A new year has arrived, and while there is no telling what the year ahead might bring – after all, networks have surprised us countless times in both good and bad ways – we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’re more than a little worried about the futures of these 22 shows which could very well be in danger of cancellation in the year ahead.
That’s right, we’re here to talk cancellations and the shows we’re most worried about in this near year that has only just begun!
With the calendar turning to 2025, renewal decisions will soon begin to be made as networks take a look at their current slate of programs and begin planning for the future. While streaming series are typically renewed at more unique timelines, broadcasters typically begin making decisions about their lineups within the first few months of the year with almost all of the broadcast shows’ fates being determined by May.
Whether it’s due to declining viewership or simply the natural conclusion of a series arc, the coming months will likely determine which of these 22 shows get the chance to live on and which will fade to black be it with a quick cancellation or final season order.
Accused
When Accused premiered back in 2023, the show became one of FOX’s most-talked-about shows. Unfortunately, despite the show’s ability to book incredible guest stars, the ratings are quickly falling off and the show’s delayed second season just isn’t creating much buzz for FOX. Viewership is down nearly 40% from season 1 and the show ranks as broadcast’s lead-watched non-CW drama which isn’t exactly a good thing for the show. We’d be shocked if season 3 happens at this point.
All American
Call it a trust issue at this point, but we simply don’t have faith in The CW and with All American being the network’s sole holdover it seems likely that the show’s time could soon be coming to an end. The upcoming season will undergo a major creative overhaul with several original cast members exiting the series as a new class comes in which could help the show find new life… or see ratings take a sharp dip now that the show is pivoting to a new direction. Our fear is that season 7 could become the show’s last making it yet another example of a show that should have ended one season earlier – looking at you Once Upon a Time.
Found
After a successful debut season, Found has hit a major sophomore slump in its move to a new night and opposite a more competitive line-up. Viewership has slipped with the move to Thursday nights behind Law & Order: SVU and the show is now pulling in an audience smaller than that of what Law & Order: Organized Crime was averaging – and we all know how that ended, with the show being moved to Peacock instead of getting renewed by NBC directly. It also doesn’t help that Found is now coming in as NBC’s least-watched drama, which makes its odds of renewal quite low and we wouldn’t be surprised if the show found itself on the chopping block.
House of David
One of the new Prime Video series coming in 2025, House of David is inspired by the Biblical events surrounding David’s ascent and journey to becoming the most celebrated king of Israel. It could become a sleeper hit for the streaming service, it could also just as easily become a series that gets lost in the shuffle and fails to draw results. We’ve seen Biblical-based shows such as The Bible and The Chosen perform incredibly well, but we’ve also seen shows like Of Kings and Prophets and A.D.: The Bible Continues fail to captivate audiences and end with just one season.
Ironheart
The upcoming original will revisit Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams who we first met in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the show looks amazing. Sadly, we worry about the show getting lost in the shuffle of what will be a busy year for Marvel and worry Marvel truly fumbled the ball with its handling of Ironheart. The series was originally slated to arrive shortly after Wakanda Forever which would have surely helped with audience engagement as the character was fresh off a breakout performance. Instead, Marvel sat on the show for years and is now dropping it in an overcrowded year which could result in the show going one-and-done, though I supposed that’s basically the model for Marvel Disney+ shows at this point.
Law & Order: Organized Crime
After four seasons, Law & Order: Organized Crime is on the move to Peacock for its fifth season and there is a chance that the show could find a great audience on the streaming platform. There is also the chance that fans might not follow the least-watched Law & Order show over to Peacock, which could spell trouble for the show’s future.
Lopez vs Lopez
If we’re all being honest, it’s actually a bit of a surprise Lopez vs Lopez managed to make it to a third season as the show has routinely been at the bottom of NBC’s viewership board. In fact, it remains the network’s least-watched and lowest-rated show in the current season. While the show has evaded cancellation thus far, we’d be shocked if NBC chose to bring the show back for yet another season given the show’s continued rating woes.
NCIS: Sydney
When NCIS: Sydney debuted on CBS in the fall of 2023, it came at a time when fans were craving new scripted content amid the writers’ and actors’ strikes. It performed well on CBS and the network decided to bring it back for a second season. That’s great and all, but when the show does return it will be on Friday nights and during the regular season which means the show is going to have more competition than when it was airing amid nothing but reality shows, reruns, and cable imports. Add in the fact that fans are still bitter CBS opted to bring this Paramount+ import back for a second season instead of renewing NCIS: Hawai’i and we worry the show could very well come to a close after just two seasons.
Night Court
In its third season, Night Court’s ratings are down nearly 25% and it’s also drawing fewer viewers than its time slot predecessor Extended Family which was given the boot by NBC in early 2024. It doesn’t help that the show has been plagued by a series of cast changes since its first season and almost feels like an entirely different show in its third season. The verdict could land in the show’s favor, but at this point, we have to wonder if it’s with keeping the show around for a fourth season.
On Call
This January, Prime Video will bring Wolf Entertainment’s first streaming original to the screen with the new half-hour police series On Call which stars Troian Bellisario, Brandon Larracuente, Eriq La Salle, Lori Loughlin, and Rich Ting. The series could very well become a hit for the streamer as Wolf Entertainment has a pretty solid record for launching successful procedurals. However, it must be stated that going into the show there isn’t much buzz at all among audiences and this series could very well prove to be a miss for Prime Video.
