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Rescued by streaming
Cancellation used to be the end. Then streaming services started picking up series that television had let go — Netflix’s new season of Arrested Development in 2013 was an early, high-profile example. These 20 shows began on broadcast or cable television — or on another streamer — and continued with new episodes online.
What we leave out
Not every revival happened online. When a series was saved by another TV channel — Brooklyn Nine-Nine moving from Fox to NBC in 2018, for example (source) — it doesn’t belong here.
Jump to: Cancelled, then revived online · Ended, then revived online · Moved from TV to a streamer · Moved from one streamer to another
Cancelled, then revived online
12 showsThe broadcaster cancelled them. A streaming service picked them up and made more.
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Arrested Development
Fox 2003 → Netflix 2013
Fox cancelled the critically adored but low-rated sitcom in 2006 after three seasons. In 2011 Netflix licensed new episodes, and all 15 episodes of the revival season arrived at once on 26 May 2013; a fifth Netflix season followed in two halves in 2018 and 2019.
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Ripper Street
BBC One 2012 → Amazon Prime Video 2014
After two series on BBC One, it was reported on 4 December 2013 that a third would not be made because of low viewing figures for series two. Producer Tiger Aspect then negotiated with LoveFilm, and in February 2014 Amazon confirmed it would resurrect the show; series three began streaming on Amazon UK Prime Instant Video on 14 November 2014, months before BBC One aired it.
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Community
NBC 2009 → Yahoo Screen 2015
NBC aired five seasons and cancelled Community in May 2014; bids to continue it were turned down by Netflix and Hulu. On 30 June 2014, the day the cast's contracts were due to expire, Yahoo ordered a 13-episode sixth season for its Yahoo Screen service, which premiered on 17 March 2015.
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The Mindy Project
Fox 2012 → Hulu 2015
Fox cancelled The Mindy Project on 6 May 2015 after three seasons. Nine days later Hulu picked it up with a 26-episode fourth season, which premiered on 15 September 2015, and the show completed its six-season run on Hulu.
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Young Justice
Cartoon Network 2010 → DC Universe 2019
Cartoon Network aired two seasons from 2010 before the show was cancelled in 2013; producer Greg Weisman later said its funding depended on a Mattel toy deal that ended when the toys did not sell. After sustained fan pressure, a third season was announced in November 2016 and premiered on the DC Universe streaming service on 4 January 2019, with a fourth following on HBO Max in 2021.
Future unclear Full guide and where to watch Young Justice
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Lucifer
Fox 2016 → Netflix 2019
Fox cancelled Lucifer in May 2018 after three seasons, calling it a "ratings-based decision". After a #SaveLucifer campaign that trended on Twitter, Netflix picked the show up the following month, and its first Netflix season was released on 8 May 2019.
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Veronica Mars
UPN, then The CW 2004 → Hulu 2019
Veronica Mars began on UPN and finished its third season on successor network The CW, which cancelled it in 2007. Fans funded a 2014 film through Kickstarter, and in September 2018 Hulu confirmed a revival; the eight-episode fourth season was released on 19 July 2019.
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Top Boy
Channel 4 2011 → Netflix 2019
Channel 4 aired two four-part series in 2011 and 2013, then cancelled Top Boy in 2014. Drake, who had found the show on YouTube, bought the rights and pitched it to Netflix, which greenlit a new series in November 2017; the first Netflix series was released on 13 September 2019.
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The Expanse
Syfy 2015 → Amazon Prime Video 2019
Syfy aired three seasons from December 2015 and cancelled the show in May 2018. Fans campaigned hard, even crowdfunding a plane to tow a #SaveTheExpanse banner around Amazon Studios, and that same month Prime Video picked it up. The first Amazon season was released on 12 December 2019.
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You
Lifetime 2018 → Netflix 2019
Season one premiered on Lifetime in September 2018, and Lifetime had announced a second season before it even aired. In December 2018 Lifetime rescinded that renewal and the show moved to Netflix as a global Netflix original; Netflix's first new season arrived on 26 December 2019.
