What to Watch: One Season Wonders
Need a good pick me up from the shelter blues and want to watch something the is easy to watch and to enjoy? Well here is a list of shows that only lasted one season, making it easy to finish the shows run and not be hooked into watch 199 episodes. When I was creating this list there were a few shows I was pretty sure they were a single season, but sadly I was wrong. May you shelter time pass quickly or at least while you are folding laundry.
GCB or Good Christian Bitches: This show was a great loss to television. From the amazing cast to the really hilarious and fun writing of the show. Lets talk about that cast, lead by 5 amazing actresses. I’ve always had an affinity to Kristin Chenoweth since I first saw her in the workshop production of Wicked and the Curran run. Again, Kristin was casted in a roll that suited her talent 100%. When the show first aired in 2012, the original title was Good Christian Bitches, which drew me to the show immediately. By the time the first episode aired, organizations like Million Mom’s went on a bender and pamphleted the network about the word Bitches in the title. The network caved and changed the word to Belles in the subsequent promos.
That decision was the early start of the show being hammered by more negative campaigns. The sad part of their story was this hilarious and fun show never stood a chance with critics due the hate of the word bitches. The acting team work with Chenoweth, along with Jennifer Aspen (Party of Five), Marisol Nichols (Riverdale), Miriam Shor (Younger) and Leslie Bibb (Popular) really hit the show out of the park. The crowning glory of the powerful woman cast is the addition of Annie Potts (Designing Women, Young Sheldon) as Bibb’s mother. Gigi is so worth watching alone and to have a short story arch with the, just as equally iconic, Donna Mills (Knots Landing). And if you say who is Donna Mills, I don’t know you.
Cranford: Crossing the pond there is a treasure trove of period series that were based on great novels. Cranford is one of this great shows. Let's begin with the fact the show starts an amazing cast but the one name that everyone loves, Dame Judi Dench. Cranford is small village outside of London and this delightful story finds you in the 1840’s. Two sisters take in a long time friends daughter after she flees London after loosing a love interest. The show is a delicious look at gossip and scandal. The cast is where this delightful series will suck you in. Along with Dench is equally iconic Dame Eileen Atkin’s who plays Dench’s sister. In real life the duo have been close friends for more than 60 years. You can witness this amazing relationship documented in delightful documentary Tea With The Dames.
The cast also is graced with several amazing english actresses. From Juliah Sawahla (Absolutely Fabulous) and Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter films) and my personal favorite, Claudie Blakley who has such an amazing career. She also costarred in another wonderful series Lark Rise to Candleford. The show initial was supposed to be 6 episodes but budget issues and delays reduced the season down to 5 episodes. Here is a special treat, not considered a second season but the show was given a 2 episode mini-series ending. Giving this wonderful series the ending it deserved.
Bunheads: If you are fan of The Gillmore Girls and you haven’t seen Bunheads, then you are not complete. Amy Sherman-Paladino created this look into the world of ballet schools with great pride and it showed in this short 18 episodes. What I love a Amy’s ability to cast is her knack for bridging characters into the worlds she paints. Bunheads is a perfect example. She brought Gillmore’s matriarch Kelly Bishop (who was in the original broadway cast of A Chorus Line) as again the stern mother hen in this fun cast. Talent was key with the casting and Sherman-Paladino hit jackpot grabbing Tony winner Sutton Foster in the lead role for the show. By the way, Bishop also won a Tony for Chorus Line, although Foster has two Tony’s.
Going back to the repeat casting, there is one actress who I was delighted to see return from the Gillmore Days. Alex Borstein returned to the ASP realm as her Gilmore characters, Drella the harpist and the hilarious Miss Celine. Borstein is the champion of character acting, most notably on the series MadTV and can be seen on Marvelous Miss Maisel’s for which she is brilliant. Maisel’s is also a Sherman-Paladino hit. Sadly Bunheads was a miss because the confined environment that the show was built around. Something Gillmore Girls and Mrs. Maisel’s got right. The show is fun but does have a dark ending thanks to it’s cancellation.
My So Called Life: Now this one might shock you, I could have sworn I watched it for more than one year. Sadly, the Clair Daines juggernaut was a one season hit that crashed and burned quickly. The show became a launch pad for many great actors today. From Wilson Cruz who is now Star Trek: Discovery and Jared Leto, who’s movie career has skyrocketed beyond belief. The show was created to shed light into the world the brooding teen. The creator Winnie Holzman (who brought Wicked to Broadway), hit the jackpot when she casted Daines as Angela. The show became a cult hit although it dipped in the ratings. Daines star blew up during the show’s run and that some say was the downfall of the show. By time it began to wrap filming it 19th episode, the network was already eye-balling cancelation. They had already got wind of Daines desire to be done with the show. The show wasn’t renewed. Holzman caved as well, voicing her loss of interest in writing the show without Daines on board. I loved this show because it just seemed real at the time and the acting and characters extremely poetic. The show made me want to grow up.
