Television's One-Season Wonders of the Decade
Wonderfalls (2004, Fox)
Before Pushing Daisies, Bryan Fuller created another whimsical series that only aired four episodes on Fox before being yanked from the network. Also co-starring Daisies' Lee Pace, Wonderfalls featured Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye, a sarcastic, Ivy League graduate stuck working in a Niagara Falls gift shop when inanimate animal figurines begin communicating with her. Jaye was one of the coolest young female characters on television in the last decade, as a sarcastic underachiever living in a trailer park with little motivation to help anyone (including herself) until those pesky animals started convincing her to do out-of-character deeds, like help coordinate a high school reunion. Although some critics declared the series the "best new drama of the 2003 - 2004 season", it's quirky appeal and phenomenal-but-lesser-known actors (Diana Scarwid, Katie Finneran, William Sadler) could not secure ratings worthy enough of a full season.
Last Ditch Fan Efforts: After the Wonderfalls ardent fans launched a campaign to save the show, 20th Century Fox released the entire 13 episodes along with cast and producer commentary in a DVD set.
The Comeback (2005, HBO)
A year after Friends wrapped, Lisa Kudrow tried her hand at a premium cable show-about-a-show-within-a-show about a one-time hit sitcom actress who tries to reclaim her television career with a reality program. The script was clever but not quite clever enough to top Curb Your Enthusiasm and Showtime's Fat Actress, which both circled the same conceit. Despite the combination of Sex and the City executive producer Michael Patrick King, a prime time slot following Entourage and Malin Akerman in skimpy wardrobe, the Comeback premiered to dismal ratings.
Andy Barker P.I. (2007, NBC)
Two years before Bored to Death popularized recreational detective work on pay cable, Andy Richter fell into a side career as a private eye with this basic cable project. Co-written and executive produced by Conan O'Brien, the series premiered all of its six episodes online before airing on NBC. Richter co-starred alongside Tony Hale (Arrested Development) and colorful guests including Amy Sedaris, Edward Asner and Traci Lords, as an accountant who finds himself solving crimes. Although it did not last as long as Richter's two-season gig controlling the universe, critics agreed that the series was a "joyous, ridiculous, warm, affecting and silly comedy" that would not appeal to everyone. As predicted, NBC pulled the series after airing only four episodes.
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Comments
Moonlight was an awesome show that picked up quite a huge fanbase (still has one) and it only had one season. It's a shame really.
Much love for _The Comeback_
the best shows seem to always get cancelled; the most likely explanation... people do not want to think and most likely like watching brain-numbing reality tv thus making the country dumber which in turn makes more reality tv and so on and so on. The two best shows in the later part of this decade were Journeyman and New Amsterdam. Two excellent shows but both got cancelled after half a season, why? Yet we have constant crap like American Idol/America(has not) Got Talent (both copies of english shows) as well as the office (something original please America), and all the stupid reality shows about people we do not care about in the slightest (ie Hills, Housewives of wherever, pretty much everything on mtv, biggest loser, etc etc. It's a shame I know some names. Yet shows like Journeyman and NA are not advertised or produced well enough and are dropped. But in a country where money is king, American tv will always fail to produce quality (except HBO that is).
The Middleman was a fine one season wonder.
There have always been cult shows, but this is the first decade where cancelled programs actually drove fan interest that got them widespread commercial release post-cancellation. It's only going to get more interesting as the broadcast market becomes more saturated and segmented.
I really liked The Unusuals; I think that in a few years we might see it on a list like this. At least it gave Jeremy Renner a bigger audience.
they left out one that I personally loved from this year. My Own Worst Enemy w/ christian slater. it aired on NBC. prime time slot, tons of promotion, great story, great visual effects, good acting, but NBC pulled it after something like 6 or 7 episodes.
What ever happened to "The Class"?
What about "Keen Eddie" (2003)? Fox barely gave this awesome show a chance 🙁
And whatever happened to American Gothic?
Interesting article, but the title doesn't exactly make sense: "One-Season Wonders".
I'm sure you got the idea from the music industry phrase, "one-hit wonders" which refers to artists who produce one memorable, widely popular and easily recognizable hit song, but then fail to produce a single follow-up to that initial success.
In TV parlance, the phrase "one and done" would be more appropriate in the context of this discussion.
I know Pushing Daisies technically lasted 2 seasons... but ABC didn't have it's heart in the second in terms of marketing and support, so, really, it should classify as a one-season wonder.
Amazing show.
Journeyman was the first thing I thought of when I saw this post. It was so good (and I usually hate science fiction, so if I liked it, that means something). I know the writers strike happened right in the middle of the season, so that helped to push it towards cancellation, but I also read that since the writers knew it was going to happen, it allowed them to actually somewhat resolve and explain things enough, so that the episodes that did air have a coherent story arc.
I liked New Amsterdam as well, at least at the beginning, but I remember starting to get bored with the later episodes.
Hey network stooges: I don't watch any so called 'reality' shows. Journeyman, Southland, Moonlight and Flashpoint were all killed off before their time. Bring back real programs, not this constant stream of drivel.
What a strange list...
No Invasion? Miracles? Eyes? Freaks & Geeks? Karen Sisco?
I actually looked three times to make sure an additional page wasn't missing.
Freaks & Geeks was '99.