All TV shows, no matter how successful, are eventually canceled. Sooner or later, whether they've been on the air one season or ten, the network drops the ax and the series is over. But there are a rare few that have been reborn to find an audience once again.
Whether it is due to a rabid fan base, a production studio willing to renegotiate or a miracle granted by the TV gods, there are a unique group of shows that have managed to defy the odds and be brought back from the dead.
We're talking Veronica Mars (available now on Amazon Prime!). We're talking Firefly (also available now on Amazon Prime!).
And we're talking overall about 23 TV shows that were amazingly brought back to life.
1. Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars ran for three seasons from 2004 to 2007 before it bit the dust. Then, several years later, something miraculous occurred. A Kickstarter campaign surfaced and fans helped raise the $2 million to make a Veronica Mars movie a reality. The movie was released in March of 2014 and has left fans hopeful for a sequel.
2. Heroes Reborn
The unique sci-fi series about ordinary people who realize that they have superhuman abilities originally aired on NBC for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. Later, the online version, Heroes Evolutions, was created to explore the Heroes universe and provide further insight into the show's mythology. Proving that the series has its own superpower, it will be back on NBC with a 13-episode miniseries as Heroes Reborn in Fall of 2015.
3. Entourage
Entourage aired on HBO from 2004 to 2011, but cancellation couldn’t keep the boys from Queens down for long. After eight seasons on TV, they took their story from the fictional big screen to the real one as Entourage the movie was released in theaters in June of 2015.
4. Firefly
Firefly didn't even get to finish out its one full season on FOX back in 2002 but despite its early cancellation, the fans love for the crew of the Serenity never died. In fact, it got stronger. So much so that a feature film, Serenity, was released in theaters in 2005. Hope of a sequel has always had fans of Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and the rest of the memorable cast feeling shiny.
5. Arrested Development
Arrested Development originally aired on FOX from 2003 to 2006. The unique comedy garnered critical acclaim, six Emmys and one Golden Globe as well as quite the cult following. It was so popular that even after it was cancelled, Netflix brought it back to life and released a fourth season in 2013.
6. Longmire
Sheriff Walt Longmire kept law and order over at A&E for three seasons but when the network pulled the plug after a cliffhanger finale, fans were outraged. Thankfully, Netflix stepped in and signed up to produce a fourth season which should be available later this year.