21 Queer TV Shows That Got Cancelled Way Too Soon

Why do all the good LGBTQ+ TV shows get canceled?!

Even though we're seeing a lot more queer representation in film these days, sometimes it's still just not enough! Fandoms know how hard it is to lose shows early, so let's take a look at 21 LGBTQ+ shows that got the ax far too soon.

And yes we are still salty AF about this!

Warrior Nun

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 2 seasons.

Warrior Nun amassed quite the fanbase during its short two-season run on Netflix. The series is based on the comic book character Warrior Nun Areala and follows 19-year-old Ava Silva who struggles with her identity after being tasked with fighting demons on Earth with forces on heaven and hell trying to find and control her. The romance focuses on Ava’s love for Beatrice, and fans were upset that the decision to cancel was “based on data” when it was considered the most talked about show on the internet.

The fans are not giving up hope giving up hope of a revival and we are cheering them on!

Looking

Network: HBO

Canceled after 2 seasons.

HBO canceled the San Francisco-based, gay-themed comedy-drama after 18 episodes, but thanks to fan frenzy, the series was able to wrap up properly with a special movie.

I Am Not Okay With This

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 1 season.

On the same day Netflix announced The Society wasn't coming back for a second round, the streaming giant's critically-acclaimed super-powered teen series I Am Not Okay With This was also, unfortunately, canned after only one season. Unlike other straight, male-centric superhero shows, the series was notable for starring a teen girl with powers named Sydney who has feelings for and falls in love with her best friend Dina.

The Shannara Chronicles

Network: MTV/Spike

Canceled after 2 seasons.

The YA fantasy series, which featured a bisexual lead character named Eretria, originally aired on MTV in its first season, but was then moved to the now defunct Spike for season 2. When Spike became the Paramount Network, The Shannara Chronicles was one of the titles that didn't get picked up, effectively canceling the series.

First Kill

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 1 season.

Canceled after only one season, First Kill follows teens Juliette and Calliope on their journey to figure out their love and faced with the problem that one is a vampire and the other’s a vampire hunter, and both are ready for their first kill. Based on the book by V.E. Schwab and adapted by the same author, low viewership accounted for Netflix’s decision to ax the show.

The Wilds

​​Network: Amazon Prime

Canceled after 2 Seasons.

​Canceled after only 18 episodes, The Wilds is an American drama series on Amazon Prime that follows a group of teen girls who find themselves stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash and become the subjects of an elaborate social experiment. Among the girls is a hot-tempered lesbian and features a front-and-center lesbian romance. The second season didn’t garner as much excitement as the first, which ultimately led Amazon Prime to halt production on further seasons.

The Get Down

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 1 season.

The Baz Luhrmann-created series only got one (yup, ONE) season on Netflix before getting axxed by the streaming platform—and the fans were outraged. The musical show explored the hip-hop scene in the '70s and even featured a queer relationship between Jaden Smith's character and another boy.

Special

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 2 seasons.

Special is a semi-autobiographical series starring actor-writer Ryan O’Connell and based on his memoir. Ryan is a gay man with cerebral palsy and decides to take his life into his own hands after an accident has him wanting to attain the life he really wants. Although O’Connel wanted to expand to the more traditional half-hour running time, Netflix axed the show after two seasons, measuring “internal viewing metrics vs. The cost of doing additional seasons.”

Faking It

Network: MTV

Canceled after 3 seasons.

Due to low ratings, MTV ended Faking It's run in 2016 after just three seasons. While the premise of the show was a little...sketchy (the idea of two BFFs pretending to be girlfriends at a school where being queer makes you popular sounds kinda offensive), it did offer some diverse representation and did have some heartfelt moments.

Noah's Arc

Network: Logo

Canceled after 2 seasons.

Although it was Logo's highest-rated original series at the time, Noah's Arc was unexpectedly canceled after only two seasons (literally 17 episodes) and no show has really ever been able to fill the void it left. The series followed a gay man Noah and the lives of his group of friends (consisting of all Black gay men) living in Los Angeles. As our friends at Out point out, the series was like a gay, Black Sex and the City.

Wynonna Earp

Network: SYFY

Canceled after 4 seasons.

Although creators and fans of the beloved, queer-inclusive SYFY fantasy-Western series were able to fight tooth and nail through a production delay nightmare to get season 4 of the show made, it was revealed in February 2021 that Wynonna Earp wasn't going to be getting a fifth season, and that the fourth season's final six episodes would be its last.

The Real O'Neals

Network: ABC

Canceled after 2 seasons.

The hilarious ABC show, which followed the life of a gay teen growing up in a dysfunctional, Catholic, Irish-American family, was canceled after two seasons in 2017. At the time, it was the lowest-watched comedy show in ABC's entire lineup.

