From The CW bloodbath to some of our favorite dramas wrapping things up, we lost some quality television this year.
While it was great to see shows like This is Us leave on their own terms, not every series ended in a way that was satisfying to fans.
And some shows are still fighting for a second chance (we’re looking at you, Magnum P.I.!)
We gathered a list of some of the shows we’ll miss the most, in no particular order, for you to check out.
Let us know what you’ll miss in the comments and if we missed any of your favorites.
The Baby-Sitters Club
The series was one of the few that featured preteen and young teen girls as they came of age and showed empowering stories as they ran their own business. It included real-life stories and modernized them from the novels, covering juvenile diabetes, parents’ divorce and remarriage, death, and first love.
It was such an important series for young teenagers and adults who loved the books when they were younger. There were so many incredible stories to tell via Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne, Dawn, Jessi, and Mallory.
We won’t get to see these young girls thrive and come into their own, deftly tackling coming-of-age topics from dating and crushes, to culture and racism, to sexuality and disabilities, and friendship, family, grief, and love. And that’s truly a shame.
This is Us
We lived with the Pearsons and were part of their family for six years.
We’ll miss following their lives and being part of their family on Tuesday nights. We learned so much about love, laughter, tears, and sibling bonds.
At the very least, we are comforted by the fact that the series ended just as it always intended. The finale was bittersweet but a perfect goodbye to an un-perfect family.
Motherland: Fort Salem
It’s entering its third and final season in a few weeks, and we will miss watching Abigail, Tally, and Raelle.
It’s another show about female empowerment, where we loved seeing female witches in power in the Army.
But it was so much more than that. The trio’s friendship was the heart of the series, as were mother/daughter bonds and Raelle/Scylla’s romantic pairing.
Pivoting
This show was what a sitcom should be. It highlighted strong women and female friendships.
It showed that women of a certain age still have a lot of living to do. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times but deep at others. It was an excellent portrayal of grief and FOMO, which was very relatable in today’s climate.
This show gave hope and feel-good feelings. The characters were entertaining, and watching it was comforting in a way sitcoms of late haven’t been.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
How did the best Arrowverse show in recent years not get renewed? Unlike other Arrowverse shows that have outlived their appeal (*cough* Flash *cough*), Legends was still going strong.
They had a stellar cast, original, engaging stories, and ships to root for. Plus, Sara and Ava just got pregnant, and we’re never getting a baby?
They introduced Booster Gold, and everyone got arrested, and … that’s it? Really? That’s it, and shows like Riverdale get another season? Really? Really?
A Discovery of Witches
Vampire Matthew and witch Diana fell in love against all odds, and in the wake of that forbidden love, they traversed time to secure their futures.
By the end of A Discovery of Witches Season 3, they had banished the elite power-mad from their political ranks and became the parents of twins, something that once seemed an impossibility.
Unfortunately, the third season focused more on vanquishing evil than the love that had driven earlier seasons, and since that meant very little time with the new parents and their devotion to each other, well, we needed more. And with so much left to be said, we’re grieving the loss of ADOW.
Legacies
Legacies is the last of The Vampire Diaries universe, and it’s going to be very hard to say goodbye to them. T
here has been plenty to like about the time we spent at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, which introduced us to a plethora of fun and relatable characters.
All we can hope for is an ending that will leave us feeling okay about losing one of our favorite shows.
Good Sam
While there are plenty of medical shows on TV, Good Sam had such a dynamic and complex storyline and starred two great actors, Jason Isaacs, and Sophia Bush.
Throughout the season, we learned about the characters and wondered who would be the head of cardio.
When Sam got the job, Griff had more up his sleeve, and now we’ll never know what will happen after. The series deserved a second chance to get its feet on the ground, and it’s a shame we won’t know more.
Naomi
Following a Superman super fan as she discovers she is not from this Earth and is, in fact, an alien from a different planet, Naomi had so much heart, action, and not to mention LGBTQ+ representation with its lead titular character.
