It’s a cruel time for new TV series that don’t immediately hit. There are no participation awards or points for trying in the world of television commissioning; it’s succeed or die.
Unfortunately for the UK shows below, they didn’t win a big enough audience or enough plaudits to keep them going, and so their respective channels and streamers have ushered them onto the great TV ice floe and floated them off into the horizon. From raucous superpowers comedy Extraordinary on Disney+, to Happy-Valley-meets-Stranger-Things horror fantasy Passenger on ITV, here are the British TV series that won’t be back for another round.
We’ll keep this list updated, so check back for new entries as and when cancellation news is announced.
DRAMA
Passenger (ITV)
Andrew Buchan’s dark mystery set in a small Yorkshire town was a fun combination of horror staples and drily Northern humour. The six-parter had a great cast led by Loki’s Wunmi Mosaku, and told a twisting fantasy conspiracy story that drew on all kinds of horror influences. It’s a shame to see it go unfinished.
Shardlake (Disney+)
Adapted from the popular series of Tudor-set crime mystery novels by CJ Sansom, Shardlake was the story of a 16th century lawyer corralled into doing Thomas Cromwell’s dirty work during the Reformation. The first four-part series starred Arthur Hughes in the title role, and was written by The Last Kingdom’s Stephen Butchard based on Sansom’s Dissolution – the first of seven novels which now won’t be seen on screen in this iteration.
The Tower (ITV)
Three series isn’t a bad innings for a new UK crime drama, though The Tower’s procedural format meant that it could have gone on and on. It starred Game of Thrones and Upstart Crow’s Gemma Whelan as a detective sniffing out corruption on the force, and its 11 existing episodes are available to stream on ITVX in the UK.
Renegade Nell (Disney+)
Sally Wainwright, the creator of Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, changed gears for this period-set fantasy which told the story of a rambunctious young woman in 18th century England who uses her mysterious super-strength to fight for the poor and oppressed. Renegade Nell was a lot of fun and precisely the kind of show that would once have been on BBC One on a Saturday teatime, but struggled to find its audience in the here and now.
Everything Now (Netflix)
Teen drama Everything Now was the story of Mia, a sixth former determined to catch up on everything teenage life has to offer after a long spell away from the world recovering from an eating disorder. It didn’t connect with enough YA viewers to sustain a second series on Netflix.
Constellation (Apple TV+)
Doctor Who writer Peter Harness was behind this intriguing space mystery for Apple TV+. Unfortunately, the streamer declined to continue the story of astronauts who came back from space different, so that’s the last we’ll see of its complex scientific ideas, parallel timelines and creepy atmosphere.
KAOS (Netflix)
Netflix cancelled Greek myth series Kaos in record time (we wrote about it here), proving that big-budget, starry-cast, multi-location dramas with imagination in spades need to get popular fast or there’s no future for them. With a top cast led by Jeff Goldblum and Janet McTeer, Charlie Covell’s imaginative, witty, meaningful series will live on in the hearts of fans.
The Winter King (MGM+/ITVX)
This historical action series based on a series of Bernard Cornwell novels didn’t fare as well as its long-running brother The Last Kingdom (which was rescued from BBC cancellation by Netflix after series two). A fantasy drama revisiting the myths surrounding King Arthur, it starred Agents of SHIELD’s Iain de Caestecker in the lead role, with Eddie Marsan in a cameo role as his father Uther. It aired in late 2023 in the UK and was announced as cancelled in September 2024.
COMEDY
Extraordinary (Disney+)
Set in a world where superpowers are the norm, Extraordinary tells the story of chaotic twentysomething Jen, her search for answers as to why she’s still power-free, and her unpredictable flatmates dealing with their own special abilities. This rude, fun fantasy comedy did better than most of the shows on this list by making it all the way to a second series. A third however, isn’t coming, which is a pity for such an imaginative and likeable series.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Apple TV+)
News broke this month that the second series of nonsense-history series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin was being scrapped midway through filming after reports that lead Noel Fielding had not returned to set following the Christmas break.
The Franchise (HBO/Sky)
This satirical look at franchise movie-making from Jon Brown (Succession, Avenue 5, Dead Pixels), and produced by Armando Iannucci and Sam Mendes won’t enter phase two. The show, which is set behind-the-scenes of a fictional superhero studio, hoped to skewer the excesses and egos of modern moviemaking, but failed to draw a big enough audience or enthusiastic enough reviews to follow its fake cast and crew into a second season.
Time Bandits (Apple TV+)
A Taika Waititi-produced new take on the classic 1980s Terry Gilliam kids’ adventure movie, this family-aimed series was plagued by production difficulties and never really took off, despite the efforts of a fun cast including Lisa Kudrow. It was cancelled after just one series.
Avoidance (BBC One)
Romesh Ranganathan confirmed on his and Tom Davis’ Wolf and Owl podcast that his BBC One comedy co-starring Jessica Knappett and Lisa McGrillis about a recently separated dad with no backbone won’t be returning for a third series.
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