1. Boston Public, 2000-2004 (Fox)

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This show was different from other “high-school shows” because it was about the teachers instead of the students. That might have been too different for some people, I don't know. What I do know is that this inner-city high school handled issues like homelessness, homosexuality and racism in a way we don't see on other shows. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find this show on Netflix, but it might be on Amazon Prime.

2. The Finder, 2012 (Fox)

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This Bones spinoff would have had to end anyway because of the death of Michael Clarke Duncan, but it was cancelled months before that happened. It's about an Iraq War veteran who suffers a brain injury that gives him uncanny abilities to find things/people and see patterns where others wouldn't. He makes his living this way with the help of his legal adviser (Duncan), a Deputy Marshall and teenage delinquent. It's pretty interesting, but sadly not enough to be given a second season.

3. The 4400, 2004-2007 (USA Network)

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I'm not really sure what genre you would put this show in. Drama? Science fiction? Fantasy? I don't know, but the premise is really interesting. Imagine, if you will, being taken by a big ball of light and coming back years later, only to find that everyone else has aged, but you haven't. You might be pregnant, you might be from 50 years ago, you might have been a little kid - regardless of what you were before, though, you now have a supernatural ability you have no idea what to do with. It's kind of hard to describe in one paragraph, but you can read more about it on IMDb and check it out on Netflix.

4. Firefly, 2002-2003 (FOX)

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I've heard this show referred to as “Sci-fi meets western.” It's set five hundred years in the future and is about an intergalactic war veteran (Nathan Fillion) who, with the help of a small crew he's assembled, “goes rogue” and does odd jobs around the galaxy while smuggling items and running from the group that defeated his former unit. It only lasted two seasons, but it did spawn a movie called “Serenity” (after the spaceship) and got a small yet devoted following. Even if you don't care for sci-fi, though, it's still worth checking out on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

5. Pushing Daisies, 2007-2009 (ABC)

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Now, this show is just cute. It's narrated like a children's book and has graphics to match. The main character is a guy who owns a bakery called The Pie Hole, but he has the ability to touch people and make them come to life. He works with a private investigator to help solve murders, but he also used this talent to bring his childhood girlfriend back to life. Problem is, he can only touch a person once - the second time he touches them, they go back to being dead. You can imagine how this affects his romantic life. I'm not sure why it was cancelled, but at least you can find it on Netflix.

6. Dead like Me, 2003-2004 (Showtime)

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One of my old roommates introduced this show to me. It's about a teenage girl named George who is suddenly killed and finds herself in a strange post-mortem job - working for the Grim Reaper. She and her coworkers are tasked with collecting people's souls right before they die without the rest of the world knowing what they're up to. It sounds depressing, but it's actually pretty clever. Unfortunately, it only lasted two seasons.

7. Dirty Sexy Money, 2007-2009 (ABC)

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Peter Krause plays the lawyer for the insanely rich (or just plain insane) Darling family. Among them are a politician who is dating a transsexual, an Episcopal priest with an illegitimate child, Krause's high school sweetheart and a pair of very spoiled yet very attractive twins. It's a cute little show, but it didn't maintain the ratings the networks had hoped for. This show can't be brought back because the matriarch died in 2010, but you can still see it on Netflix.

There are a lot of reasons a show gets cancelled - bad time slot, conflicts within the cast or crew and poor ratings, just to name a few. Whatever the reason, though, it's good to know that Netflix and Amazon Prime are there if you get bored and want to do a “binge watch” of a departed show. I got most of my information from IMDb and TVSeriesFinale.com if you want a good reference page. What about you? What are some shows you like that have been cancelled? Which ones would you like to see come back? Which ones were you glad to see go? Discuss!