This summer, I’ve been catching-up on TV shows that have been living, in purgatory, on my DVR, including the remaining batch of episodes of two FOX comedies that have since been cancelled, “Grandathered”, starring John Stamos, and “The Grinder”, with Rob Lowe and Fred Savage. These two smart comedies got me thinking about other recent series that were cancelled after just one season that also deserved a second year. Others may have cult favorites such as “Firefly”, “Freeks and Geeks”, “My So Called Life” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” at the top of their such lists. Here are mine:
Star-Power
The 2013-2014 network TV season saw the return of three industry giants. “Back to the Future” and “Family Ties” star Michael J. Fox played a TV news reporter on “The Michael J. Fox Show”. And “Will & Grace”‘s Sean Hayes was a single dad with a feisty mom (played by the great Linda Lavin) on “Sean Saves the World”. NBC cut them both heading into the Winter Olympics. And the late Robin Williams teamed with Sarah Michelle Geller on the CBS advertising comedy “The Crazy Ones”, which ended four months before Williams’ death.
Caught in a Good Romance
“A to Z”, which aired on NBC from 2014-2015, was a sweet rom-com narrated by Katey Sagal and starring Ben Feldman (now on “Superstore”) and Cristin Millioti (“How I Met Your Mother”). Their chemistry was dynamite. Rashida Jones produced the show, and she guest-starred on the final, satisfying episode.
Game Time
Cartoon Network’s 2009 summer game show “BrainRush” featured a then unknown Lamorne Morris (“New Girl”) asking trivia questions to contestants while riding insane rollercoasters. The concept was unique, and the results were pretty entertaining. Morris told me in 2012 that CN thought about reviving the show, but plans were scrapped. The TBS Funny or Die competition “America’s Next Weatherman”, which aired last summer, was a fun and original reality series that poked fun at other reality series. There are no current details on a Season 2. Considering it was a spoof it might be tough to pull it off again.
Very Animated
Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) guest-starring on Disney Channel’s “Sofia the First” was a TV event for millions of families. But how about when Eddie Murphy, as Donkey, guest-starred on NBC’s primetime animated series “Father of the Pride” a decade ago? It wasn’t a great show, but DreamWorks and The Peacock definitely took some risks that deserve to be acknowledged.
And a Miniseries
Yes, I know the definition of a miniseries – they aren’t supposed to last that long – but last summer’s ABC hit “The Astronaut Wives Club” was one of the most fascinating network shows I’ve ever watched: 10 strong episodes about the wives of the first men who went into space, headlined by a fantastic ensemble.
But Above All…
If there’s one show that deserved a renewal, or a revival on Amazon, Hulu or Netflix (if they were the content kings they are now back in ’08), it’s the FOX comedy “Back to You”. Before Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd introduced us to their “Modern Family”, they cast Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as local TV news anchors who secretly had a child together. Pre-“MF” Ty Burrell played a hilarious street reporter, pre-“Book of Mormon” and “Frozen” Gad was the news director and Fred Willard was in classic form, always making me laugh-out-loud as the sports anchor. All 17 episodes (3 didn’t air because of the Writer’s Strike) are sharply written, impecibly exectuted and memorable. You can make the arguement that Grammer, Heaton, Burrell, Gad and Willard – together – is the greatest sitcom ensemble of the past 20+ years.
When I met Grammer several years ago after seeing him on Broadway in “La Cage Aux Folles”, I told him I never wanted the show to end. His reply, “Neither did I.”