Year in review: Top 20 shows cancelled in 2014

A new year has begun, and with it, new television shows are on the way. But just as every new year brings new shows, the passing year marked the end of others—through both natural endings and cancellations.

Cancelled shows of 2015 came from various genres throughout all networks. Comedies seemed to particularly take a hit, with about 20 getting the ax fairly swiftly. Another theme apparent in the cancellations: shows starring TV big-timers did not fare well. Michael J. Fox, Sean Hayes (a.k.a. Jack McFarland of Will & Grace), Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar are just some of the numerous actors who fit the bill, whose shows didn't survive.

It's not surprising so many shows got nixed, since television is becoming more and more competitive as the medium evolves. So, to honor the unlucky programs that didn't make it to 2015, here are the top 20 (as in most undeserving of their fate/ sad to see go) shows cancelled in 2014.

20. Super Fun Night, ABC

This Rebel Wilson-starring show about three nerdy female friends who vow to gain confidence and step out of their comfort zone at least one night a week launched in October of 2013. Despite the fact that it began in the wake of Wilson's fast rise to fame with her roles in Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect, and the fact that Modern Family was its lead-in, it couldn't hang on to viewers and was cancelled in May 2014.

19. Surviving Jack, Fox

Christopher Meloni, a TV fixture since 1989 who is most known for his former role as the beloved detective Elliot Stabler of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, stepped into the comedy genre by starring in this show. He portrays Jack Dunlevy, a former military man and oncologist who becomes the full-time parent to his two teenage children so that his wife can go to law school. The show debuted in March and was announced in the May group of cancellations.

18. Mystery Girls, ABC Family

This show's fate was not too surprising, but it's a sad loss nonetheless because of how exciting it was to see its stars—Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling—back on TV together and with their own show. The loveable blondes both got their big start on TV in the short-lived but well-known Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000) and have since stuck around the medium—especially Garth, who starred alongside Amanda Bynes in the underrated comedy show What I Like About You from 2002-06. The silly but cute plot of Mystery Girls followed two former stars of a television mystery show who reunite to be real-life detectives. The show opened on June 25 and its cancellation due to low ratings was announced in September.

17. Rake, Fox

This Greg Kinnear-starring dramedy about a self-destructive criminal defense lawyer debuted January 23 of 2014. It was a U.S. remake of a popular Australian show of the same name, and was to serve as Kinnear's first big foray into television, but production was troubled, episodes were swapped, time slots were shifted and ultimately, it failed. It was announced in May that there would be no second season of the show.

16. Selfie, ABC

One of the more recent victims of ABC cancellations is this comedy, which began in August 2014, about a social-media obsessed young woman who enlists the help of her co-worker, a marketing expert, to help fix her image after she becomes the subject of an embarrassing viral video. Despite the relatability of the plot and the arguably talented cast—Karen Gillan and John Cho (who this writer thinks must be really unlucky since he's great and his shows are great but keep getting canceled, i.e. FlashForward, Go On)—something didn't stick and the show got the ax in November.

15. The Bridge, FX

Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir starred in this U.S. version of a Scandinavian crime drama about, according to the U.S. plot line, two detectives working to take down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. It started out with a little buzz but toward its end reportedly had only about 1.2 million viewers, not to mention FX had other, more successful shows debut in 2014. Thus, the network announced in October that it would not get a third season.

14. Queen Latifah Show, CBS

The multi-talented Queen Latifah is one of the most lovable people in the entertainment business. The singer-actor added talk show host to her resume with the 2013 launch of her own daytime talk show. But despite how popular and awesome Latifah is, the show apparently didn't get a strong enough viewership, and its cancellation was announced in November, after two seasons. It's a shame, as she offered a bit more variety to the genre but at least Latifah has plenty of projects coming up to keep her in the business.

13. Intelligence, CBS

There was something about this show that didn't work but it's hard to pinpoint and basically irrelevant since its strengths outweighed any weakness. It had an intriguing plot: it centered around the secret weapon of an elite government cyber-security agency—an intelligence operative who is uniquely talented thanks to a super-computer microchip in his brain that allows him to process crime scenes and other data almost instantaneously. The special effects were good and the cast was great. Its star, the sexy Josh Holloway has major television fan credentials as a Lost alum; he played Sawyer, the adored bad boy of the band of survivors. But the show wasn't the ratings performer the network needed and it was axed after just 13 episodes, which kicked off January 7.

