Cancelled TV Shows: What Would’ve Happened Next on So Help Me Todd, Castle, Magnum P.I. and 65 Others

Published 01/07/2024 · Updated 01/07/2024

But… what would have happened next?!

AMERICAN AUTO (NBC)

Ended: April 18, 2023 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Just days after NBC hit the brakes on the Ana Gasteyer-led workplace comedy, series creator Justin Spitzer shared on Twitter ^[2] that Season 3″ was going to show Katherine Hastings and Payne Motors finally finding success and taking the world by storm.”

In the Season 2/series finale, Gasteyer’s Katherine scored an unexpected win with sales of the unimpressive Pika car, allowing her and her team to keep their jobs. In the wake of that, “she can start meeting the company in the way she wants to meet it,” Spitzer told TVLine during a post mortem interview. “She can start making her mark, and she can start being more active and less reactive.”

THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (Netflix)

Ended: March 11, 2022 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Showrunner Rachel Shukert told Vulture ^[3] that she “really wanted to do a Super Special,” referring to author Ann M. Martin’s occasional super-sized editions of her popular novel series. “I was trying to figure out: Should they go to New York? Should they get snowed in? It depended on where they would let us shoot, and I was excited about telling a story that would see them into high school — not wrap everything up but honor what we made.”

THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY (ABC)

Ended: June 1, 2020 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: After Noa and Daniel’s surprise engagement, the starlet was going to be spending more time with her future in-laws. “We have the opportunity for Daniel’s family to, at times, feel closer to Noa than Daniel,” showrunner Dean Georgaris told TVLine. With “cautious support” from their loved ones, the couple’s sudden engagement would lead to the question of, “OK, you love each other, but are you actually good partners?” But the big idea for Season 2 was “to tell four love stories now, not just Noa and Daniel.” To that end, Vanessa and Mateo’s “tortured, will-they-or-won’t-they love story” was far from over, while Natalie and Amy were going to struggle with the major, post-high school changes coming their way. As for parental units Rafael and Mari, they were going to start to feel like empty-nesters. Plus, with a new man in Noa’s life, her manager Lewis would have the space “to figure out what else he might want to do with his life and his time.” (Read full story ^[4].)

BLOOD DRIVE (Syfy)

Ended: Sept. 6, 2017 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Series creator James Roland said that Season 2 would actually be titled Blood Rock — as in the name of the prison a buck-naked Arthur ^[5] (played Alan Ritchson) stumbled upon after the collapse of Heart HQ — and tell what was “in many ways a brand-new story that took place in the same universe,” with “a bunch of grindhouse sub-genres all crammed into a prison island.” As for Grace (Christina Ochoa) and others presumed to perish? An ostensible Season 3 would “collide” any new characters “with those left behind in Season 1.” (Read full story ^[6].)

BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)

Ended: May 8, 2011 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: Following the revelation that Beau Bridges’ Brody was newly married Sarah’s father, the ABC drama was looking to expand its family. “We were definitely interested in Brody’s kids… and how that could present conflict with the Walkers, because [Sarah] now would have one foot in two worlds,” executive producer David Marshall Grant told TVLine. Meanwhile, a pregnant and sick Kitty would have faced a major medical crisis: “[She] was going to, obviously, refuse the chemo or whatever therapy she needed, so that she didn’t harm her baby. The baby was going to be born fine, and then we were going to decide what happened to Kitty,” Grant revealed. As for Kevin and Scotty, “we were looking forward to telling the story of a gay family with two kids and what that means in terms of the world that we live in today.” (Read full story ^[7].)

BUNHEADS (ABC Family)

Ended: Feb. 25, 2013 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Though the ballet-centric series was axed before co-creator Amy Sherman-Palladino could draw up many plans for the future, she and stars Sutton Foster, Kelly Bishop and Stacey Oristano told a crowd at the 2015 ATX Festival how they hoped life in Paradise, Calif., would have gone on. To wit: Michelle would’ve stayed in town (but might have started a new, serious relationship), Fanny would run her dance studio until the bitter end, and Truly was on track to Scotty. “She had such a crush!” Oristano cried. (Read full story ^[8].)

CASTLE (ABC)

Ended: May 16, 2016 (after eight seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 9: While Nathan Fillion, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever, Susan Sullivan, Molly Quinn and Toks Olagundoye were all expected back, neither female lead Stana Katic nor Tamala Jones were invited to return. What would a Beckett-less show have looked like? According to sources, Kate still would have survived the shootout with LokSat stooge Caleb Brown, though one scenario had her being compelled to fake her death ^[9] and join some sort of superspy organization. As such, instead of the “happy family” flash-forward tacked onto the finale, there would have been a time jump when Season 9 opened, during which Rick already grieved.

CHARMED (The CW)

Ended: June 10, 2022 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: As introduced in the series finale’s closing moments, a fifth season would solidify the idea of a Charmed multiverse, the reboot’s co-showrunners tell TVLine. (Phone calls would be made to cast members from the original series to gauge their interest in appearing in some capacity.) Meanwhile, Mel would thrive as the new manager of the Blue Camellia, and she wouldn’t have to wait another seven years to reunite with Roxie; Maggie and Jordan would move into their dream apartment together, for better or worse; and Kaela would eventually find herself in a relationship with a woman. (Read our full interview here.^[10])

CHASING LIFE (ABC Family)

Ended: Sept. 18, 2015 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: This criminally underrated drama ended with cancer patient April (played by Italia Ricci) opting to live out her remaining days in Italy, a decision that would have gone very differently had the show received a third season. First of all, April “would get back to Boston and go through with the transplant,” executive producer Patrick Sean Smith told TVLine. “We’d probably have to do a time jump from that, and we would see that it’s successful.” The show would have explored the “complexities” of April and Dominic’s relationship, with the two ultimately ending as close friends. Elsewhere, Beth would have given her baby up for adoption, Brenna would find herself in a triangle with Finn and Greer, George would (somehow) be exonerated and his relationship with Sara would “continue on a much less hindered path.” (Read full story ^[11].)

CONSTANTINE (NBC)

Ended: Feb. 13, 2015 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: In the fall of 2015, long before Constantine boarded Legends of Tomorrow’s Waverider, Constantine showrunner Daniel Cerone released a script that gave fans a peek at what the master of the dark arts would’ve been up to in the next episode of his eponymous series. While investigating the Evil of the Week, John would run into Judith, a friend from his Newcastle days. They would’ve had loud sex, after which Constantine realized that Judith had actually released the Evil of the Week (in an attempt to reverse the bad juju she’d acquired by taking part in poor Astra’s eternal damnation). At a clutch moment, Zed would save John’s life, and an angry Judith would depart as a harbinger of the Rising Darkness amassed behind her. (Read full story ^[12].)

