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The list is shows that have not yet been picked up for next season. Fringe has been renewed so it does not need to be on the list.
Mania already presented its list of shows that deserved to fail this season. Now here’s a list of shows that actually deserve to succeed and should come back for another season (even if it’s an abbreviated one just to finish a storyline). There are so many shows on the bubble, both genre and non-genre shows alike. A good portion of them should come back but probably won’t, whereas a good portion shouldn’t come back but probably will. TV is a fickle business that way, sad to say. Here’s 5 shows that deserve to return for the 2011-2012 season.
Based on the DC Comics series of the same name – although the premise for this incarnation of the TV show (there was a 1992 version of the same name with singer/actor Rick Springfield) is somewhat different – troubleshooter Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) integrates himself into the lives of his clients in order to protect them rather than impersonating them, thus becoming a human target.
He is joined by hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) and former San Francisco cop Winston (Chi McBride). This season – in a move critics slammed FOX over, believing these two cast additions were done to the show more appealing to women – Chance allies himself with benefactor Ilsa Pucci (Indira Varma) and thief Ames (Janet Montgomery).
Both seasons of the series have been abbreviated: the first season had 12 episodes and the second season had 13 episodes (the second season finale occurred in February). The Human Target deserves a shot at a full season. Plus, it’d be nice if FOX actually promoted it.
STATUS: On the Bubble.
Chuck is a quirky espionage action-comedy about a nerd named Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) who receives an email that subliminally embeds the entire database of the U.S. government’s intelligence network into his brain, thrusting this once-ordinary guy into extraordinary situations as he starts working with the NSA and CIA. Chuck and Agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) eventually get together and are now engaged.
This show has always been on the bubble and it’s the efforts of its loyal audience that has gotten it renewed. Plus, NBC struck up a sponsorship deal with Subway to cover costs. Will that be enough to save it? That’s anyone’s guess. Chuck deserves a fifth season (which may indeed be its final season, but it deserves a proper ending). Now that Chuck and Sarah are engaged, TVGuide.com stated that a Mr. and Mrs. Smith-esque fifth season is in order. Indeed, it would be an excellent way to end the
STATUS: On the Bubble.
This remake of a show (La Femme Nikita) that was based on a foreign film (1990’s La Femme Nikita) that was remade into an American film (1993’s Point of No Return) really got off to a slow start but has plenty of promise. The premise is familiar: a clandestine espionage group known only as the Division recruits troubled youths into their program, erases evidence of their troubled pasts, and trains them to be assassins. Nikita (Maggie Q) turns on her superiors at the Division and vows to bring them down. Meanwhile, the Division has made plans to assassinate Nikita, while training a new crop of assassins.
Viewers miss Alias and 24, both of which were spy shows. This season’s Undercovers (masterminded by Alias creator J.J. Abrams) was cancelled after 11 episodes (its remaining 2 have yet to be shown and probably won’t). That show was a decent show and really didn’t get a fair shake; however, this is about Nikita.
Thankfully, the CW gave Nikita a full season (22 episodes) but it’s unclear if it’ll be back for a second. According to TVGuide.com, its ratings are decent and much better than some of the CW’s other veteran shows, including Gossip Girls, 90210, and One Tree Hill (all of which really need to be put down, regardless that the former two have already been renewed).
STATUS: On the Bubble.
This reimagining of the 1980s property made it to a second season (barely) that was hamstrung by ABC, which cut its episode amount and its budget. Further, ABC didn’t post episodes on Hulu or ABC.com. It’s like it doesn’t want the show to succeed.
The season finale ended on one helluva cliffhanger as the status quo of the series changed dramatically. Alien leader Anna (Morena Baccarin) survived an assassination attempt by her own daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), and the humans are very sympathetic towards her. A few main characters die, including Diana (Jane Badler, who’s from the original V), Ryan (Morris Chestnut), and Tyler (Logan Huffman).