12. Friends with Better Lives, CBS

Based on the short time this show was on the air, one might say it didn't really get a fair shot. This writer saw potential for it to be the next How I Met Your Mother. But it was not meant to be, as it was cancelled in May, not long after its March 31 debut. Hopefully the deserving cast—among them, the always memorable James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek), the adorable Kevin Connolly (Entourage) and the one who might have been the scene-stealer Zoe Lister Jones (Delocated, Whitney)—will land somewhere else.

11. The Tomorrow People, CW

This was another would-be hit show out of CW's magic formula: an intriguing sci-fi/action plot with a ridiculously good-looking cast, led by Robbie Amell, cousin of CW hottie, Arrow star Stephen Amell. The show—about young people around the world who possess special powers including telepathy and teleportation, representing the next stage in human evolution—debuted in October of 2009 and was cancelled despite not-too-bad ratings. According to an Entertainment Weekly article posted in May, Tomorrow had an average of 1.9 million viewers compared to the then-renewed Beauty and the Best, which only had 1.2 million. In the article, CW president Mark Pedowitz reportedly explained that Tomorrow did not perform as well as Beauty in the international market and on social media. Alas, a show with potential was cut down too soon.

10. Gang Related, Fox

The cast was attractive, talented and diverse. One of its stars has previously portrayed a favorite character on a legendary show (Terry O'Quinn, a.k.a. John Locke on Lost). The plot was intense and thrilling; Detective Ryan Lopez (played by the very handsome Ramon Rodriguez) is a rising star in the elite Gang Task Force who wants to be loyal to his team but has a secret allegiance to the leading family of a Latino Gang, Los Angelicos, his adoptive family. Lopez struggles to balance his two lives as they become more entangled and events alter his view point and values. Yet despite its many strengths, the show, which debuted May 22, was cancelled anyway. It's ratings weren't too high, but it was consistent. Fox reportedly considered giving the summer series a second season but decided it was too serialized for that time of year and had no space for it elsewhere. Such a lame reason!

9. Bad Judge, NBC

Although actress Kate Walsh had several television roles beforehand, she is most known for her eight years in the world of medical dramas, starting with her role in 2005 on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Addison Montgomery and leading to her own spinoff, Private Practice, which ran from 2007 to 2013. In Bad Judge, Walsh took on the world of half-hour comedy shows, portraying a free-spirited (sexually and otherwise), party-loving judge. Walsh showed off her good comedic chops—great timing, delivery, everything— and the show was laugh-worthy. However, according to a Business Insider article, it had a number of troubles, including changes to its whole nature, the fact that it pulled out of New York's PaleyFest last minute, the show-runner leaving and a legal dispute between Walsh and her ex-managers over commission from the show. Thus, the announcement of its cancellation came in November, just about a month after the first episode aired.

8. The Carrie Diaries, CW

As a prequel to one of the most beloved shows of all time, Sex and the City, there was a lot of buzz around the Carrie Diaries. The show starred AnnaSophia Robb as the young Carrie Bradshaw. It followed Bradshaw's story of how she began her life in New York City, as a high school junior in the early 1980s exploring friendship, love and family in the big city. But as anticipated and talked-about as the show may have been when it started, it evidently didn't do enough to please the network and was cancelled in May after two seasons, of which the first ever episode aired January 14 of 2013 and the last aired January 31, 2014.

7. The Crazy Ones, CBS

The late great Robin Williams' first claim to fame was as Mork on the hit television show Mork & Mindy (1978-82). Much was made of his return to TV for this comedy about a man running an advertisement agency with his daughter. To add to the buzz of the show, his daughter was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, TV royalty in her own right thanks to her role in the hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996-2003). Yet, despite its star power, the show, which debuted in September of 2013, was cancelled in May 2014. A possible reason for the show's failure is its hard time slot: 9 p.m. Thursday against Grey's Anatomy.

6. Mixology, ABC

This Ryan Seacrest-produced comedy offered an honest, blunt take on the search for love plot. It took place all in one night, entirely at a bar, and followed ten singles—five girls, five guys—as they searched for love in that situation. It was funny, on-point with today's dating culture and refreshingly original. The 13-episode season, which debuted in February, was wrapped up nicely and plans had been made for a second but for low ratings/and or whatever other reasons, it landed on the May cancellation announcement list.