CONTAINMENT (The CW)

Ended: July 19, 2016 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Dr. Cannerts’ discovery of a way to keep infectious people alive and healthy would have led to a major conflict at the hospital. “We had a great cuckoo’s nest kind of division: the hospital filled with sick and dying people,” executive producer Julie Plec tells TVLine, “versus a community of people trying to hold on and survive in functional ways by deciding what to do about communication and martial law, and how to feed themselves and how to teach their kids and how to be intimate with each other.” Meanwhile, Police Major Lex would have had a “complicated” time adjusting to life inside the cordon with Jana, and his buddy Jake would have eventually gotten a new lady friend after losing Katie. And don’t worry, Katie’s son Quentin would have definitely escaped the cordon as “Season 2 would have continued to be about ways to eventually get healthy people out.” (Read full story ^[13].)

DALLAS (TNT)

Ended: Sept. 24, 2014 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: A fourth season of TNT’s revival would have picked up six months after Christopher’s fatal car explosion, with “flashbacks to things like the funeral and the graveyard” filling in the emotional blanks, executive producer Cynthia Cidre tells TVLine. In addition to revealing the father of Elena’s baby, the premiere would also find John Ross connecting with his long-lost sister, only to discover that she’s “very different from [J.R.’s] other spawns.” Meanwhile, Tracey (played by Melinda Clarke) would stick around as a frequent scene partner for Bobby — and presumably a thorn in Ann’s side. (Read full story ^[14].)

DEAD OF SUMMER (Freeform)

Ended: Aug. 30, 2016 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: The penultimate episode found Jessie, Garrett and Alex attempting to exorcise Malphas from Amy’s body. They failed, and by season’s end, Deb and Garrett both met bloody ends thanks to the Amy/Malphas hybrid. Though Garrett’s spirit eventually helped the survivors vanquish the demon, the stage was set for a second supernaturally scary season. “The approach of this series is that each series would be a different summer at the camp in a different era,” executive producer Adam Horowitz tells TVLine. “Very inspired by Fargo,” the show would’ve taken a page out of that anthology’s book. “Season 2 would be 1970, the summer Deb was a counselor… and there could potentially be a Season 3 set in 2004, where one of these kids is now the director,” teases EP Eddy Kitsis. (Read full story ^[15].)

DEBRIS (NBC)

Ended: May 24, 2021 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Intel on Season 2 is as cryptic as the sci-fi series itself, but creator J.H. Wyman did give TVLine a few hints. For one, in the wake of Fringe alum John Noble’s top secret, season- series-ending debut as the ruthless Otto, Wyman said that “where he goes and how he expands is really complex…. He’s very, very, very, very, very knowledgeable in those things that nobody else is, and there are reasons for that that we’re going to get into.” Secondly, the fact that the telesphere of light upon being released made a beeline for the Indigenous Dahkeya suggests that Jonathan Tucker’s Bryan is not the first person debris has sought out. “That’s a nudge to like, ‘Oh, maybe there’s a whole other chapter to this I haven’t seen yet,’ which is exactly the case,” Wyman said. The EP also said that a la Bryan being “the third man” (as Otto put it), and having already been introduced to Garcia (with the pin-pricked face), we would meet Ming, a Chinese agent. Last but not least, the “other” Finola (Riann Steele) revealed at the end of the finale would be “large part of Season 2,” Wyman assured. “Is she a clone? Is she from another reality? Is she something else altogether? And why does Brill (Sebastian Roche) have her? It will be illuminated in Season 2, 100 percent.” (Read full story ^[16].)

DYNASTY (The CW)

Ended: Sept. 16, 2022 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: Although the reboot managed to tie up the majority of its loose ends via a makeshift series finale, showrunner Josh Reims was disappointed that the Carringtons’ story wouldn’t continue in a sixth season — and he knew exactly what that would have entailed.

“We would have seen more of the same, and that was why we ended the finale as we did, with everybody back to bickering and fighting for power,” he told TVLine. “We wanted to show that the more things change, the more the stay the same. Although they’re all in better places, deep down, they’re still the same people who want to be conniving and backstabbing and scheming.”

One specific plan was to keep Culhane in the fold, despite Robert Christopher Riley’s character leaving town in the finale. “We probably would have moved Culhane to Los Angeles, but we’d have him come back and forth,” Reims said. “We loved the Sam-Culhane relationship, so we would have found a way to keep them working together. It would have been a different feel, of course. All of the characters are maturing and getting married.” (Read full story.^[17])

THE EXORCIST (FOX)

Ended: Dec. 15, 2017 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Though Marcus’ thunderclap message from God in the Season 2 finale indicated that his estranged exorcism partner Tomas was in trouble, “that doesn’t necessarily mean he knows where Tomas is and what that trouble is,” executive producer Jeremy Slater tells TVLine. While the young priest would’ve continued traveling with the unrelenting Mouse as his new mentor (“In Mouse’s eyes, Tomas is a weapon to be used in this larger war,” the EP adds), a cut-off-from-the-Church Marcus would’ve had to work his Rolodex, getting in contact with “shamans and rabbis and people form different faiths who may be fighting the same evil using different terminology and different methodology” in order to make a stand against the forces of evil. (Read full story ^[18].)

THE FAMILY (ABC)

Ended: May 15, 2016 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: The Season 1 finale revealed that Adam Warren — the presumed-dead teen at the center of the saga — was actually alive, and he intended to reclaim his life from Ben, the impostor who’d moved in with his family. Ahead of the show’s cancellation, series creator Jenna Bans told TVLine, “It won’t be late into [Season 2] that [Adam] makes his reappearance into the family… It will be in the first two minutes.” Bans confirmed it was “always part of the pitch” to bring Adam back, and Season 2 would have focused on him and Ben “circling each other” as they attempt to lead normal lives. Elsewhere, Season 2 would have zeroed in on the murder of journalist Bridey Cruz, who was set to appear in flashbacks even after her death. “[That murder] heavily implicated [Alison Pill’s] Willa,” Bans hinted. “You’ll see in Season 2 that the answer isn’t so clear-cut.” (Read full story ^[19].)