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Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Cartoon Network 2008 → Disney+ 2020
Lucasfilm announced in March 2013 that the Cartoon Network series would end with its fifth season, shortly after Disney bought the company. A sixth season, The Lost Missions, was then released exclusively on Netflix in the US and Canada on 7 March 2014. In July 2018 Disney+ announced a final seventh season, which premiered on 21 February 2020.
Ended Full guide and where to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars
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Manifest
NBC 2018 → Netflix 2022
NBC cancelled Manifest on 14 June 2021 after three seasons, just as its earlier seasons were topping Netflix's charts. Talks with Netflix initially broke down, but on 28 August 2021 Netflix renewed it for a fourth and final 20-episode season, the first half of which arrived on 4 November 2022.
Ended, then revived online
3 showsThey had already finished — sometimes years earlier — before a streamer brought them back.
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Gilmore Girls
The WB 2000 → Netflix 2016
Gilmore Girls premiered on The WB on 5 October 2000 and ran for seven seasons, ending on The CW in May 2007. Its online chapter is the 2016 revival miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life: after streaming on Netflix renewed the show's popularity, Netflix struck a deal with Warner Bros. in October 2015 for four feature-length episodes, released worldwide on 25 November 2016.
Limited series Full guide and where to watch Gilmore Girls
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Money Heist
Antena 3 2017 → Netflix 2019
Planned as a two-part limited series, La casa de papel ran for 15 episodes on Spain's Antena 3 in 2017, where ratings fell short and the network did not continue it. Netflix bought global rights in December 2017; its re-cut became a worldwide hit, and in April 2018 Netflix ordered new episodes, with Part 3 premiering on 19 July 2019.
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Futurama
Fox, then Comedy Central 1999 → Hulu 2023
Fox never formally cancelled Futurama but stopped buying episodes, letting it go out of production in 2003. Comedy Central revived it from 2008 until the then-final episode aired on 4 September 2013. In February 2022 Hulu ordered 20 new episodes, and the first premiered on 24 July 2023.
Returning Full guide and where to watch Futurama
Moved from TV to a streamer
4 showsNot cancelled at all: a streaming service took them over or outbid the original broadcaster.
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Black Mirror
Channel 4 2011 → Netflix 2016
Black Mirror made two series and a Christmas special for Channel 4 between 2011 and 2014. Netflix commissioned 12 episodes in September 2015 and in March 2016 outbid Channel 4 for the UK rights with a US$40 million bid, even though Channel 4 said it had offered to recommission the show. The first Netflix series launched worldwide on 21 October 2016.
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Lovesick
Channel 4 (as Scrotal Recall) 2014 → Netflix 2016
The first series aired on Channel 4 in October 2014 under the title Scrotal Recall. Netflix streamed it in the US from April 2015 and, after it found success there, commissioned a second series itself, without Channel 4's involvement; renamed Lovesick, it premiered globally as a Netflix original on 17 November 2016.
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The Last Kingdom
BBC Two (with BBC America) 2015 → Netflix 2018
Made by Carnival Films for BBC Two and BBC America, the first series premiered on BBC America on 10 October 2015, with BBC Two following on 22 October. Netflix joined as co-production partner for series two and then acquired the show in 2018; from series three, released on 19 November 2018, it was made for Netflix alone.
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Search Party
TBS 2016 → HBO Max 2020
TBS aired the first two seasons from November 2016 and in April 2018 ordered a third, but in October 2019 it was announced that the show would move to HBO Max instead. Season three premiered there on 25 June 2020, and HBO Max carried the show through to its fifth and final season.
Moved from one streamer to another
1 showBorn on one streaming service, carried on by another.
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Girls5eva
Peacock 2021 → Netflix 2024
Girls5eva launched on Peacock in May 2021 and ran for two seasons there. Peacock cancelled it after season two, and in October 2022 it was announced that the show would move to Netflix, which released the whole six-episode third season on 14 March 2024.
Cancelled Full guide and where to watch Girls5eva