5. X Factor, Fox

Despite the involvement of the king of reality talent competitions, Simon Cowell, and the success of other countries' versions of the show, X Factor couldn't stay as strong in the U.S. as its peers (i.e. American Idol, The Voice and America's Got Talent). It was cancelled in February after three seasons, thanks possibly to judge hiring drama. However, the show did produce stars, most notably the groups Fifth Harmony and Emblem3, both of which had successful years in 2014.

4. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, ABC

This show (October 2013-April 2014) was cancelled with a rare circumstance: the network president himself took the blame for its failure. As an Alice in Wonderland-themed spinoff of the hit show Once Upon a Time, it had a practically guaranteed fan base. But instead of being used as a miniseries between seasons of the mother show, it was put in the 8 p.m. Thursday night fall slot—also known as the cursed slot ABC has not been able to have a hit show in (Last Resort, Charlie's Angels, Missing, My Generation and FlashForward, all worthy shows with potential, came and died in this slot). ABC president Paul Lee admitted in January at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour that he should have followed the original plan for Wonderland and took responsibility for the situation. As a small consolation to 'Wonderland' fans, however, one of the key characters, Will Scarlet (Michael Socha) returned to 'Once Upon a Time' after 'Wonderland' ended.

3. Witches of East End, Lifetime

Throughout the last few years the supernatural has become a huge genre in television and movies. First it was vampires, then wolves, and most recently witches. There was CW's short-lived The Secret Circle, a witch-themed third season of the hit American Horror Story and then Witches of East End, which debuted October 2013. The sexy, thrilling show had just completed its second season—leaving great cliffhangers for the future—when it was announced in November that there would be no future. This show—starring Jenna Dewan Tatum (Step Up), Julia Ormond (Law & Order, Mad Men), Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks, Damages), Rachel Boston (In Plain Sight), Daniel DiTomasso, and Eric Winter (The Mentalist)—did not deserve the ax, but the decision might have been made because it reportedly lost a significant amount of viewers from the first to the second season. However the fans it had were passionate—someone even started an online petition to change Witches' fate. So far, no change has been announced, but here's hoping.

2. Trophy Wife, ABC

If ever there was a comedy that deserved more viewers and a longer lifetime, this writer gives the award to Trophy Wife, a show about a young reformed party girl who marries an older man with three children from two previous marriages. It was a Modern Family-esque plot with almost, if not the same, level of comic genius. Star Malin Akerman shined as the bubbly "trophy wife" trying to be more than that and the supporting cast was excellent—Marcia Gay Harden as the straight-laced uptight first wife and Michaela Watkins as the eccentric, hippie-ish second wife. Bradley Whitford fit his role and the young actors portraying the kids did well. A Hollywood Reporter article stated that the show was a critical darling and had a dedicated fan base but not high enough numbers and was challenged by a high price tag and a lot of competition from its own network putting out a number of shows in the same genre. Still, this was—or should have been—the valedictorian of its class.

1. Revolution, NBC

Since the iconic show Lost ended, the various masterminds behind it, particularly J.J. Abrams, have been involved in a number of new shows in the same sci-fi vein. Unfortunately, most of them have been cancelled. Revolution is one of the latest to come and go. The show—about a group of revolutionaries, who, fifteen years after a global permanent blackout (total loss of electricity), are fighting to take down the oppressive force that seized power, on the claim that it is the U.S. government—debuted September of 2012. It reportedly started off well as a big player in NBC's lineup, but lost steam after the hiatus between each half of the first season, and though consistent, failed to maintain enough viewership to please the network—especially since it was costly to make. It was cancelled in May 2014, with its second season and series finale airing May 21. Thus, another show with a great plot and deserving cast (i.e. Lost alum Elizabeth Mitchell and Breaking Bad alum Giancarlo Esposito) bit the dust. Maybe it could get a movie like 'Firefly' got the follow-up film 'Serenity'?

Among the rest of the shows cancelled in 2014 are: NBC—A to Z, Believe, Ironside, The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, Dracula and Crisis, ABC—Manhattan Love Story, Betrayal, Killer Women, Lucky 7, The Neighbors, ABC Family—Twisted, CBS—The Millers, Unforgettable, Hostages and Reckless, Fox—Utopia, Gracepoint, Raising Hope, Dads and Enlisted, TNT—Dallas and Perception, TV Land—Jennifer Falls, Lifetime—The Lottery, CW— Star Crossed