FOREVER (ABC)

Ended: May 15, 2015 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: In not one but two Twitter threads following the series’ cancellation, creator Matt Miller outlined Henry and Jo’s future for bereft fans. First matter of business: The photo that Jo saw in the series finale, which essentially proved Henry was ageless. The immortal doc’s explanation “was going to be complicated, then interrupted, then he tries to tell her, then…” Miller teased. Other revelations: Lucas eventually would become privy to his boss’ secret, we would learned about Henry’s other loves/families, the villainous Adam would die/be resurrected, and Henry and Jo’s growing attraction certainly would’ve included that trip to Paris. Oh, and one more thing: “I don’t think Henry would ever have achieved death,” Miller wrote. (Read full stories here ^[20] and here ^[21].)

GENERATION (HBO MAX)

Ended: July 8, 2021 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Had the show been renewed, Arianna, Delilah and Naomi would’ve rekindled their friendship; Riley would not have moved to Reno, Nev. with her dad; and “there was definitely a future for Greta and Riley,” co-creator Zelda Barnz wrote for EW.com ^[22]. As for who would’ve met Chester up on that rooftop in the season’s final seconds, that answer wasn’t set in stone. But Barnz’s theory? The ever-intuitive J. “J witnessed Chester’s breakdown over the course of the night, and he knows how Chester’s mind works when he’s upset,” she wrote. “I don’t think any other character could both pinpoint exactly where Chester would go, and then follow him there. I think J showing up would’ve been really cool.” (Read full story ^[23].)

THE GIRLS ON THE BUS (Max)

Ended: May 9, 2024 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: The girls’ journey would have taken them to the general election, during which the quartet get off the bus and onto a plane. “We finally meet the incumbent Republican, so that would be a piece of the story,” showrunner Rina Mimoun told TVLine. “The girls are, essentially, trying to dig up the dirt on [Scott Foley’s Democratic presidential candidate] Hot White Guy and find out all of his deep, dark secrets.” Meanwhile, Grace’s daughter would have joined the bus, and “we’d finally have [Malcolm] and Sadie trying to maintain some sort of a relationship now that he’s out of the business and it’s no longer a conflict of interest.” Plus, Season 2 would have found Kimberlyn potentially starting a family while also trying to launch her own company. As for Lola, she would be “not hating every part of this corporate world that she has been attacking in Season 1 and trying to wrestle with that in her own way.” (Read full story.^[24])

THE GLADES (A&E)

Ended: Aug. 26, 2013 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: Who shot lawman Jim Longworth in cold blood, and on his wedding day to Callie, no less? That’s the cliffhanger viewers were left with. Showrunner Clifton Campbell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^[25] that Season 5 would have revolved around the investigation into who shot Jim, “with lots of twists, turns, misdirects and suspects over the entire season — some the audience already knew, and some they would never see coming.” WITSEC wonk Tony was a suspect to many, while Kiele Sanchez told TVLine. “I actually like to spread the rumor that it was Callie’s son!” But as Matt Passmore told us, “At the end of the day, ‘Who killed Jim Longworth?’ The network did.”

GLAMOROUS (Netflix)

Ended: June 22, 2023 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: This tragically short-lived Netflix dramedy ended with makeup maven Marco (played by series star Miss Benny) visiting a transgender specialist, hinting at an exciting new journey for the character — one that, unfortunately, we won’t see play out on screen.

“I wanted it to reflect the journey I’m going on in my life,” Miss Benny, who came out as a transgender woman ^[26] shortly after the show premiered, told TVLine at the time. “I wanted to have a snapshot of what it’s like to be in your early twenties and figuring out your gender identity, so that anybody else who’s going through that experience — which is a lot of trans people — could have that as a reference.”

Looking ahead to what a potential second season might have had in store, Miss Benny said that it would have been “really meaningful to see somebody figuring out their identity in the background of all the other things going on in their life. People look at anyone who’s discovering their identity and they think that’s all they’re focused on every single day. But in the midst of figuring out his career, his relationships and his family dynamics, Marco is also figuring out life.” (Read full story.^[27])

GOD FRIENDED ME (CBS)

Ended: April 26, 2020 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Had the show continued on for another season (or more), it still would have ended the same way as the premature series finale: with that flash-forward of Miles on the mountaintop, “being taken to the person or deity who was behind the God account,” which was always imagined as the series’ conclusion, executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt told TVLine. Still, the final moment had “the ability to kind of launch us into what would have been a Season 3, in which Miles would have been on a journey to discover who the ‘she’ was” behind the Almighty’s social media. And having come to terms with the mysterious entity, “down the road at some point, Miles wouldn’t necessarily need the God account anymore, because you don’t need that to make a difference,” EP Steven Lilien added. “But our intention was he kept doing that and he kept spreading it, paying that forward to people, and if we did get a Season 3, we loved the idea of just seeing those friend suggestions come back into his world and see how their lives have changed and how maybe they’ve gone on to change other people’s lives.” Plus, as the closing montage revealed, Miles and Cara, and Rakesh and Jaya, both would have rekindled their romances, while Ali “was going to make the decision to go into the seminary.” (Read full story ^[28].)

GOSSIP GIRL (HBO Max)

Ended: Jan. 26, 2023 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: As revealed to TVLine by showrunner Josh Safran… Julien would learn that Davis and Nick haven’t been entirely honest with her and Zoya about their mother; she would also scheme with Monet to take down Luna, following her meteoric rise to fashion superstardom; Audrey and Aki would realize they jumped the gun breaking up with Max, who would be focused on moving on from the pair entirely; Jordan would help Roger Menzies “democratize” Gossip Girl by developing it into an app; and Kate would remain in the picture, albeit in a diminished capacity, from behind bars.

Most curiously, the boy Zoya met in Italy (played by Aaron Dominguez, who would have become a series regular) would turn out to be trouble. In scenes deleted from the finale following the show’s cancellation, Dominguez’s character also introduced himself to Julien, Audrey and Max, presenting himself with a different name and accent to each. But what would his endgame be? That’s one secret we’ll never tell. XOXO

GRAND HOTEL (ABC)

Ended: Sept. 9, 2019 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: This short-lived sudser ended with a bang, specifically with hotelier Santiago Mendoza being shot in the tunnels of the Riviera Grand, which would have been the main focus of Season 2. “I’ve toyed a lot with various ideas about who it could have been, but honestly, I keep changing my mind,” showrunner Brian Tanen told TVLine. “I really like the idea that someone is arrested who did not do the crime, and a lot of Season 2 would be about trying to clear their name.” Other would-be storylines included Danny and Alicia moving forward in their relationship (with all cards now on the table), Helen worrying about Jason digging into their family’s buried secrets, and the return of Carolina and Yoli’s father (played by Adrian Pasdar). (Read full story ^[29].)

