12 Canceled TV Shows That Won’t Be Back in 2023
Keeping up with new TV shows can seem like a full-time job. In recent years, more than 400 scripted TV shows have aired each year across broadcast, cable, and streaming. While there’s more to watch than ever these days, the glut of programs also means there are more shows for networks to cancel. Some series come and go with nary a ripple, while others go out with a bang (or a collective cry from outraged fans). So, which TV shows have been canceled in 2022? We’ve pulled together a list of some notable cancellations that happened over the past 12 months.
Note: This list focuses on canceled shows that aired on broadcast TV, not cable or streaming. Keep an eye out for Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s upcoming list of cable TV shows that were canceled in 2022, as well as a roundup up shows Netflix canceled in 2022. We’ve also left off shows that we already knew were coming to an end this year (such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show), as well as canceled shows that will air their final episodes in 2023 (such as New Amsterdam).
Fox’s country music drama ‘Monarch’ hit all the wrong notes
Fox clearly had high hopes for Monarch, its soapy drama about a complicated country music dynasty. The show, which featured Susan Sarandon as Queen of Country music Dottie Roman, debuted in September and was the network’s second-most-watched scripted premiere in three years, per Deadline. But it apparently hit all the wrong notes with audiences (possibly because Sarandon’s character was killed off in the first episode). Fox canceled Monarch in December 2022.
‘Batwoman’ (and almost every other TV show on the CW) was canceled
It was a bloodbath over at the CW in 2022. The network canceled most of its scripted shows this year, including the troubled Batwoman. That show premiered in 2019 with Ruby Rose in the title role, but she was fired after one season. Javicia Leslie took over as the new Batwoman, playing the role for two seasons before the show was canceled in April 2022.
Other CW shows that were canceled in 2022 include Legends of Tomorrow; Dynasty; Charmed; In the Dark; Legacies; Roswell, New Mexico; Stargirl; 4400; Naomi; and Tom Swift. The network also announced that Nancy Drew The Flash, and Riverdale would end with their upcoming seasons.
CBS’s medical drama ‘Good Sam’ was DOA
CBS’s Good Sam hardly stood a chance. The freshman medical drama starred Sophia Bush as a talented surgeon and Jason Isaacs as her overbearing boss (who also happens to be her father). The series premiered in early January 2022 but never gained traction with viewers. The network pulled the plug on Good Sam in May 2022.
Fox’s animated comedy ‘Duncanville’ is also on the list of 2022’s canceled TV shows
Fox’s animated comedy Duncanville also got the ax in June 2022. The show – which featured the voices of Amy Poehler, Ty Burrell, Riki Lindhome, and Rashida Jones – premiered in February 2020. But it suffered a big drop in ratings between the second and third seasons, TVLine reported, leading the network to cancel the show. The final episode aired in October 2022.
The ‘Our Kind of People’ cliffhanger will never be resolved
It was one season and done for Fox’s Our Kind of People, a drama focused on the members of an elite Black community on Martha’s Vineyard. Unfortunately, the show’s first – and only – season ended on a cliffhanger in January 2022, as an unidentified person tried to shoot Teddy Franklin (Joe Morton) but ended up hitting his daughter Leah (Nadine Ellis) instead. Viewers will never find out whodunit, given that Fox decided to cancel the show in mid-May.
‘Bull’ ended after six seasons
Given all the behind-the-scenes drama, we’re surprised Bull lasted as long as it did. The scandals included the abrupt departure of Eliza Dushku, who has said she was fired after accusing series star Michael Weatherly of sexual harassment. In 2021, showrunner Genn Gordon Caron exited amid allegations of bullying and fostering a hostile work environment, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Still, high ratings kept the troubled show on the air until 2022, when CBS announced Bull would end with its sixth season. The series finale aired May 26.
‘The Big Leap’ Season 2 isn’t happening
Fox’s dance-focused comedy-drama The Big Leap stumbled in its first season, which aired in fall 2021. The Scott Foley show focused on a group of reality show contestants attempting to mount a production of Swan Lake. In March 2022, the network revealed it had decided not to renew the series for a second season.
CBS canceled ‘United States of Al’
CBS’s comedy The United States of Al won’t be getting a third season. The network announced in May that it had not renewed the Chuck Lorre-produced sitcom. The show focused on the friendship between a Marine combat veteran and the interpreter who served with him in Afghanistan, who has recently moved to the U.S.
The Thomas Middleditch comedy ‘B Positive’ was canceled
The United States of Al wasn’t the only Chuck Lorre-produced TV show CBS canceled this year. The Thomas Middleditch comedy B Positive was also not renewed. In the show, Middleditch played a divorced dad in need of a kidney donor, while Annaleigh Ashford portrayed a woman from his past who offers him her own kidney. The network announced in May that it wouldn’t be moving forward with a third season.
NBC canceled ‘Ordinary Joe’
NBC’s Ordinary Joe followed its title character, Joe Kimbreau (James Wolk), in the years after his college graduation across three parallel timelines. In one of the show’s timelines, Joe becomes a police officer. In another, he’s a rock star. And in the third, he’s a healthcare worker. Thirteen episodes aired between September 2021 and January 2002. But the show’s ratings were lackluster, and NBC canceled it in March 2022.
A move to Hulu couldn’t save ABC’s ‘Promised Land’
The writing was on the wall for ABC’s Latinx family drama Promised Land early on in its debut season. The show premiered in January 2022. But just five episodes aired before the network pulled it from the schedule in mid-February. The remaining four episodes were later released on Hulu. Few were surprised when the TV show was formally canceled in May 2022.
Kenan Thompson’s sitcom ‘Kenan’ won’t return for season 3
SNL star Kenan Thompson’s comedy series Kenan was dropped by NBC after two seasons. The show starred Thompson as a single dad to two daughters who is juggling parenting with a high-profile job as the host of an Atlanta morning show. But Thompson still has a home at NBC. He continues to appear on Saturday Night Live, where he’s currently the longest-running cast member in the show’s history.
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