Since HBO first aired its first drama, Oz, it has been the pinnacle of premium cable. The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and The Wire are just some series that made the network so significant compared to others of its kind. Even during the current era of the streaming wars, it somehow rises above, with shows such as The Last of Us, which remains a must-watch.
However, HBO isn’t always perfect. Some shows miss the mark, be it a baffling lack of quality, or niche shows that somehow just fail to reach an audience. Despite the groundwork the network has laid with prime examples, some shows don’t make the cut after season one.
1. Run (2020)
Not only is it devastating when a show only runs for 7 episodes, but when it gets scrubbed from the internet entirely, that is a real tragedy. That was the case with Run, starring Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson. Two ex-lovers, Ruby and Billy, have been out of touch for some time but have never forgotten their shared pact. Should one of them send the message “run” and the other respond with the same, they drop everything and meet each other in the same place.
An intriguing concept, the show was generally well received with two magnetic performers. Phoebe Waller-Bridge was on as an executive producer, but HBO was unimpressed. The show was canceled before it got its due and, according to NPR, was one of many shows cut from the platform in a bid to cut costs.
2. Vinyl (2016)
After HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Martin Scorsese was ready for his next period piece. He and Terence Winter banded together – along with Mick Jagger, of course – to create, Vinyl, a music drama set in the ‘70s. Following chaotic Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) and his struggling record label, the executive wants to find the next big thing in the fast-changing world of New York music.
The real unfortunate revelation about the cancelation of Vinyl of how true to life the show became. Richie’s struggle to stay relevant in a changing industry which may or may not be his downfall is sort of what became the downfall of the series. An industry television series that couldn’t keep up with others such as Game of Thrones was unfortunate. People had seen shows like Vinyl before, and they were ready for something new, no matter how impressive it looked.
3. The Idol (2023)
Sam Levinson’s The Idol will probably live on as one of the most controversial HBO series to get canceled. Not only was it axed before a second season, but its first season was even cut short. And thank goodness for that. From the start, the series was a disaster waiting to happen. Levinson and his creative partner Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye may want you to think this was a creative passion, but peel back even a layer, and watch an uncomfortable story of misogyny unfold. The series follows Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a shining pop star, jaded by an industry that just wants to use her. And what does she find? A cult leader (Tesfayne) who just wants to use her.
By all accounts, original director Amy Seimetz wanted to tell a satirical story about the plight of fame, but as a source told Rolling Stone: “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.” Add in cringe-inducing acting and a nonsensical twist and The Idol was begging to be put down.
4. The Brink (2015)
In one of the more bizarre cancelations, The Brink was cut down after it had already been renewed for a second season. Starring Tim Robinson, Jack Black, and Pablo Schreiber, the political satire follows three separate characters trying to avoid World War III. Though it wasn’t raking in the ratings, it did decently enough to merit a midseason greenlight. That is, until HBO went back on their word and decided to cancel season 2 after giving the go-ahead, according to a statement via The Hollywood Reporter. If not for scheduling concerns, who knows where a Black-led comedy could have led us?
5. Genera+ion (2021)
Another casualty of the HBO culling, Genera+ion is no longer available on the platform. A real tragedy, because the teen series was less a YA drama and more of a depiction of how teens interact and deal with life and love in a modern LGBTQ+ context.
The show had a large ensemble cast including Justice Smith, Lukita Maxwell, Hayley Sanchez, Martha Plimpton, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Chase Sui Wonders, among many others. Unlike other HBO series, Genera+ion does have the benefit of streaming on Tubi, a free streaming platform.
6. The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022)
The Time Traveler’s Wife had the unfortunate luck of having Steven Moffat in the driver’s seat. The former showrunner of Doctor Who has never been great at looking at something from the female perspective, and nowhere is that more clear than in his adaptation of the Audrey Niffenegger novel. Though more of a straight adaptation than the 2009 film, the romance novel following the time-traveling Henry (Theo James) meeting his wife Clare (Rose Leslie) when she is 6 years old invited some questions about grooming.
Moffat pushed against mixed reviews of the series when speaking to TV Line, but only addresses this from Henry’s perspective. Whether he intends it or not, Clare meets Henry for the first time when she is a child, and falls in love with him instantly. She spends her entire life pining after a man technically uncomfortably older than her. Even if Henry’s intentions are technically honorable, the moral line is murky at best.
7. Camping (2018)
Cringe comedy can be a success from time to time, but Camping does not muster enough charm to do so. Though Jennifer Garner carried enough of the show on her back as anxiety-prone, type-A Kathryn, there aren’t a lot of laughs to be had. As she wrangles her family into a birthday camping trip for her husband, Walt (David Tennant), trouble immediately ensues. Most of this has to do with how uptight Kathryn is, and these conflicts would resolve themselves if she would relax.
That’s where the confusion of the series lies. Where is the entertainment if she is the only source of conflict? There are not enough laughs to carry the show, even if Garner always remains a delight. It is always a joy to see the actor on our screens, though in this instance, Camping didn’t deserve a second go-round.
8. Minx (2022)
From Masters of Sex to Physical, The premium cable period comedy gets a lot of traction. But it is sad to see one with so much potential to get axed so early. Minx follows the plight of avid feminist, Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond) in the ‘70s as she tries to publish a magazine for women. Her only option is partnering with a low-rent publisher, Doug (Jake Johnson), which turns into creating the first erotic magazine for women.
Minx wasn’t a real magazine, though according to the oral history by Shondaland, there was one called Viva. But this gives Minx room to invent and editorialize as needed. That is until HBO decided it wasn’t worth its time. Luckily for the series, Starz decided to throw it a line and gave it a shot at a second life.
9. Lovecraft Country (2020)
Based on the 2016 book of the same name, Lovecraft Country could not have been more highly anticipated. Social commentary horror was having its moment, but a moment was all the show had. After Atticus (Jonathan Majors) goes on a cross-country trek to find his father (Michael K. Williams) with childhood friend, Letitia (Jurnee Smollett), and his uncle, George, (Courtney B. Vance), he encounters a strange legacy in Jim Crow America. Though there was social commentary about racism in America, it was surface-level at best.
Outlets such as The Atlantic wrote incisive think pieces about how the characters Lovecraft Country was supposed to prop up fell beneath the weight of showing how terrible white supremacy is. And showing it. And showing it. It got to be that Atticus and Letitia were only stereotypes, which only defeated the purpose of the series. And then there were the toxic workplace claims against showrunner Misha Green, touched on in James Andrew Miller’s book, Tinderbox, via The Hollywood Reporter. Lovecraft Country was just too much of a mess to survive.
10. The Nevers (2021)
Setting a fantasy world in the Victorian era wasn’t a new concept, but still had exciting applications. The Nevers follows a group of women who spontaneously awaken to find they have supernatural abilities with a seemingly endless supply of enemies posed against them. Some of those enemies became HBO itself. With almost no explanation, the platform canceled the series after one season, erasing the show from streaming. This could have something to do with the accusations against the show’s creator Joss Whedon, but HBO has never confirmed or denied that.