THE GREAT (Hulu)

Ended: Aug. 30, 2023 (after three seasons)

What Would’ve Happened in Season 4: Hulu’s alt-history comedy ended its third season with Elle Fanning’s Catherine dancing triumphantly to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” after mourning the death of her husband Peter. But that wasn’t intended to be the show’s final image, series creator Tony McNamara told EW.com ^[30]: “For me, it’s not an ending. It’s a rebirth in a way for her as a character. She hasn’t ruled by herself yet… Even the grief of him colored everything she did. So I guess for me, it’s like now she’s free of him, and she’s deeply damaged… What happens now? She’s kind of cut loose in the way that [the real] Catherine the Great was once she was free of all that — she ruled in a quite crazy way. So I’m interested in that version of Catherine that we haven’t seen.”

He added that Catherine “doesn’t know Georgina is betraying her left, right, and center. Amongst the ensemble, there’s a lot of intrigue to be played out, I suppose.”

HANNIBAL (NBC)

Ended: Aug. 29, 2015 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: What became of Will and Hannibal after that plunge off the cliff? Series creator Bryan Fuller doled out morsels of the show’s future right after the series finale, but left us drooling for a full meal. A potential Season 4 “would have explored the Hannibal/Will Graham relationship in a much deeper fashion than the series ever has before,” Fuller told TVLine. (He also previously mentioned that the Season 4 plan was “an interesting continuation” of Will’s bizarre sex/love/death attraction to his cannibalistic therapist, “as well as a subversion of it at the same time.”) Talk about tasty. (Read full story ^[31].)

HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC)

Ended: May 3, 2013 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: With Dave and Alex finally getting the closure they needed, Dave was opening up to a new possibility… with another member of the gang, perhaps? “Would Penny have been part of that? Maybe. We would have needed to regroup because Penny and Alex are so close,” series creator David Caspe told TVLine. Other possible storylines: Alex hitting the dating scene, and Brad and Jane talking about starting a family or getting new jobs. “To see Elisha Cuthbert, who is so funny and was sort of undiscovered to us before as a really talented comedienne, [play Alex] dating really for the first time with someone other than Dave would have been a lot of fun. I’m bummed about not getting to tell those stories,” said EP Jonathan Groff. (Read full story ^[32].)

The “lost” Season 4 premiere, titled “Happy to Be Here,” was performed by the cast in October 2016 at Entertainment Weekly‘s EW PopFest, revealing that everyone in the group had since gone their separate ways. Shenanigans bring everyone back together, but the episode ends with Dave waking up on the night before his and Alex’s wedding, suggesting that the entire series was a dream.

The cast reunited over Zoom in July 2020 to read another new episode ^[33], titled “And the Pandemmy Goes To…”, during which — among other developments — Brad lies to Jane about where he was quarantining, Dave officiates Penny and Max’s wedding, and Alex apparently has a baby with… Derrick?! Drama!!!

HAPPYLAND (MTV)

Ended: Nov. 18, 2014 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: This quirky, amusement park-set dramedy centered around Ian and Lucy, two characters who spent an entire season fighting off their romantic impulses… because they thought they were brother and sister. When they discovered they were not related, they ended the season with a long-awaited (by some) kiss, which would have caused plenty of drama in a potential second season. “It’ll give us an opportunity to see sides of these characters we’ve never seen before,” series creator Ben Epstein told TVLine prior to the show’s cancellation. “[Lucy’s boyfriend] Will has been frustrated with Lucy in the past, but she’s never betrayed him like this. It’ll be interesting to see how Lucy reacts to having hurt him in front of everybody else.” A second season would also have explored the possibility of Ian and Lucy’s parents attempting to go public with their relationship. (Read full story ^[34].)

HAWAII FIVE-0 (CBS)

Ended: April 3, 2020 (after 10 seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 11: As suggested in the scene above, former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Lincoln Cole would have joined Five-0 to help “hold down the fort,” with MacGyver vet Lance Gross becoming a series regular. Had Alex O’Loughlin been coaxed to return, McGarrett would have then returned from his “sabbatical” a few episodes into the new season. Elswehere, Tani would have discovered that Junior has been secretly supporting the family of the ex whose boyfriend he killed in Season 9, while Adam would have gotten a nasty visit from the Yakuza in Japan, who would have declared themselves d-o-n-e done protecting him. (Read full story here ^[35].)

HEELS (Starz)

Ended: Sept. 15, 2023 (after two seasons)

What would have happened in Season 3: Following its cancellation, showrunner Mike O’Malley noted that they “did not intend, nor do we intend” for the finale to be “the last episode of the show.” If given the chance, new episodes would have explored the aftermath of Jack Spade’s (Stephen Amell) inability to move his legs after that Shooting Star Press-gone-wrong. “He is at that moment significantly injured. And the extent of what that injury is, we don’t know,” O’Malley teased ^[36].

HINDSIGHT (VH1)

Ended: March 11, 2015 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Becca’s time-travel adventures ended abruptly after a single season, with VH1 renewing… and then cancelling… the ’90s-set dramedy. Star Sarah Goldberg — now an Emmy nominee for HBO’s Barry — tells TVLine that in a possible Season 2, Becca and her friend Lolly “were going to end up back in the future, but [Becca’s brother] Jamie was really in a bad state. Lolly saw in the late ’90s when his drug addiction got out of control, and she felt there was one moment that what she did was the catalyst for his path down that road. So she was going to go back to just before that moment to try to save Jamie.” In this alternate timeline, though, Becca and Lolly were no longer friends, “so she has to get Becca back first before she can save Jamie.” (Read full story ^[37].)

IMPOSTERS (Bravo)

Ended: June 7, 2018 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: With Ezra potentially taking on the persona of The Doctor, he was becoming “like Max’s character, [who is] in love with the life, the job, the con,” executive producer Adam Brooks told TVLine. “[Ezra was] going to investigate if there’s a version of himself that can do that,” but would find that “it’s much more complicated than he thinks.” Speaking of complications, there were plenty in store for Ezra and his ex Maddie, who was arrested for killing The Doctor (who was actually offed by Sally). “Does Maddie get charged with murder? Do they actually have proof that she murdered him? And does Sophia become a linchpin in all that?” EP Paul Adelstein teased. Meanwhile, Richard, Jules and Ezra would have had “a lot to unpack” when reunited six months later. (Read full story ^[38].)