Firefly: Wait for it, this is probably one of the most legendary single season shows in the history of television. Firefly is the brain child of the amazing Joss Whedon, who exploded onto television with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it’s spin-off Angel. While riding high with both acclaimed shows, Whedon had the genius idea to turn the 1930s Space Western comic book into a show. With 14 episode under his belt, Whedon took the show to FOX. The network aired the first episode right before the holidays and at a crappy time-slot. Firefly was doomed from the start and the PR behind the show was dismal. Whedon didn’t stand a chance and the show was cancelled after airing the 11th episode, leaving 3 unaired episodes.
Firefly became the unicorn that couldn’t spread its wings and when it moved to DVD release became a cult hit. With the boom of interest in the show, Whedon went Universal Pictures with a movie script and the legendary show, finally got its ending. The glorious ending named Serenity, was a perfect ending to the single season. The show and it’s cast exploded onto the social media world and became return faces on subsequent Whedon shows and films. Most notably, Summer Glau who went on to co-star in Dollhouse, another great Whedon show that had a short life span but lucky enough to make it to season two. Firefly is a wild and giddy adventure. I strongly recommend exposing yourself to this great show and amazing cast.
Almost Human: I’ve had a crush on Karl Urban and Michael Ealy, since seeing them in Lord of the Rings and Underworld: Awakening respectively.) This show really took off in the beginning but it’s downfall was the slow moving storyline the writers couldn’t seem to spit out in 13 episodes. Which is unfortunate considering the great cast. Urban and Ealy made a great onscreen team and the casting Lily Taylor was a brilliant idea. Sadly the writers or show runners didn’t see Taylor as much of asset. Overall, if you are looking for a fast paced show with a lot of action and sci-fi tech, then Almost Human is perfect. I just finished all 13 episodes in about a week and it was just as entertaining as the first time I saw it.
The Comeback: Last but not least is a show that ended after one season but dawned a new life thanks to the internet. Lisa Kudrow birthed this amazing funny and in your face show, along with the equally amazing Michael Patrick King who makes it on the list a second time. His short lived Temporarily Yours lasted only 6 shows but had a killer cast with Debi Mazar and Seth Green. The duo developed the hilarious and infectious Valarie Cherish. The therapist you never thought you would need. Now before you freak out and say, it’s not a true one season show. I beg to differ. The show premiered on HBO in 2005 and lasted 13 episodes with poor ratings. The show became a critics greatest hopes, the masses did not respond to it. After the show was cancelled, its syndication blossomed viewership thanks to memes, social media gifs and Youtube.
While show became huge favorite after its failure, the fan base heightened the shows appeal on social media and with it came a call for a comeback, yes I said it. The show is kind of dry humor, similar to the days of Gary Shandling. The crowning glory is all of the comedic guests on the show, like Chelsea Handler, Jay Leno, Conan and RuPaul. Then there are the regulars who just keep you laughing and laughing. My personal favorite is Robert Michael Morris, who’s first appearance was Will & Grace and How I Met Your Mother. This man was a hoot and sadly he’s no longer with us. On the upside you can enjoy him along Lisa Kudrow, which is the only reason I watched Friends. Eventually HBO heard the fans cry and Kudrow was onboard for a second season in 2014, then she decided she had enough. HBO left the door open for Kudrow’s return. Currently the show can be found on HBO.
Caprica: On the rebirth of Firefly came a flood Sci-fi shows on television and social media. Battlestar Galactica’s reboot through the Sci-fi Channel was a huge success. The networks wanted to revisit the shows origins and shed light on how the androids came to revolt against the human race. The show centered around a families personal story and how it birthed the rise of the androids. The show was extremely well written in the beginning and flowed really fast the first 10 episodes. Then the story seemed to splinter and the pacing the writers gave each episode was more fractured rather than flowing. Eric Stoltz (Madam Secretary) and Sasha Roiz (Grimm) are amazing but my favorite is Paula Malcomson (The Hunger Games) is such a split allegiance role. The show moves fast with only 19 episodes. Not the shortest but certainly the most rich of information for those interested in diving into Battlestar Galactica.
