TV shows canceled or ended in 2020

In 2020, networks pulled the plug on reality-TV cop shows, including Paramount Network's "Cops," and scripted-TV cop shows, such as Fox's "Deputy" (pictured, center). They also said goodbye to several long-running favorites, including NBC's "The Good Place" (pictured, left), ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" (pictured, right) and Netflix's "Fuller House." 

Here's a look at the TV shows that dropped their final new episodes in 2020 — either because they were abruptly canceled, or brought to a planned end.

"Supernatural"

Heading into the 2019-2020 season, "Supernatural" fans knew the demon-hunting days of the Winchester brothers (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) were numbered — it had been announced that the CW show's 15th season would be its last. But nobody knew that COVID-related production delays would push back the series' farewell six months. 

The final episode of "Supernatural" aired, at last, on Nov. 19, 2020.

"Broke"

Pauley Perrette starred for 15 seasons on CBS' "NCIS," but saw her sitcom, "Broke," last just one season on the same network. The comedy, which premiered in April 2020, aired its 13th and final episode in June 2020.  

"Katy Keene"

It was a surprise ending for "Katy Keene," the "Riverdale" spinoff that was canceled by the CW in July 2020. The fashion-forward series, starring Lucy Hale, premiered in February 2020. It produced 13 episodes.   

"Briarpatch"

"Briarpatch," starring Rosario Dawson, was a mystery-crime drama that was canceled in July 2020, about five months after it debuted on USA Network. What proved to be the show's final episode aired in April 2020.  

"Council of Dads"

"Council of Dads" convened its final meeting on NBC in July 2020. The freshman drama series was canceled a few weeks prior. The show was based on the best-selling non-fiction book of the same name.  

"The Purge"

This USA Network anthology series was the TV take on the popular big-screen horror franchise of the same name. The small-screen version produced two seasons from 2018-2019. While there'd been hope for a Season 3, USA formally pulled the plug in May 2020. 

"Treadstone"

A connection to a box-office success didn't help "The Purge" prevent an early demise, and it didn't help "Treadstone," either.

"Treadstone" belonged to the Jason Bourne universe. The action drama, starring Tracy Ifeachor, aired its first, and only, season in 2019. It was canceled by USA Network in May 2020 along with "The Purge."   

"Cops"

Amid cries for police reform following the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd, Paramount Network canceled "Cops." The reality-police show debuted on Fox in 1989, and moved to Spike TV (the previous name of Paramount Network) in 2013. The show got canned just before its 33rd season was to debut June 8, 2020.  

In October 2020, production on the show resumed, but new episodes were to air only in international markets. 

"Fuller House"

The "Full House" spinoff, "Fuller House," starring Jodie Sweetin and Candace Cameron Bure, dropped its final episodes on Netflix on June 2, 2020; the comedy produced 75 episodes through five seasons. The original "Full House" ran eight seasons on ABC from 1987-1995.

"Empire"

Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and Lucious (Terrence Howard) took center stage for the last time in the April 21, 2020, finale of Fox's "Empire," "Home Is on the Way." The hit soap reigned for six seasons and 102 episodes. 

"How to Get Away with Murder"

"How to Get Away with Murder," the ABC mystery-thriller from Shonda Rhimes' Shondaland, closed its final case in May 2020 after six seasons and 90 episodes. Along the way, Viola Davis won a historic Primetime Emmy for her performance as law professor Annalise Keating; Davis was the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

"AJ and the Queen"

"AJ and the Queen," the road-trip dramedy starring and co-created by RuPaul, dropped its first and (as things turned out) final season on Netflix in January. RuPaul confirmed on Twitter in March that the network was not ordering future seasons.

"Modern Family"

"Modern Family," which won Outstanding Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmys five straight times, said its tearful farewells in April 2020. The series premiered in 2009, and ran for 11 groundbreaking seasons on ABC. 

"Single Parents"

"Single Parents," starring Jake Choi as dad Miggy Park, wasn't included in ABC's plans when the network announced its 2020-2021 lineup in May 2020. The network split with "Single Parents" after two seasons.  

"V Wars"

Dropping its first season of 10 episodes in December 2019, Netflix's "V Wars" might have hit too close to pandemic home. The Ian Somerhalder-led drama, about a mysterious infectious disease (albeit one that transforms people into vampire-like creatures), was canceled in March 2020. 