At the very end, Anna uses her Bliss – a form of mass telepathy – on mankind, which works and freezes them in place. Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) meets with a government spook named Lars Tremont (Marc Singer, also from the original V), who is part of a clandestine organization dedicated to bringing down the Vs. This show deserves to come back for a third season – or at least for a mini-series that ends everything nicely. ABC owes the fans that much.
STATUS: On the Bubble.
Critics have called Detroit 1-8-7 the best cop drama since the early days of NYPD Blue, which was a very cutting-edge show when it debuted in 1993. It was certainly the best cop drama of this season in a sea of Law & Orders and CSIs, not to mention leaves Chase in the dust. The series is set in Detroit and revolves around a squad of detectives who are doing everything they can to save a dying city.
The writing is brilliant and edgy. The characters are well-developed and well-acted. Every one of them got their time being spotlighted in the series. The main character, Det. Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli), was a very socially awkward yet brilliant detective whose past came back to haunt him and whose private life becomes public.
The problems plaguing 1-8-7 are the looming cuts to the Michigan film tax incentives that allowed the series to be shot in Detroit in the first place, not to mention that the ratings aren’t there (despite being a critical darling). This ABC freshman drama had the lowest ratings, which are the life’s blood of keeping series on today, but there’s more to it than just ratings. There is no other show on the bubble deserving of a second season than Detroit 1-8-7.
STATUS: On the Bubble.
After screwing over fan-faves like Firefly, Dollhouse (both by Joss Whedon) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronocles, FOX did the right thing by renewing Fringe, the cross between a police procedural and a serialized drama that’s reminiscent of The X-Files (another FOX show) that is the brainchild of J.J. Abrams, who created/co-created Alias, Lost, and rebooted Star Trek in 2009.
The agents of the Fringe Division investigate weird happenings that defy a logical explanation (similar to Mulder and Scully on The X-Files). The heroes include FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), FBI Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), eccentric crackpot scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), and troubleshooter/jack of all trades Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), who’s Walter’s estranged son.
The main, overarching serial storyline involves a parallel universe where there are alternate versions of these characters. The balance between the two universes has been upset since Walter learned how to cross over. Walternate (also Noble) wishes to destroy the main universe (nutshell version anyway). The third season is about to end with a fourth season on the way, despite ratings that aren’t the greatest – something that could change if FOX would move Fringe out of its Friday night time-slot, which is the death knell of many a show, particularly if they’re a genre show. C;mon, FOX, move it to a better night. The ratings will increase and it’ll come back for a fifth season. Wouldn’t that be nice?
STATUS: Renewed for a 4th Season.
The list is shows that have not yet been picked up for next season. Fringe has been renewed so it does not need to be on the list.
I would like V to get renewed. I generally like it. I know a lot of people complain about the pace of the show, and some people can't stop saying it's not as good as the original. As for the former, well no, it's not an action show, sorry to disappoint you. As for the latter...are you kidding? Don't get me wrong, I loved the original when I was a kid, and it's cool for nostalgia, but really? Have you caught a marathon of it on SyFy, or paid the $10 to own the original miniseries on DVD? It really doesn't hold up very well. I really hope they continue this version of it...and LOVED it that they brought back Marc Singer for the season finale.
Human Target and Detroit 187 are probably goners unless it is picked up by a cable channel, where you could argue that is where they belonged in the first place. V is unlikely to come back. Chuck might still get renewed because NBC may not have enough shows to replace it. Nikita is probably the one I would bet has the best chance of coming back. Initially, the stories were a little weak but they have gotten better recently so I think it deserves another season.
Flash Forward was always so much better than V which always felt like a bad soap opera and last time I watched an episode still did. Detroit of course isn't a genere show so not sure what it is doing on the list...
I agree with Human Target, Chuck and (honerable mention) Firelfy. All great shows. V could have been good but really dropped the ball. All they had to do was stick with the story line of the original show and it would have been much better. Dont care much for Detroit 187 or Nikita.
Wow - Fringe should be number one, it's far superior to these and all other shows on television.