A lot of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) queer shows are getting renewed, and that’s great news! Shows like Euphoria, The L Word: Generation Q, How I Met Your Father, and Peacemaker have all been greenlit for at least one more season, while even more titles are probably going to have second seasons confirmed soon too.
But what about the queer shows we loved that only lasted one season? They deserve some attention too! So, here’s a list of some of our favorite LGBTQ-inclusive shows that, unfortunately, didn't last the long haul. These shows deserved a lot more, and so do we.
Here are 12 queer shows that only lasted one season but that definitely deserved a lot more. (What others should we add to the list?)
When it aired on ABC from August 1994 to January 1995, My So-Called Life introduced us to some of this generation's most celebrated actors, including Claire Danes and Jared Leto. It also introduced the world to Rickie Vasquez, played by Out cover star Wilson Cruz, the first gay character played by a gay actor in a leading role in American television history. We still miss him. My So-Called Life ran for 19 episodes and is streaming on Hulu.
Photo: ABC
Hulu’s gender-swapped adaptation of the novel by Nick Hornby and the classic John Cusack film — which starred Zoë Kravitz as the record-store-owning, list-loving, bad-at-love Rob and featured gay romance storylines via gay main character Simon (David H. Holmes) — was loved by critics, but didn’t make it past season one. Kravitz recently said Hulu made a mistake canceling the show, and we can’t help but agree. All ten episodes are streaming on Hulu.
Photo: Hulu
This coming-of-age black comedy had so much potential, yet it was canceled after just seven episodes, again, due in large part to the global pandemic. Starring Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff from It, the show followed Sydney Novak, a 17-year-old girl who is simultaneously discovering she is a lesbian and has psychic powers. All seven episodes of I Am Not Okay With This are on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
This sci-fi series starring Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, and Sean Berdy was about a group of teens who are forced to run their own community after the rest of their town disappears. The series featured a cute gay couple, Sam and Grizz, who had a cute first kiss after Grizz asked Sam, who uses sign language, to teach him the sign for “kiss me.” Sadly, the show only lasted for one, ten-episode season because of the global pandemic. Its ten episodes are streaming on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious musical drama reached some great heights, but never stuck with audiences enough to get a second season. It’s one season was split into two parts, exploring a group of young Black men trying to break into the world of rap and hip hop. One character named Dizzee (played by Jaden Smith) has a budding romance with another graffiti artist named Thor. Unfortunately, we never got to see where they could’ve gone. The Get Down lasted for 11 episodes and is streaming on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
Yes, yet another Netflix series canceled after just one season. Everything Sucks! was one of our favorite shows about what it’s like being a teen, and in many ways, felt like a worthy successor to another one-season wonder, Freaks and Geeks. It was set in the real-life small town of Boring, Oregon and followed a group of teens at the local high school who join the A/V Club and Drama Club and team up to make a movie. The principal's daughter Kate starts out dating one of the boys, but quickly develops a crush on older Drama student Emaline, and later comes out. This is one of the shows we miss the most. All ten episodes are streaming on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
HBO Max’s Genera+ion was one of our favorite shows of 2021, highlighting life for queer Gen Z youth. It starred Justice Smith along a diverse ensemble of young actors as a group of high school students in Orange County navigating what it’s like to be young and different in a conservative town. Genera+ion ran for 16 episodes and is streaming on HBO Max.
Photo: HBO Max
Based on Greg Rucka’s comic book, Stumptown starred Cobie Smulders as bisexual private investigator Dex Parios. A former marine with PTSD, Dex worked as an investigator in Portland, solving problems the police can’t get involved in. The show lasted for just 18 episodes before being canceled partially due to the global pandemic. ABC is reportedly trying to sell the series to another network or streaming site, so it's possible the show could come back in the future. Stumptown is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Photo: ABC
Not during Pride Month!!! Netflix has just canceled the truly terrific animated series Q-Force, making it just the latest great queer show to only last one season. The show, which faced unfair and uninformed criticism across social media and the internet when it came out, was actually one of the funniest and most accurate depictions of queer life ever put in cartoon form.
The show starred Sean Hayes as secret agent Steve Maryweather, the golden boy of the American Intelligence Agency who was forced into obscurity in West Hollywood after he publicly came out as gay. It also starred Matt Rogers as master of drag and disguise Twink, Wanda Sykes as the butch mechanic Deb, Patti Harrison as the trans hacker Stat, and David Harbour as the team’s token straight.
The show had some of the best queer comedy you’ll find on TV and gave us representation like we’d never seen before. Q-Force we will miss you. All ten episodes of the first season are streaming on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
This reboot of the 2004 series, The 4400, about the titular number of people who mysteriously vanished over the last century suddenly reappearing with no memories of what happened, was also canceled after just one season. The show featured trans characters Dr. Andre Davis and Noah, as well as several lesbian characters like Keisha Taylor, Soraya Voss, and Jessica Tanner. 4400 is streaming on The CW app.
Photo: The CW
The CW continued its canceling spree, adding Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift to its list of canceled shows. The show, which just premiered on May 31, follows a Black, young, gay, billionaire, genius inventor (played by Tian Richards) who is “thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena” after his father disappears. You can stream Tom Swift on The CW's app.
Photo: The CW
Though the campy, supernatural teen series wasn't a hit with the critics, it did garner a considerable LGBTQ+ fanbase, especially for its portrayal of young, queer love between two girls. But the representation and visibility it provided to sapphics who just want a cute teen show to stan wasn't enough to save it from getting the ax after just one season on the streamer. The first and only season of First Kill is available on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