JANE BY DESIGN (ABC Family)

Ended: July 31, 2012 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Jane spent Season 1 lying about her age in order to work as the assistant to a big-time fashion exec, but in the finale, her cover was potentially blown when her boss (Andie MacDowell) caught her sewing costumes for her high school’s musical. Would the fashion newbie have gotten snipped come Season 2? No, series creator April Blair tells Hollywood Life ^[39]. Rather, Eli would’ve helped Jane keep her secret on the down low. In other developments, Jane and Billy would (finally!) share a kiss, Ben would propose to Rita, and India and Jeremy would pursue a relationship despite their professional rivalry. Additionally, Teri Hatcher — who recurred in Season 1 as Jane’s mom — was contracted to direct a Season 2 episode.

KEVIN (PROBABLY) SAVES THE WORLD (ABC)

Ended: March 6, 2018 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Though we’ll never know if Jason Ritter’s unlikely hero was successful in his mission, co-creator Michele Fazekas hinted that bringing Amy (JoAnna Garcia) into the loop would create even more challenges for Kevin and Yvette (Kimberly Hebert Gregory). “She is going to have a lot of questions and a lot to say to Yvette,” Fazekas told TVLine. “That is a really interesting relationship to explore, because they’re two strong, smart women who are not necessarily on the same page.” Since Amy is Kevin’s twin, she would have started questioning why he was chosen to be righteous and not her, causing strife between the two. One character was fated to stay in the dark: Amy’s daughter. “And that’s going to be hard for Reese, because now she knows that her mom is in on something that she’s not in on,” Fazekas shared. (Read full story ^[40].)

KYLE XY (ABC Family)

Ended: March 16, 2009 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: When we last left Kyle, he learned that Cassidy was his brother and that Latnok was trying to clone him. Producers spilled the goods on what was to come in an interview included with the Season 3 DVD boxset ^[41] (remember those?), including: Cassidy would remain a prime antagonist of Kyle’s, who would struggle with the reality of not liking his blood-bound family very much; Grace would try to take Kyle back from the Tragers; Kyle and Jessi would “make a go of it” before ultimately breaking up; and Kyle would eventually go public, becoming a “spiritual leader” for regular folk all over the world. Praise be!

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (Fox)

Ended: May 6, 2018 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: The fourth season of Fox’s post-apocalyptic satire ended with Phil (Will Forte) and his makeshift family suddenly finding themselves surrounded by dozens of unidentified survivors, who emerged from an underground bunker wearing gas masks.

“[These people] went down [into the bunker] when the virus had first started,” Forte revealed on Vulture‘s Good Ones podcast ^[42]. “They had some kind of medical expert or scientist who knew, ‘At this certain point, the virus will be dormant. You’ll be safe to get back out,’ and they had reached that point. Then they see a bunch of stragglers — us — and we represent a real threat to them, because they thought [everyone] was dead, so they quarantine us. … We eventually communicate with them a little bit [and] they get comfortable with us. They look scary but they end up being nice people.”

Among the bunker people probably would have been one or two famous guest stars, “and eventually we’d all get comfortable with each other,” before they freed at least one of the survivors from quarantine, Forte added. That, in turn, would have proven to be a fatal mistake. “We are immune to the virus, but we’re carriers. And so we would infect them and they’d die like wildfire,” Forte revealed, “and then we’re back to just our little group, and maybe one famous [guest star] we could talk into staying around.” All told, that arc would have lasted “four or five episodes.”

LEGACIES (The CW)

Ended: June 16, 2022 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: Following a time jump significant enough to give us a teenage Pedro, Legacies would have picked up with Caroline as headmistress of the Salvatore School, executive producers Julie Plec and Brett Matthews tell TVLine. (For the record, Candice King confirms ^[43] to TVLine that she would have been down to return.) Though Alaric would likely keep some distance between himself and Mystic Falls, Ben and Jed would return from their journey of self-exploration, MG and Lizzie would face various obstacles in their new relationship, and Landon would continue helping his friends from Limbo — always with the chance that he could someday return to Hope. (Click here ^[44] to read our full interview.) Bonus scoop: There was a very good chance we would finally meet Damon and Elena’s daughter ^[45] Stefanie Salvatore.

LOOKING (HBO)

Ended: March 22, 2015 (after two seasons), followed by a July 23, 2016 TV-movie

HBO cancelled this frank and funny look at gay life in San Francisco after two seasons — but at least fans got a two-hour wrap-up movie in which Agustín and Eddie tied the knot, Patrick and Richie reunited, and Dom…. Well, his story was left a bit unfinished. (Read recap ^[46].)

Nearly seven years after that movie’s release, Looking creator Michael Lannan shared with EW ^[47] that in a proper third season, Patrick “would have to figure out how he was going to engage with [Richie’s] family” which is “so different from his”; Richie might have become a hair stylist to the stars; Kevin would possibly turn to drugs as he braved “the very competitive tech and queer cultures”; and Agustín would have explored other gender identities.

And as for Dom? Having ended his relationship with Lynn in Season 2, he would have a “Sliding Doors moment” in which he experiences a version of what his life might have been if he had married Doris,” Lanna said, by starting a relationship with an activist who had just come out of the closet and has a teenage kid.

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (HBO)

Ended: Oct. 18, 2020 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Showrunner Misha Green shared a “taste” of what she had planned ^[48] — and it involved a “Sovereign States of America,” where the USA now stands, which is divided into four zones: the New Negro Republic in the South, the Jefferson Commonwealth in the Northeast, the Whitelands running between them, and the Tribal Nations of the West. As if that wasn’t wild enough, the Whitelands is exclusively populated by zombies that were a by-product of something called “The Origin” spell!

MAGNUM P.I. (CBS/NBC)

Ended: Jan. 3, 2024 (after four seasons on CBS, one on NBC)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: Though the unplanned series finale ^[49] teased a #Miggy engagement (Higgins discovered a ring!… that Thomas was holding for Rick to give Susie), “There was no timetable” for the P.I. partners to tie the knot themselves had the island drama continued, showrunner Eric Guggenheim told TVLine. Rather, “there would have been fresh drama” for Magnum and Higgins in Season 6, amid “pretty big stakes” that would affect “everyone ” but “especially Magnum,” the EP shared. Elsewhere, “Rick and Kumu were going to be in business together (as co-owners of La Mariana), but unlike TC, Kumu wasn’t going to be a silent partner. She’d have opinions,” Guggenheim teased. And with his ward Cade enlisting, “TC was going to have to transition into the role of being a military parent. He was also going to pass up getting a second chopper and get a tour boat instead.”