"The Ranch"

"The Ranch," the three-camera sitcom starring Ashton Kutcher (also one of its executive producers), rode off into the sunset when the final episodes of its farewell fourth season dropped on Netflix in January 2020. The end came more than two years after original series costar Danny Masterson, who played Kutcher's older brother, was fired amid multiple rape allegations. In June 2020, Masterson was charged with raping three women.

"God Friended Me"

Even though its ratings slid in Season 2, "God Friended Me," starring Brandon Michael Hall as an atheist with a Facebook friend in God (or at least an account named God), was thought to have a shot a Season 3. The higher powers at CBS, however, had other plans: The drama was canceled in April 2020. 

"Perfect Harmony"

"Perfect Harmony," starring Bradley Whitford and Anna Camp, took its final bow in January 2020. The choir comedy debuted in September 2019, and produced 13 episodes. A second season wasn't out of the question, but NBC formally gave it the hook in June 2020. 

"Schitt's Creek"

"Schitt's Creek," starring co-creators Dan Levy and father Eugene, took the long way to beloved status: The series premiered in 2015 on Canada's CBC, came to the United States via Pop TV, and exploded when its early seasons debuted on Netflix in 2017. In April 2020, it dropped its 80th — and final — episode. In all, it ran six crazed seasons. 

"Live PD"

Like "Cops" before it," "Live PD" was canceled in June 2020 as the police-reform and racial-justice movements swept the nation. In announcing the end of the reality-police series after four seasons, A&E noted this "critical time in our nation's history."

"Will & Grace"

"Will & Grace" said goodbye — again — with the farewell episode, "It's Time." The installment marked the end of the sitcom's 2017-2020 revival run, which produced 52 episodes, and upped the franchise's episode total to a whopping 246. 

In all, "Will & Grace," starring Debra Messing and Eric McCormack as friends and roommates, spanned three decades during its 11-season run on NBC. 

"Tommy"

It was a one-season-and-done run for "Tommy," the Edie Falco-led CBS police drama, not to be confused with the Who rock opera of the same name. The series lasted 12 episodes. 

"Arrow"

After eight seasons and 170 episodes, "Arrow," starring Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, drew its last quiver in January 2020. The comic-book drama lives on via the Arrowverse, the interconnected series of CW superhero shows, including "The Flash." 

"Schooled"

A spin off of "The Goldbergs," "Schooled" produced two seasons' worth of 1990s-style high-school humor before it was expelled by ABC. The show, starring Tim Meadows as Principal Glascott, aired its final episode in May 2020, the same month it was canceled. 

"Homeland"

"Homeland," the Emmy-winning espionage thriller starring Clare Danes, closed the book on its eight-season, 96-episode Showtime run in April 2020.  

"Deputy"

The Fox drama about a law-enforcement veteran (played by Stephen Dorff) who's thrust into the lead role at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was asked to turn in its badge after 13 episodes. "Deputy" ran from January 2020-April 2020. 

"The Good Place"

The afterlife comedy "The Good Place," starring Kristen Bell, ended its acclaimed, four-season run with the January 30, 2020, episode, "Whenever You're Ready." The NBC series debuted in 2016, and produced 53 episodes in all.  

"Emergence"

"Emergence," the eerie mystery starring Allison Tolman and Donald Faison, premiered on ABC in September 2019, and aired 13 episodes through January 2020. The end officially came when it was not included in ABC's announced plans for the 2020-2021 season.  

"Turn Up Charlie"

Thanks to Idris Elba, "Turn Up Charlie" brought movie-star moves to the small screen. Elba co-created and starred in the Netflix comedy about a deejay turned nanny. The show dropped its eight-episode inaugural season all the way back in March 2019, but it wasn't until April 2020 that Netflix confirmed there wouldn't be a Season 2.  

"Bless This Mess"

"Bless This Mess," the Nebraska farm comedy starring Dax Shepard and Lake Bell, the latter of whom also co-created the series, was canceled by ABC in May. The show ran for two seasons.    

"Power"

The crime drama "Power," starring Omari Hardwick, concluded its six-season run on Starz in February 2020. It was named Outstanding Drama Series at the NAACP Image Awards in 2018 and 2019. 