Sense8

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 2 seasons.

The sexy AF, queer-inclusive series created by the Wachowskis got the boot in 2017 after two critically-acclaimed seasons. (Reportedly, the show was too expensive to keep making.) Unlike most canceled series, though, at least Sense8 got a big, two-hour finale special. 

One Day at a Time

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 3 seasons.

Despite the fandom love for One Day at a Time, Netflix canceled the beloved series that followed a Cuban-American family and had a lesbian main character after only three seasons. However, unlike other series on this list, ODAAT got lucky when CBS-owned Pop TV (the same network that brought Schitt's Creek to the states) saved it and green-lit it for a fourth season.

One Day at a Time (Again)

Network: Pop TV

Canceled after 1 season.

Will the beloved, queer-inclusive sitcom ever catch a break? Guess not...

After the pandemic interrupted production of the reboot of Norman Lear's iconic series' fourth season earlier this year, ViacomCBS straight-up canceled the sitcom's run on Pop TV. This was the queer series' first season on the network following its jump from Netflix, where it was canceled after three seasons in 2019. Although Sony did make efforts to look for a new home for the show (again), showrunners Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce confirmed on social media that the series was, officially, done.

High Fidelity

Network: Hulu

Canceled after 1 season.

The gender-flipping, queer AF romantic comedy series got axed by Hulu after only one season! (A total crime!) Starring Big Little Lies star Zoë Kravitz (whose mom, Lisa Bonet, starred in the original 2000 movie the series is based on), the show followed the misadventures of a record shop owner named Rob who is down on her luck when it comes to her love life. Rob's relationships with men and women were prominently featured in the series, and one of the show's supporting characters named Simon (playued David H. Holmes) was also openly gay. One whole episode was even dedicated to his rollercoaster love story with his boyfriend.

Considering the queer rep we got with the show, the cancelation of High Fidelity was a big loss in 2020, and fans weren't happy!

DuckTales

Network: Disney XD

Canceled after 3 seasons.

Although the Disney XD animated series made headlines in 2020 when they introduced two gay duck dads to the show, the network revealed that the show will not be returning for a fourth season.

"The talented creative team, led by Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones, have delivered exceptional storytelling with uniquely reimagined characters for three seasons of 75 episodes and more than 15 shorts," a Disney XD spokesperson said in a statement. "While physical production is wrapping, DuckTales continues to be available daily on Disney Channels and Disney+ around the world and fans will get an epic season finale in 2021."

GLOW

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 3 seasons.

Despite originally getting renewed for a fourth and final season, Netflix went back on its renewal and canceled the woman-led LGBTQ-inclusive series comedy-drama, even after it had already started filming the few episodes of the fourth season, Deadline reports.

"COVID has killed actual humans. It’s a national tragedy and should be our focus. COVID also apparently took down our show," GLOW creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch told Deadline. "Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of GLOW. We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that’s gone. There’s a lot of sh*tty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don’t get to see these 15 women in a frame together again."

Everything's Gonna Be Okay

Network: Hulu

Canceled after 2 seasons.

Created by Australian comedian Josh Thomas, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay follows a neurotic 20-something visiting his dad and teenage half-siblings. His father has a very bad cancer and is going to die soon, so Nicholas offers himself up as the guardian of his half-sisters, one of whom is autistic. Nicholas himself is gay and, as our sister channel The Advocate pointed out, examines the “dual spectrum” of autism and LGBTQ identities. As with most shows, viewership was the reason for Hulu canceling the show.

Stumptown

Network: ABC

Canceled after 1 season.

Although the Cobie Smulders-led crime drama was originally scheduled to return in Fall 2020, in September of 2020, ABC announced that they were reversing their renewal decision for the series and not going forward with a second seaon, shocking many fans. The show was prominent for featuring a bisexual lead character, something that is still extremely rare in mainstream network TV. According to Deadline, one of the reasons for the Stumptown cancellation had to do with production delays caused by the ongoing global pandemic.

The Society

Network: Netflix

Canceled after 1 season.

Though it initially got greenlit for a second season, fans of the gay-inclusive, mysterious teen drama series were bitterly disappointed after finding out that Netflix pulled the plug on the series due to pandemic-related production concerns. The show was beloved for being inclusive, featuring queer couple Sam and Grizz, with the character of Sam being played by deaf actor Sean Berdy.

BONUS: Schitt's Creek​​

Network: PopTV

Canceled after 6 seasons.

I mean… Need I say more? Six seasons is not enough. It’s just not. I need Moira! Eugene Levy’s eyebrows! Ew, David!