The show had so much potential, including the possibility of joining the now-nearly-extinct Arrowverse.
The CW’s newest DC series and only the second to not be included in the Arrowverse canon will be missed by us!
Roswell, New Mexico
The Roswell reboot will end after four seasons this summer and after plenty of alien adventures.
It will be weird not to watch this series every year since there will still be plenty of storylines to come out of it.
From epic love stories to empowering females, and passionate stories touching on real-world issues, Roswell was a comfort show for so many. We miss you already, Roswell!
4400
The CW’s sci-fi reboot had so much going for it.
It had a diverse cast of mostly newcomers and an essential message about empowerment and standing up against social injustices.
We’ll miss 4400’s heartfelt romances, wacky time-traveling shenanigans, unique sassiness, and how unapologetically it championed marginalized voices. That cliffhanger ending, though!!
Magnum P.I.
First off, I’m not giving up on the show! Rumor has it that producers are in talks with NBC to pick it up after CBS drop-kicked it to the curb. Magnum P.I. is the perfect Friday night show. And it’s filmed in Hawaii, meaning the scenery is gorgeous.
The episodes are light and fun, with just enough drama to keep you invested and coming back for more. And the cast is superb. There’s great chemistry here, and not only between Magnum and Higgins, but the whole ensemble actually feels like old friends.
Although some fans were shocked when this reboot made the new Higgins a female character, now I can’t imagine the show without Juliet! Plus, the change-up has benefited from adding potential romance and making the show feel less like an old boys club.
But if Magnum P.I. truly is over, our Friday nights will never be the same.
The Big Leap
This musical dramedy was truly something special, and it’s painful that enough people weren’t aware of its magic.
The Big Leap was the type of feel-good, heartwarming, just real TV programming we desperately needed, especially amid a pandemic. In fact, it’s one of the few series that got its post-pandemic feeling just right.
The cast was spectacular, from Scott Foley and Teri Polo to newcomer Simone Recasner. It made you laugh and smile endlessly. It made you cry. It made you fall in love with it, and then that cancelation broke your heart.
There was so much heart, joy, and beauty in The Big Leap and how they told the most compelling human stories in such an unexpected and fun way.
Animal Kingdom
The final season is upon us, and the final stretch promises to be one hell of a worthwhile ride. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t already missing the Codys.
The series concluding feels like an end to an era.
With its equal parts lovable and loathsome protagonists, exciting, action-packed scenes and heists, and shocking twists and turns, summers won’t feel right without following the Cody boys. They make being bad feel so damn good. We’re missing this series already.
Julie and The Phantoms
Like The Babysitters Club, losing a delightful series that followed a young girl through grief, her dreams, and an unlikely friendship with a ghost band is a colossal blow. It was creative, original, heartwarming, and compelling.
They also had some pretty freaking spectacular music.
JATP had such heart, and we’ll miss the light it brought to our lives.
Ozark
Ozark is hands down one of the greatest series of all time. It’s just hard to let go of it.
Purely brilliant, dark, and entertaining with tour de force performances by its supremely talented cast, following the Byrde family’s journey has been insane.
While its controversial ending wrapped things up well enough, it doesn’t mean we wish we didn’t have to say goodbye to the show. We’ll miss everything from Marty’s eerie calm to that muted blue tint.
Promised Land
The series about a multigenerational Latin American family was such an underrated gem.
Following the journey of the Sandoval family in the past and present, both effectively interwoven in installments was lovely.
We’ll miss the complexities of the characters and the unique take on the immigration experience.
Saved By The Bell
The series had a decent run, but it deserved much better from the viewing audience.
It was a hilarious reboot with a diverse cast and many exciting storylines. Unfortunately, it just didn’t garner the buzz Peacock was looking for.
We’ll miss checking out with the kids and adults at Bayside High!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