Watchmen (HBO): I just want to vomit all over this series by HBO. Based on the Marvel comic books series, which saw poorly executed film based on the original run of the comic book. The series picks up some 30 years after the film, and sets a new standard art direction in television shows. When this show was first announced I was pretty stunned by the casting of the show. To have Regina King, Jeremy Irons and Jean Smart spearheading a cast, that’s a lot of cajones! The show is truly a work of art, centered around race wars then and now, the show finds a heavily rich story line that shines on it’s complex characters.
If you haven’t read the comic book, that’s good. Some argue if you read the comic you might end of too much wrong with the series. Purists are the worst kind of critics. That said the show paints such a broad canvas of characters and even with an actor like Don Johnson, who admittedly is really good in the series. Sadly this show was never slated to continue with a second season. As of today, it is considered to be a single run series. This is a quick watch with only 9 episodes but the subject matter is considered to be a little on the heavy side. You might find yourself taking a break after a episode or two.
Last Resort: One name, Scott Speedman. One actor I wish could catch a good break in the acting game. The show is a intense and fun ride! A submarine adventure that takes a turn towards the conscience. The American government seemed to be locked into a nuclear standoff and the captain of submarine has been ordered to push the button. The show takes off from there and best part of it, is the powerhouse acting on the show. The show takes a lot of twists and turns and sadly the ratings were just not there. I watched this show while it was airing on TV and I can personal attest to the fact that the show was never given a fighting chance. There was practically no ad runs online and social media existence was pretty dismal. The run is 13 episodes, and sadly the show never got its true ending but the cliffhanger was well worth it.
AJ and the Queen: I am a little surprised this is my first time posting about this labor of love. RuPaul if you have been living under a rock, is the most recognizable Drag Queen in history. Her career over the past 30 years has seen so many changes, from Pop Singer, to successful talk show host and then to reality tv legend. What can’t he do is really a question we should be asking. He skyrockets to fame in the 90’s and with it, his acting career. Recently he stared in Grace & Frankie and Girlboss (which is on this list) and he was blessed to get to work with Michael Patrick King (another repeat on this list with The Comeback.)
Dads: Just want a mind numbing funny tv show. Then check out DADS which starred Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and Giovanni Ribisi. The show centers around two mens lives and how their dads become strong presence later in life. The show casts the amazing Martin Mull (The Cool Kids) and Peter Riegert (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as their dads. One of the downfalls of the show was the weak writing for the female cast members. The banter between the sons and dads is priceless though.
The New Normal: This show pulled at our heart strings. A hilarious comedy about gestational surrogacy with a gay couple. Hot off his first few seasons Glee, Ryan Murphy casted a golden cast for this hilarious adventure into having a baby. I had my doubts initially when Justin Burtha (National Treasure) and Andrew Rannells (Girls) but by episode two I was hooked with duo. British actress Georgia King was casted as the surrogate but the genius casting of newcomer Bebe Wood was perfection. This adorable and random little girl was the perfect mix of fun and unique for the role as the surrogates daughter. The shows lasted 22 episodes and the storylines were getting so juicy. Like many LBTQ shows, the religious right came out in full force. Stations in Utah refused to air the show and the community came out screaming. The compromise, the should not play during the family hour. Sad! The show was brilliant and progressive, The show is currently on Amazon Prime.
Girlboss: This was a rough show to start with because it was really hard to root for the main character. Trust me the show grows its roots around episode 3, that when you start to see the humane side of the storyline. A biopic series based on the crazy mad-cap career and her auto-biography, Sophia Amoruso founded the online retailer Nasty Gal which curated the market of second hand clothing in a whole new light. She revolutionized the art of advertising by bringing catalog and edgy styling together. One of the major highlights of the series is the casting of RuPaul as witty and insightful upstairs neighbor. I know what Cliché! Ru is brilliant in this role and really brings this series to life. Don’t even get me started with the fact that Louise Fletch makes a two episode arch on the show. I wrote about the show when it first aired back in 2017. The show can be found on NETFLIX.
Voyagers!: Super cheesy acting but worth the kid adventure factor. We actually introduced the kids to this show late in 2019. They loved it. In a nutshell, you have a kid and a really good-looking adult who kidnaps the kid to time travel. Well, okay not kidnap, the kid falls into a time window and the adult tries to save him and with it the kid traveling time with a model. And a model he is. Model in question is Jon-Erik Hexum and if you are over the age of 35 then you know who he is. Gorgeous man, a close second to Hiram Keller. The show is entertaining, which includes some entertaining live action sequences in every episode. The show had 20 episode run that is filled with some great character actors making single walk-ons (Ed Bagelly Jr., Julia Duffy and Jonathan Frakes, who seems to be popping up on my TV a lot lately. This show can be found on Amazon Prime.
