By Rachel Bennett
Television Editor and Columnist
***
This week, Netflix Instant added a series I’ve heard about for a long time but have never seen: Fox’s Undeclared.
The 2001 comedy stars Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) and Charlie Hunnam (FX’s Sons of Anarchy) and was created by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin).
The series only lasted one season, but it’s always interested me because I’ve heard it’s a sequel of sorts to NBC’s Freaks and Geeks, another one-season wonder.
There have been numerous series to only receive one season when they deserved a lot more, and their cancellations result in a TV lover’s heartbreak. This week, in honor of their untimely conclusions, I give you the Top 10 One-Season TV Wonders:
10. The Comeback (HBO)
After NBC’s Friends ended in 2004, actress Lisa Kudrow returned to TV in HBO’s 2005 comedy The Comeback. The series, which was created by Kudrow and HBO’s Sex and the City producer Michael Patrick King, centered on the character of D-list star Valerie Cherish as she tried to regain her former stardom while a camera crew followed her. Kudrow was finally given the spotlight as Cherish and was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy in 2006. The hilarious show was nominated for two more Emmys, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, but was canceled it couldn’t come back from low ratings.
9. Awake (NBC)
The wound of Awake‘s cancellation is still fresh, as it was nixed this spring after a 13-episode first season. Awake starred Jason Isaacs, who also produced the drama, as a man who survives a car accident with his family. He falls asleep and wakes up in two separate universes: one in which he finds his son alive and his wife dead, and the other in which his wife is alive and his son is dead. The heartbreaking and thrilling series, which was created by Fox’s Lone Star creator Kyle Killen, was perhaps too high-concept and broad to reach a bigger audience.
8. Wonderfalls (Fox)
This offbeat 2004 dramedy was co-created by Bryan Fuller, who would later go on to create ABC’s two-season series Pushing Daisies, and stars Caroline Dhavernas as Jane Tyler, a recent college grad who works at a gift shop in Niagara Falls. As Fuller likes to blend fantasy with reality, the souvenirs in the gift shop talk to Jane and push her to commit acts she otherwise wouldn’t. Despite the fact that there was nothing else like it on TV, Wonderfalls gave actor Lee Pace his first steady TV job, a provision for which I will forever be grateful.
7. Sons & Daughters (ABC)
Before Modern Family, ABC attempted the large family comedy with 2006’s Sons & Daughters. Co-created by and starring Fred Goss, this comedy was partially improvised and hilarious. Unfortunately, viewers saw it as merely a replica of Fox’s Arrested Development and didn’t tune in, failing to see what a great series it was. Only 10 episodes aired before Sons & Daughters was axed, but at least it introduced the world to Eden Sher, who now stars on another dysfunctional family sitcom: ABC’s The Middle.
6. Karen Sisco (ABC)
This 2003 drama was a spin-off of the film Out of Sight, with actress Carla Gugino (USA’s Political Animals) taking over for Jennifer Lopez in the titular role of a US Marshal. Robert Forster (The Descendants) played her detective father, and the series proved a great adaptation of the film. It was cool and smart, and it gave Gugino a meaty role for which she sadly didn’t receive an Emmy nomination. The series only lasted for seven episodes, but it’s still remembered to this day as a show that was canceled too quickly.
5. Luck (HBO)
HBO’s Luck had all the makings of a potentially great TV series: It starred Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman and Oscar nominee Nick Nolte, among others, and was created by David Milch, the producer of HBO’s Deadwood and ABC’s NYPD Blue. Although reviews were generally good, albeit not overwhelmingly so, the horse racing drama was intriguing and featured wonderful performances. The series had been given a second season when it was unexpectedly canceled. Unlike most shows, which are nixed due to low ratings, Luck was shown the door after three horses died on set. Although the animals’ safety is paramount, it’s sad to think what could’ve been.
4. Firefly (Fox)
Not many people can pull off a science-fiction western, but if anyone can, it’s creator Joss Whedon — and that’s exactly what he did. Although Firefly was canceled after a season due to low ratings, it further introduced TV lovers to the “Whedonverse” following the success of The WB and Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series also featured actors Nathan Fillion (ABC’s Castle), Morena Baccarin (Showtime’s Homeland) and others, many of whom have gone on to bigger projects. The series also managed a feat not many canceled programs can pull off: It inspired a feature film, 2005’s Serenity, which tied up the loose ends.
3. My So-Called Life (ABC)
Actress Claire Danes may be better known nowadays for her portrayal of Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s Homeland, but her first big TV role was as teenager Angela Chase on ABC’s 1994 drama My So-Called Life. The part rightly earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe win for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama. The series realistically tackled numerous issues experienced by teens, including the desire for popularity, peer pressure, sex, drugs and more. But it was more than an after-school special: It never looked down on its characters or audience, making it a beloved series for those growing up in the ’90s.
2. Terriers (FX)
This 2010 detective series stars Donal Logue (The WB’s Grounded for Life) and Michael Raymond-James (HBO’s True Blood), and ultimately turned out to be FX’s lowest-rated series ever, averaging 509,000 viewers in the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Many people blamed the show’s vague title and the network’s confusing marketing campaign to the series’s low viewership, but any way you look at it, Terriers’ demise is pretty tragic. It was a fun and compelling drama, created by Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven) and produced by Shawn Ryan (ABC’s Last Resort). In addition, it features one of the best friendships I’ve ever seen on TV. Let’s just hope the movie pans out.
1. Freaks and Geeks (NBC)
It’s hard to imagine any other one-season show leaving as much of a cultural legacy as NBC’s Freaks and Geeks. Not only did it help launch the careers of stars James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, but it also introduced entertainment lovers to the immense talent of producer Judd Apatow and creator Paul Feig. The series beautifully and hilariously detailed the struggles of high school students who didn’t quite fit in (but were all the better for it, even if they didn’t realize it) as they approached adulthood. Audiences new and old can identify with what they see, making the comedy a timeless classic that just couldn’t click with viewers when it premiered in 1999. Although it’s a shame Freaks and Geeks didn’t last longer, the one season we have is just perfect the way it is.