"Almost Family"

"Almost Family," the Fox drama about the unwitting offspring of a fertility doctor, was canceled in March 2020 on the same day BuzzFeed published a report alleging series star Timothy Hutton raped a 14-year-old girl in 1983. Hutton denied the allegation. The low-rated show concluded its 13-episode first (and last) season in February 2020.  

"Fresh off the Boat"

The acclaimed ABC comedy "Fresh off the Boat" ended its six-season run in February 2020 with an episode that flash-forwarded to the grown-up fates of the Huang children.  

"The Baker and the Beauty"

The sweet comedy-drama "The Baker and the Beauty," starring Victor Rasuk and Nathalie Kelley, premiered on ABC in April 2020. It aired its season finale in June 2020, and was canceled a couple of weeks later. The show lasted nine episodes. 

"Bojack Horseman"

"Bojack Horseman," the critically acclaimed animated Hollywood comedy, ended its six-season run on Netflix with a final batch of episodes released on January 31, 2020. 

"Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector"

This series was based on the Jeffrey Deaver crime-novel series, previously given the Hollywood treatment by the 1999 Denzel Washington film, "The Bone Collector." The NBC version starred Russell Hornsby as the title criminologist. "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" ran for 10 episodes from January 2020-March 2020. It was formally canceled in June 2020.  

"Spinning Out"

"Spinning Out," the figure-skating drama starring Amanda Zhou, dropped its 10-episode first season on Netflix on New Year's Day 2020. The streamer canceled the series one month later.  

"Kids Say the Darndest Things"

The Tiffany Haddish-hosted, comedy-talk revival of "Kids Say the Darndest Things" premiered on ABC in October 2019, and aired what turned out to be its final episode on the network in January 2020.

But in December 2020, the canceled show was picked up by CBS, with Haddish to return as host.  

"Party of Five"

"Party of Five," the Freeform reboot of the popular 1994-2000 Fox family drama, lasted only 10 episodes after premiering in January 2020. It was canceled in April 2020. 

"Criminal Minds"

After 324 episodes and 15 serial-killer-tracking seasons on CBS, "Criminal Minds," starring Kirsten Vangsness as tech whiz Penelope Garcia, ended its top-rated run on February 19, 2020.

"Sunnyside"

"Sunnyside," the New York City-set comedy starring Kal Penn, was the first major casualty of the 2019-2020 TV season. In October 2019, NBC pulled the little-watched freshman series and burned off its remaining episodes on streaming services. It was formally canceled in June 2020.  

"Hawaii Five-0"

"Hawaii Five-0," the CBS police drama starring Alex O'Loughlin, said a tearful aloha in April 2020 after 10 seasons and 240 episodes. The series fell a little shy of matching the longevity of the original "Hawaii Five-0," which ran for 12 seasons (and 279 episodes) on CBS from 1968-1980. 

"Carol's Second Act"

A month after the September 2019 premiere of the medical comedy "Carol's Second Act," executive producer David Hunt, husband of series star Patricia Heaton, was accused by one of the show's writers of inappropriate touching. CBS canceled the sitcom in May 2020 after 18 episodes.  

"Soundtrack"

In December 2019, "Soundtrack," the Los Angeles-set musical drama, released its first season on Netflix. One month later, the Hollywood trade press reported its cancellation.  

"Bluff City Law"

The Tennessee-based legal drama "Bluff City Law" started off relatively strong for NBC in September 2019, but limped to the finish of its initial 10-episode order. The Jimmy Smits-led series was formally canceled in June 2020. 

"Man with a Plan"

"Man with a Plan" aired its 69th — and final — episode on June 11, 2020. The Matt LeBlanc nuclear-family comedy was canceled by CBS in May. It ran for four seasons.  

"Outmatched"

The Fox family sitcom "Outmatched," starring Jason Biggs and Maggie Lawson as the, well, outmatched parents of three mentally gifted children, ran for 10 episodes from January 2020-March 2020. It was canceled by Fox in May. 

"Indebted"

Sitcom vets Fran Drescher ("The Nanny") and Steven Weber ("Wings") starred as a couple who move in with their adult son's family in the NBC sitcom. It ran for 12 episodes from February 2020-April 2020 and got the pink slip in June 2020. 

"October Faction"

"October Faction," the Netflix drama about monster hunters, and based on the comic-book series of the same name, dropped its 10-episode first season in January 2020. Critically panned, it was canceled in March 2020.