Only Murders in the Building
Seeing Only Murders in the Building on this list might surprise you and it pained me to even include it as a fan, but I think we can all agree that it’s about time for Hulu’s hit comedy to draw to a natural close. While the show continues to surprise us with new murders in the building, how many people can die in the Acronia before the show begins to feel stale? We’d love to see the show given the chance to come to a natural end with a planned final season be it with the show’s upcoming fifth season or a sixth and final season ordered after.
Rescue HI-Surf
This one is a bit of a coin toss. Technically speaking, Rescue HI-Surf is FOX’s third most-watched show; however, it’s not exactly been the ratings juggernaut FOX clearly hoped it would be. FOX has already pulled it from the post-Super Bowl slot which isn’t exactly a promising move and we could easily see this one being written off after one season unless ratings surge upon the show’s return.
SWAT
SWAT has held pretty solid upon returning for season 8, but one has to wonder how long the show could go on when CBS already attempted to cancel it once before with season 7 very much being billed as a final season right up until the last minute renewal. Given CBS reversed its decision, we imagine a ninth season could very much be in the cards but the show could just as easily be given walking orders… again.
The Cleaning Lady
Many wrote The Cleaning Lady off before it ever premiered and the show quickly proved its naysayers wrong by becoming a hit on FOX. However, we also have to address that the show hasn’t quite been the same since the heartbreaking death of star Adan Canto, whose Arman Morales was such a pivotal part of the show. While the creative team did a masterful job of navigating the difficult challenge of continuing the show following Canto’s passing, we have to wonder if it might be time to close the show out following its fourth season or perhaps with a fifth and final season.
The Equalizer
CBS’s decision to shift its Sunday night lineup has been great for Tracker, but it has not been as kind to The Equalizer which has seen a sharp dip in viewership upon moving to a later time on Sunday nights. The show remains one of CBS’s 10 most-watched originals which you would think would be enough for the show to easily secure another season, but let’s not forget that NCIS: Hawaii and Blue Bloods were also among the most-watched shows on CBS when the network decided to end their runs. What will be interesting is to see if the decision to end The Equalizer is made is whether CBS will give it a proper final season or not.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful franchises to ever grace our screens, but sadly The Rings of Power hasn’t been able to quite match the level of success as the films. The show’s second season was met with mixed reactions from fans with many losing interest in the show across the season. A third season is coming, but if the show doesn’t start to turn things around soon we wouldn’t be surprised if its run came to an end soon.
The Pitt
Streamers are trying a lot of new things in the new year including Max, which will be airing its first original medical drama The Pitt. The series stars Noah Wyle and has a lot of potential; however, we’re worried about how fans will receive the series which is going to be set over the course of one 15-hour shift which could turn off some fans of the genre who like following case of the week type stories. This could be a bet that pays off nicely for Max. but we’re thinking this could end up being an underperformer that goes one-and-done.
The Recruit
The Noah Centineo-led action drama from Alexi Hawley was incredibly well received in its first season which is perhaps why it's so surprising that Netflix seems almost intent on sabotaging the show’s second season. The Recruit season 2 drops just days after the highly anticipated second season of fellow spy drama The Night Agent which has already been renewed for a third season and is getting a much more heavy-handed promotional push from Netflix, while The Recruit almost feels like an afterthought at this point. We’re hoping season 3 could happen, but given the lack of support and strange decision-making Netflix has made with handling season 2 we’re worried this could be an indication that there aren’t plans for more seasons.
The Rookie
The Rookie remains a strong performer for ABC overall, but it goes without saying that it’s odd the network chose to hold the show for midseason rather than bringing it back in the fall when the show has typically premiered. While the season episode order won’t be impacted and there are rumors ABC could be considering another spinoff, we just can’t shake the feeling that ABC could soon see the show as expendable and that if spaces are needed in its lineup the show could be canceled or final seasoned.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty remains a strong performer for Amazon and fans are eager for the show’s upcoming third season to arrive this year; however, we have to wonder how long the show might run for at this point given the series is based on a book trilogy and we’re quickly working through the source material. Could a final season renewal be coming for the show after its third season? We’ll have to wait to see, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon chose to wrap the show with a fourth season.
The Watcher
Many were honestly shocked when The Watcher was renewed for a second season as many thought the show was designed to be a limited series, and perhaps it should have been. The show wasn’t met with the best of reviews and it seems likely that the second season could very well be the last season for the show.
Virgin River
Ending our list we have a show that some might be surprised to see on the list, but hear us out. Virgin River remains a strong performer for Netflix, but it must be said the show is getting up there in season count with season 7 coming in 2025. While this is very much a show that could continue for many more seasons to come, we have to wonder how many more seasons Netflix envisions the show running as Grace and Frankie is the only other Netflix show to reach the seven-season mark, and season 7 was the final season for it. We’d love to keep coming back to Virgin River, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit to being worried about the show’s future given Netflix’s history and wonder if a final season order could soon be coming.