MACGYVER (CBS)

Ended: April 30, 2021 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: As reevaled by showrunner Monica Macer (read details here ^[50]), the nefarious group behind the nanobots would have used the tech to turn the infected — Mac himself possibly included — into Manchurian Candidate-style operatives. To stop them, Matty would have sent Riley and her Brink buds undercover with the baddies, leading to a hearted argument between Mac and Riley… and then an outpouring of feelings and a first kiss ^[51]. (An early Season 6 episode would have revealed that Desi’s fiance was in fact alive, and the two would have reunited.) Also, Bozer’s mom would have run for Congress/moved to L.A., and Russ and Sofia would have had a baby ^[52] together following a Romancing the Stone-style treasure hunt.

MARVEL’S CLOAK & DAGGER (Freeform)

Ended: May 30, 2019 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Though Aubrey Joseph and Olivia Holt got to suit up one last time during a crossover with Marvel’s Runaways, they never got to live out executive producer Joe Pokaski’s plans for a third season of their own show. “Season 3 [would be] about Tandy and Tyrone running into danger and looking for trouble, instead of waiting for trouble to come to their front door,” Pokaski said. “And when you’re telling a coming-of-age story, part of that is traveling, seeing yourself in a different context and getting a different perspective on who you are.” As for Tandy and Tyrone holding hands in the finale, Pokaski said, “You should read into that as much as you possibly can. This is the opening of a door of a question that a lot of people have been asking.” (Read full story ^[53].)

MISTRESSES (ABC)

Ended: Sept. 16, 2016 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: “There’d be some new hot messes in the mix, and we’d be moving back toward the kind of racy romp that Mistresses was when it began,” exec producer Rina Mimoun teased of the ill-fated fifth season, which would have been billed as the series’ “final fling.” But with the soap’s two remaining original mistresses, April and Joss, both married with children, how scandalous could that farewell season have been? “We are not going to suddenly become a show about April and Joss pushing swings on the playground and chatting about breast milk. We’re not going to become ‘the baby show,’ I can promise you that,” Mimoun assured. “We want to make a wide left turn that still allows us to stay true to the characters. We have some real fun planned.” (Read full story ^[54].)

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA (NBC)

Ended: March 2, 2016 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Laura (Debra Messing) had pulled Jake (Josh Lucas) away from a date with Jen (Jenna Fischer) to profess her love — only to realize, after a stolen, steamy smooch, that her ex’s girlfriend was sporting a shiny new engagement ring. Whoops! Jen would have exited stage left in Season 3, but before Jake got back with Laura, he would insist on detailing the affair — with a shared acquaintance — he had during their marriage. And we do mean detail. “My plan was for Season 3 to potentially live completely in flashback, a complete season that took place before the marriage fell apart,” Jeff Rake (who now runs NBC’s Manifest) tells TVLine. “Then in the finale, we’d transition back to present day and pick up there in Season 4. Very streaming of me!”

NOT DEAD YET (ABC)

Ended: April 24, 2024 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: The Season 2 ender found Nell experiencing a first with someone she knew appearing to her as a ghost while Brad Garrett’s character, Duncan, was undergoing surgery. When he came to, Duncan at first didn’t seem to remember anything about his experience on the spiritual plane… until he recalled the feeling of riding in Nell’s Prius as a ghost. “It sets up a very cool, exciting trajectory for Nell [about] what is life going to be like for Nell moving forward now that somebody, especially this somebody, knows her secret, something she’s kept so super close to the chest,” star and executive producer Gina Rodriguez told TVLine ^[55].

THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING (ABC Family)

Ended: August 16, 2011 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Chloe King’s run was cut far too short, leaving many viewers dying to know what happened to the girl with ancient, cat-like powers. When we last saw her, Chloe gave Brian a potentially fatal kiss, while Zane launched an all-out assault on Jasmine and Valentina. As revealed in the script for the unmade Chloe King movie, Salvation ^[56], Brian would survive, but leave for college after the death of his grandma; Simone, Valentina and Zane would all bite it in separate battles; and Chloe would fall in love with (and kiss!) Alek.

NOTORIOUS (ABC)

Ended: Dec. 8, 2016 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Despite the undeniable chemistry between Piper Perabo and Daniel Sunjata, a potential second season of this short-lived drama would not have seen their characters get together. At least not right away. “If they physically consummate their feelings, it would fundamentally change the series,” executive producer Josh Berman tells TVLine. We would, however, see “romantic sparks” between combative co-workers Avery and Megan (played by Rebecca Breeds and Sepideh Moafi). And Darin (Matt Walton) would get hired at a competing network, “which would put his son [Ryan] in a compromising position.” (Read full story ^[57].)

OBLITERATED (Netflix)

Ended: Nov. 30, 2023 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Fans of this explosive, raunchy, over-the-top action comedy were hoping that — after managing to stop terrorists from blowing up Las Vegas, despite being under the influence of multiple substances — McKnight’s team would reunite for another mission in another city. That was precisely the plan ^[58], according to executive producers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who said this to TVLine: “As long as there are bad guys in the world, then there’s the potential for our team to come together and party and hopefully save the day elsewhere.” Netflix, however, had other plans… like cancellation.

PRODIGAL SON (Fox)

Ended: May 18, 2021 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Though the Fox thriller’s sophomore run ended with Bright stabbing his father in the gut, Martin Whitly presumably would have survived his injuries if the show had come back. “Our plan was to include Michael Sheen in Season 3, so that gives you a little bit of insight into where we were going,” series co-creator Chris Fedak told TVLine, while co-creator Sam Sklaver added they were “very interested” in keeping Martin out of Claremont Psychiatric for the foreseeable future. And though the EPs didn’t share much more of their Season 3 plans, in hopes that the show would find a new home, Sklaver conceded that “Bright stabbing Martin at the end wasn’t going to make anyone’s life easier… Bright and Dani just kissed, but they’re not going to be able to get past this. Gil and Jessica are in a good place. There’s so many places that we could jump off from the ending of this season, and that’s what’s so exciting for us.” (Read full story ^[59].)

