steamy romance, a broken penis, and more into one hourlong TV show, with uneven but always interesting results. The decision was forced as cast contracts expired, so while ABC hasn't officially canceled it, it's as good as sunk. The final episode aired on May 15.

Cancellation announced on June 27

Boo, Netflix, boo! The streamer's first big swing at an original medical procedural TV drama, Pulse, was declared dead in early July after just one season. The series starred Willa Fitzgerald as an ambitious ER doctor who was also battling a combative workplace and an illicit relationship with her superior. One of the issues it had was going up against HBO Max's The Pitt, a new medical drama that's up for Best Drama at this year's Emmys and turned out to be a bad comparison for Pulse. But that's like comparing life-saving brain surgery (The Pitt) to Botox (Pulse); we don't need Botox, but we like to have it around. The series left some cliffhangers dangling when it dropped its full first season on April 3.

Cancellation announced on July 2

The case of whether or not The Residence would be back for a second season was unfortunately solved when Netflix canceled the mystery comedy after one season. Uzo Aduba starred as eccentric detective Cordelia Cupp, who investigated a murder at the White House, and the stacked cast also included Ken Marino, Randall Park, and Giancarlo Esposito. At least there was no cliffhanger, as Cupp cracked the case. The Residence aired its full first — and only — season on March 20. 

Cancellation announced on July 2

The big Lost reunion between J.J. Abrams and Josh Holloway was much too short lived. Duster, a retro action series co-created by Abrams and LaToya Morgan and starring Holloway as a wheelman for a crime syndicate, was canceled shortly after its final episode aired on July 3. Despite positive reviews, HBO Max said low viewership was the reason for the cancellation. 

Cancellation announced on July 9

Late night television has always been a great place to take on politics, but nothing good ever happens when politics takes on late night TV. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was shockingly canceled by CBS in mid-July, days after host Stephen Colbert criticized the network for settling a lawsuit by the Trump administration that claimed election interference over an edited Kamala Harris interview on CBS's 60 Minutes. (CBS is part of Paramount Global, which is engaged in merger talks with Skydance Media, and the deal is at the mercy of the FCC, which is controlled by the Trump administration.) CBS claimed the decision was made for financial reasons, even though The Late Show is the top-rated late night talk show on broadcast television. Colbert and the Late Show franchise will sign off in May 2026.

Cancellation announced on July 17

The alien invasion has ended. Alan Tudyk's beloved sci-fi comedy, in which Tudyk plays an alien intent on eradicating the human race but slowly feels compassion for them after taking over one of their bodies, will end with its fourth season finale on Aug. 8. The series has a legion of loyal fans and recently found some success when it joined Netflix's library, but it wasn't enough. 

Cancellation announced on July 24

And just like that, And Just Like That... is over. The irreverent, baffling, and often utterly divorced from reality Sex and the City sequel series will end with its third season finale on Aug. 15, bringing this chapter of Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) life to a close. "It became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop," showrunner Michael Patrick King said in a statement, which could have been said about this show the day the first episode ended. Oh, how we'll miss it. I couldn't help but wonder if this is really the end, though — Sex and the City 3, anyone? -Allison Picurro

Cancellation announced on Aug. 1

TV cancellations and renewals:

• Everything renewed and canceled in January
• Everything renewed and canceled in February
• Everything renewed and canceled in March
• Everything renewed and canceled in April
• Everything renewed and canceled in May
• Everything renewed and canceled in June
• Everything renewed and canceled in July

Summer TV:

• The complete guide to summer TV
• The summer shows we're looking forward to most
• All the new shows coming this summer