The Best Fantasy Crime Series That Only Lasted One Season According To Fans
It's an unfortunate reality of the entertainment business that if an ongoing show doesn't appear to be profitable or isn't attracting enough eyeballs, it's almost inevitable that it will get canceled. More rough but promising shows sometimes become hits once they rework a key element, like "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" adding Frank (Danny DeVito) to the cast. Others, like "Firefly," are axed after only one season simply because the show's handled poorly by the network. In the case of "Firefly," Fox constantly fought Joss Whedon and the creative team on plot points and changed the order of episodes, just to name a few things that went wrong (via Business Insider).
Nowadays, with the rise of online fandoms and corporate interest in IP, it's a lot easier for neglected shows and sitcoms to be resurrected or find second lives. Famously, "Family Guy" was resurrected by Fox in the early 2000s after its success in reruns and home video (via The News Record), and "Firefly" got a follow-up with the 2005 feature "Serenity." Despite this, there are still many great shows out there that unfortunately don't get a second chance, ending after one promising season. Recently, viewers were polled on Reddit and asked about their picks for the best one-season shows. This 2010s series was easily the most popular pick among fans of fantasy crime dramas.
Redditors argue that Constantine is the best one-season fantasy crime series
In a r/AskReddit post entitled "What's the best show that only lasted one season not named Firefly?", a show that came up, again and again, was the 2014 NBC series "Constantine." An adaptation of the DC Comics series "Hellblazer" and the character John Constantine, the occult detective show stars Matt Ryan as the title character, a cynical exorcist and magician working towards redemption. U/DisturbedNocturne wrote that it "started a little rough so I can understand why it had a hard time getting viewers... but it found its footing, and Matt Ryan really got into the role." U/Iperovic agreed, citing the first asylum scene as "one of the best hooks I've seen in my life."
Unfortunately, the genre series was killed after only one season and 13 episodes. But luckily for fans, like other shows gone before their time, it continued in a different fashion. Ryan has reprised his role as Constantine in "Legends of Tomorrow" from Season 3 until Season 6, while he continues to star in the Arrowverse show on The CW as another character. He's also played the character in several DC animated films and shows, including "Constantine: City of Demons" and "Justice League Dark." As u/DisturbedNocturne noted, "If nothing else, at least WB/DC realized how great [Ryan] was and have allowed him to reprise [Constantine] several times."