QUANTUM LEAP (NBC)

Ended: Feb. 20, 2024 (after two seasons)

What would have happened in Season 3: Showrunners Martin Gero and Dean Georgaris told TVLine ^[60] in an interview tied to the Season 2 finale that while they were still early in the process of Season 3, they knew the shape of it — where it would go and how it would end. With Addison (Caitlin Bassett) and Ben (Raymond Lee) now able to “physically occupy the same space, and having gone through a year of learning, it really blows open the doors for us as to what to do,” Gero said ^[61] before the show’s cancellation. The EP felt “really good” about where the show could go, in a “surprising and fun” way.

THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH (The CW)

Ended: Sept. 6, 2021 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Luke Mitchell tells TVLine that he had spoken to the producers of The CW’s The Republic of Sarah ^[62] “a little bit” about the possibilities for a second season, one which would have thoroughly explored an important — albeit platonic — relationship between Danny (Mitchell) and Grover (Ian Duff).

“I’m super bummed we didn’t get to explore it, because something that’s close to my heart is seeing guys open up and talk to each other and help each other through their life challenge,” Mitchell says. “That was something that would have been cool to see on screen, and for me to explore personally. But it was not to be.”

THE RESIDENT (Fox)

Ended: Jan. 17, 2023 (after six seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 7: In the event Fox chose not to pick up The Resident for Season 7, the Season 6 finale was written as a suitable series ender — but co-creator Amy Holden Jones still had plenty of storylines in mind for the show’s potential return. “I believe the fans want to see how Conrad and Billie build a life, and what challenges they face. And there’s an Indian wedding to look forward to [between Devon and Leela],” she divulged to TVLine. “How will Bell and Kit deal with the mix of his being a patient and a doctor? I want to see more of him teaching and watch Kit fight the inevitable new battles in profit-driven medicine.” Plus, Ian Anthony Dale — who debuted in Season 6 as cardiologist Dr. Yamada — would have had an expanded role in Season 7, as Jones hoped to “give him complexities and see his relationship with Cade grow, or crash and burn.” (Read our full interview here ^[63].)

SALVATION (CBS)

Ended: Sept. 18, 2018 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: “It’s here,” a rapt Darius (played by Santago Cabrera) declared when last we tuned in, as Samson curiously steered into a turn toward Earth. But if Samson wasn’t a wayward asteroid, what was it? “Sampson is a spaceship,” Hawaii Five-0‘s Ian Anthony Dale, who played Harris, tells TVLine, “and Season 3 was going to be very much like [the 2016 sci-fi movie] Arrival.” With Jennifer Finnigan channeling Amy Adams, “it was going to pivot and turn into a completely different show that dealt with how we make contact,” Dale shares. “There was such wonderful potential and possibilities for Season 3, but we didn’t get a chance to explore that.”

SCHMIGADOON! (Apple TV+)

Ended: May 3, 2023 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: After paying homage to the Golden Age of musicals in Season 1, then drawing inspiration from the darker musicals of the 1960s and ’70s in Season 2, the Apple TV+ comedy would have spoofed mega-musicals of the ’80s and ’90s — think shows like Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. “I was playing some sort of version of Jean Valjean and Phantom of the Opera,” star Alan Cumming revealed to Variety ^[64] about what was in store for Schmigadoon!‘s ill-fated third season. “And for some reason I was in a dungeon a lot, singing, as you do.” Series creator Cinco Paul unofficially confirmed ^[65] Cumming’s quotes by sharing them social media.

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER (ABC Family)

Ended: June 3, 2013 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: The teen drama “ended” with Amy calling off her wedding, leaving Ricky and John for New York, while Jack and Grace decided to be (gasp!) just friends. So, what would’ve happened next? Ricky would follow Amy to New York and the two would marry after she graduated; Grace would relocate to New York for med school (as would Adrian and Omar and their two kiddos); George would move into Amy and Ricky’s apartment building; and Anne would take off to travel the world, creator Brenda Hampton told MTV ^[66]. The ultimate shocker? Jack would marry… Madison!

SECRETS AND LIES (ABC)

Ended: Dec. 4, 2016 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Though the crime anthology wrapped its Season 2 case by the end of the finale, it left just enough time to launch a potential new mystery, one involving Juliette Lewis’ tough-as-nails detective Andrea Cornell. She was shot in the episode’s final moments, and executive producer Barbie Kligman tells TVLine that Season 3 would have partially involved figuring out who could have wanted her dead. “Given how many enemies Cornell has made over the years, there certainly wouldn’t be a shortage of suspects,” Kligman said. And how! (Read full story ^[67].)

SHADOWHUNTERS (Freeform)

Ended: May 6, 2019 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: The supernatural drama was given a two-hour sendoff to tie up loose ends, but co-showrunner Todd Slavkin wished he had more time to flesh things out. For example, the gang’s quest to save Magnus from Edom would have been expanded into a “multi-episode journey”; Luke would have returned to the Institute as a Shadowhunter, teeing up “a whole shake-up”; Jonathan would have lived “much longer,” allowing him to raise more hell on earth; and the “perverse, sexualized relationship” between Jonathan and the Seelie Queen would have been stretched into a half-season arc. Big plans were also in motion for new couple Helen and Aline, including the introduction of the former’s family. “She is the oldest of four,” Slavkin notes. “She has a whole group of brothers and sisters we could have met.” (Read full story ^[68].)

SO HELP ME TODD (CBS)

Ended: May 16, 2024 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Following this mother-son legal dramedy’s untimely demise, series creator Scott Prendergast spilled every last bean to TVLine, revealing what the next five (yes, five!) seasons would have held for Todd and Margaret’s inner circle. A quick summary couldn’t possibly do the full interview justice, but here are a few key bullet points: Folding would have been the Big Bad of Season 3, with producers eyeing Joe Pantoliano to play the oft-mentioned partner; Todd and Judy would remain a couple for about three more seasons, but she would ultimately leave for Thailand, and Todd would marry someone else; Allison would join the family business, becoming a forensic pathologist and medical examiner, and aiding in more cases; Susan would leave the firm, but she would return to defend Margaret when Folding succeeded in framing her, possibly also leading to a romantic reunion with Todd.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Our full interview ^[69] includes additional nuggets like wanting Amy Sedaris to play Beverly’s wife, and which of Margaret’s sons would officiate her wedding to Gus. (Seriously, he told us a lot.)

