Cancelled CW Shows We Wish Would Make A Comeback

Television is in the age of the reboots and revivals and viewers are divided on how they feel about it. Some aren’t thrilled by the lack of original ideas coming to TV, but others are ecstatic to see the return of some of their favorite shows. The CW has largely stayed out of the reboot and revival craze, but with a reboot of Charmed on the way and a pilot order given for a reboot of Roswell and Party of Five, there are other CW shows fans would prefer to see make a comeback. Here are 12 shows from The CW we wish would return:

12. The Secret Circle

The CW has had some incredible successes with series such as Smallville, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries and more who won’t make this list because they had a really solid TV run, but there are some that it seems weren’t even really given a chance and that includes The Secret Circle. The Secret Circle premiered in September of 2011 and starred Britt Robertson as Cassie Blake, who moves to Chance Harbor, Washington to live with her grandmother and discovers she is a witch and the final member of a coven. With a strong start and a strong fan base thanks to the books that inspired the show, The Secret Circle was picked up for a full 22 episodes by The CW only to be canceled one day after the season finale aired. Although passionate fans began campaigns to save the show, it didn’t work, but fans would still love to see the show come back and succeed.

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11. The Messengers

Out of the gate, The Messengers seemed like the perfect fit for The CW with its young, talented cast and supernatural story, but for some reason, the show could never really get off the ground. The Messengers was picked up by the network in 2014 and premiered in April 2015; however, only one month later The CW already pulled the plug and the show was canceled on May 7, 2015, but still aired all of the episodes. With the cancellation coming so fast, it gave no time for viewers to get invested and those who did knew there was nothing to look forward to after the season, making it a no-win situation for the show. Since it was never given a proper chance at success, fans would like to see The Messengers come back with a better time slot and be given more time to prove what it can do before the cord is cut.

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10. Frequency

The 2016-2017 fall season was shaping up to be pretty big for The CW when it hyped two brand new and exciting shows, one of which was Frequency. With a stellar cast and an intriguing storyline, it seemed Frequency was going to be a home run to help breathe fresh life into the network which was surviving off of longtime hits like Supernatural. Instead, the series was canceled only four months after its October premiere, which was surprising because it had garnered largely favorable reviews. Although five days after the cancellation the network did release an epilogue to give fans closure, they would much rather just see the series pick up and continue on.

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9. 90210

The business of reboots and revivals is in full swing right now but, back in 2008, The CW was ahead of the game when it reimagined the iconic teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 and gave fans 90210. Although the series did have five seasons, which is more than many others on this list, fans are still devastated it ended there. It seemed all signs were pointing to a season six and in January 2013 the network’s president even said it seemed to be heading that way because he was a “big believer in giving fans a very satisfactory conclusion.” Thanks to this speech, audiences were blindsided when only one month later it was announced the show would not be returning and season five would be its last. With five seasons under its belt already, most would really want the show to make a comeback if only to deliver the sixth season as promised.

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8. Ringer

Everyone was thrilled when Sarah Michelle Gellar landed the lead role in The CW series Ringer, marking her first major return to TV since signing off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The excitement was short-lived, however, because only one month after season one came to an end the network announced that they had canceled the show. The series had Gellar starring as twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan and offered romance and lots of suspense. There was a lot to keep up with when it came to the show and it seems the series could have done much better if even given at least one more season to try to flesh out some of the more complicated storylines.

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7. Everybody Hates Chris

Following its premiere season in 2005, Everybody Hates Chris received critical acclaim along with enormous praise from critics, which is why so many were devastated when it came to an end after only four seasons. Four seasons of a good show is not nearly enough and although season four coincided with Chris Rock’s real history of dropping out of high school to become a comedian, fans knew there was so much more that could have been done with the show. The road to stardom is never easy and there could have easily been at least two more seasons worth of material depicting Rock’s first steps to becoming a full-fledged comedian.

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6. The Carrie Diaries

Following the unprecedented success of Sex and the City, The CW commissioned a prequel series and brought audiences The Carrie Diaries in 2013. The show was fun, entertaining and way more PG than the Sex and the City audiences were accustomed to by airing on The CW and being aimed at a younger audience. Although it deterred from Carrie Bradshaw’s backstory that was given in SATC, the young talented cast hooked viewers and it quickly gained many fans, meaning when its cancellation came after season two, many were shocked and upset. It seemed like a show that was going to be around for awhile, and with such a strong base, it really should be brought back and given another chance.

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5. Veronica Mars

Out of all the shows on this list, there is little doubt that Veronica Mars definitely did not get the fair shake it deserved on TV. Veronica Mars was completely different than any other teen drama during its three-season run from 2004-2006 and quickly built a passionate fanbase. After a struggle with networks, it was eventually the writer’s strike which brought the show to an end much too soon, and while fans finally got a Veronica Mars movie seven years later, it is one show that deserves a return and a full run to fully reveal just how much it had to offer.

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4. One Tree Hill

Yes, One Tree Hill ran for nine seasons, but it has one of the most dedicated fanbases of any CW series. Six years have now passed since the show came to an end in 2012, and fans would love nothing more than if One Tree Hill would return if only for a mini-season. A One Tree Hill comeback could either be just a few episodes, such as Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life did, so that fans could catch up with their Tree Hill favorites, or many would love if the series made a full return focused on the lives of the main cast’s children as they grow up (with regular roles for the original stars, of course).

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3. Reign

The CW stepped somewhat out of its wheelhouse when it launched the historical romantic drama series Reign in October of 2013. While many critics had an issue with the series which starred Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots, because of the “dumbing down” and intense fictionalization of a historical figure and historical events, fans flocked to the series, but it still could only hang on for four seasons before coming to an end in 2017.  Fictional historical dramas are a hard niche for series on major networks to master, but Reign offered something completely different and deserves much more than just four seasons.

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2. No Tomorrow

In the 2016-2017 fall TV season, No Tomorrow was one of The CW’s most anticipated new shows. The series followed two very different people who fall in love while completing a bucket list of things they wanted to do before the world ends, which was supposedly in eight months. Unfortunately for fans, the end came quickly when the show was canceled after only one season, and an epilogue was released five days after to try to give fans some closure. As one of the network’s most promising new shows with one of the most promising new casts, No Tomorrow seemed in line to become a CW staple before meeting its untimely end. There is a lot the show had left to explore and is one canceled series we really wouldn’t mind if it made a return.

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1. Hellcats

Although The CW and what was formerly The WB is sometimes dismissed as a network for only teen dramas, more credit needs to be given to not only its diversity of shows but just how good some of those teen dramas were. The CW has never shied away from featuring shows with strong female leads, and it definitely hit the mark with Hellcats back in 2010. Hellcats starred Aly Michalka as Marti Perkins, a tough, smart and beautiful pre-law student, who has to join a University program to retain her scholarship after the school cuts scholarships for its employees and their families, and chooses cheerleading. The series was entertaining, witty, and hilarious and had a great premiere for the network and reception from fans which left many shocked when it was canceled after only one season. Hellcats definitely should never have been canceled in the first place and deserves a major comeback.