SOUTHLAND (TNT)

Ended: April 18, 2013 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: The cop drama concluded rather ambiguously, with desk duty-bound officer John Cooper being shot by the police after he brutally assaulted his neighbor. While the screen faded to black, leaving John’s fate unknown, executive producer Jonathan Lisco told TVLine that viewers should not assume the worst. “John has rebounded from so many challenges over the seasons, so it’s very possible that he could come back in some capacity, and even as a policeman,” Lisco said, adding that if the cop is “guilty of anything, [it’s] not being aware of how much pain he was in, not seeking help. The possibility for him to be rehabilitated and be a character in Season 6 is certainly on the table.” (Read full story ^[70].)

STALKER (CBS)

Ended: May 18, 2015 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: Whereas the first season mostly centered on LAPD Lieutenant Beth Davis (Maggie Q), a potential Season 2 would have shifted the focus to Dylan McDermott’s Jack Larsen. “He comes from New York, and clearly, he didn’t just leave; he got kicked out,” series creator Kevin Williamson said with a laugh, weeks before the procedural was officially axed. “He left some unfinished business, and it comes back in a new way [in Season 2].” Williamson also hoped to expand the scope of the show in its sophomore year, allowing the LAPD’s Threat Assessment Unit to tackle cases that didn’t exclusively involve stalking. “They’re a threat team, so they handle any threat,” he teased. “They have their hand in everything, and that’s why in Season 2, we’ll be able to expand our universe.” (Read full story ^[71].)

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (Paramount+)

Ended: May 30, 2024 (after five seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 6: The sci-fi series ended with Admiral Burnham taking the retrofitted U.S.S. Discovery out to deep space one last time, where it would wait for a thousand years before someone else found it. That was a nod to the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Calypso,” in which Craft (played by Aldis Hodge) beamed aboard the abandoned ship in the distant future. Showrunner Michelle Paradise told Variety ^[72] that the Calypso story would have been a significant part of Season 6. “The story, nascent as it was, was eventually going to be tying that thread up and connecting Discovery back with ‘Calypso,’” she said.

STATION 19 (ABC)

Ended: May 30, 2024 (after seven seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 8: Ahead of the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff’s finale ^[73], showrunners Peter Paige and Zoanne Clack disclosed to TVLine that some of the Easter eggs that were planted in the episode’s visions of the future were once destined to hatch. Foremost among them? Merle Dandridge’s Ross becoming mayor of Seattle. In more concrete flash-forwards, we learned that Andy became Seattle’s fire chief and Maya, Station 19’s captain.

Grey Damon’s embattled Jack had been destined to get a happy new beginning, too; there just wasn’t time to include a glimpse of it. “I really loved Jack’s endgame being him heading a foster home for kids,” Clack told us, “but we couldn’t fit that in as a separate moment.”

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (ABC Family)

Ended: May 24, 2010 (after one season)

What Would Have Happened in Season 2: When Season 1 wrapped up, Walter caught Kat and Patrick in bed, Bianca saw Joey kiss someone else, and Chastity transferred schools. What was on deck for Round 2? Patrick and Kat’s relationship would’ve grown stronger, with Walt becoming a father figure to Patrick; a Bianca/Cameron/Joey love triangle would have emerged, sparking waves of mixed feelings and drama; and Chastity would not have returned to Padua, series creator Carter Covington told EW. Oh, and Blank? Though he would’ve stuck around and his family background explored, there was no love triangle in the works. Kat and Patrick were sticking together for good.

UNDER THE DOME (CBS)

Ended: Sept. 10, 2015 (after three seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 4: When Under the Dome bade us farewell, there was no desire to shop the series to another platform. “I’m very happy with this ending. I feel very satisfied,” executive producer Neal Baer told TVLine. “We made it so there could be another [season]… but it wasn’t necessary.” So what might have happened to Barbie, Julia, Dawn and the rest of Chester’s Mill had the show survived to see another season? “They would have gone someplace else, and the dome would come down over another place,” Baer said, laughing. “But then it would be like, ‘Then what?’ Would we do the same thing again? It would have been a real challenge.” (Read full story ^[74].)

WALKER (The CW)

Ended: June 26, 2024 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: James Van Der Beek’s appearance in the series finale’s final seconds ^[75] as the Walkers’ new neighbor was teeing up a storyline about the “kooky cult” next door, with the actor playing the “quirky bad, but amusing” cult leader, showrunner Anna Fricke revealed to TVLine, adding that August was “going to fall in love with the girl next door, get dragged into the cult, have to be extracted.” As for the ring box Cordell pocketed before taking off for vacation with Geri and his kids, that would have been a storyline throughout Season 5, “as in, like, he didn’t ask, or he did and it went south, or something happened,” before inevitably ending with the couple’s engagement. Meanwhile, Cordell would have returned to the Rangers (but maybe not forever?) to be partnered with Trey, with Lieutenant Cassie Perez now having to corral the pair and act as Captain James’ number two. Finally, Liam would be doing “high-stakes government stuff” after being called in by the governor to help with his daughter’s kidnapping.

WITCHES OF EAST END (Lifetime)

Ended: Oct. 5, 2014 (after two seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 3: Had the cult classic not been unceremoniously canceled after just two seasons, executive producer Maggie Friedman had big plans for the Beauchamp witches. Season 3 would have involved Ingrid solving her own paternity mystery (who’s the daddy, Dash or the Mandragora?), Dash seizing a “good opportunity to really f–k with [Freya]” while disguised as Killian, and Wendy adjusting to life in hell alongside her sister — who is appropriately named Helen. “Wendy’s going to get tested down there,” Friedman teased prior to cancellation. “It’s going to be a tough journey for her as she resolves some things with her sister.” (Read full story ^[76].)

WYNONNA EARP (Syfy)

Ended: April 9, 2021 (after four seasons)

What Would Have Happened in Season 5: Having left Purgatory and ridden off into the sunset, Wynonna and Doc had “crazy sex and crazy arguments and crazy laughter” ahead of them, showrunner Emily Andras told us ^[77]. But a renewal absolutely would have dragged the lovebirds back to town. “Look, the show is called Wynonna Earp, so you need Wynonna Earp,” said Andras, citing the Garden’s Eve’s uncertain fate as one possible problem to solve. “There are a million different reasons to bring Wynonna back, to help out her sister,” said Andras. Plus, having admittedly rushed through the Dark Waverly arc, “I don’t know if Waverly has complete control over that part of herself. I dont think it’s ‘gone,’” the EP teased.

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References

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^{^} an outpouring of feelings and a first kiss (tvline.com)
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