3 Cancelled Horror TV Shows That Need to Return

In 1993, Chris Carter’s The X-Files debuted on television and became a hit, giving viewers a mix of sci-fi, mystery, and romance, the likes of which hadn’t been seen before. Feeding off that success, Fox greenlit another project, hoping to cash in on the unexpected attention they were getting. However, on October 25, 1996, when Millenium premiered, fans and executives were unprepared for what they were about to witness, in all its disturbing glory.

Millenium followed Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), a former FBI agent and now freelance forensic profiler. He had the unique and haunting ability to see the world through the eyes of criminals, most of which were the kind of killers and murderers whose exploits would give everyday people nightmares. The ability is both a gift and a curse, haunting Frank as he mentally struggles to deal with the savage and depraved visions he sees.

Right from the opening episode, I was shocked by some of the things I was watching. The show was incredibly grim in tone, atmosphere, characters, and even weather (shot in Vancouver, Canada, they enjoyed some local rain on many occasions). It was simply haunting to observe from the outside.

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Frank, trying to do his best to protect his family and keep the worst of the worst off the streets, is ironically our eyes as he struggles to cope with the neverending onslaught of darkness and depravity, both in the real world and in his mind. 

Frank joins the secretive Millenium Group, which initially seems like a collection of people like Frank, dedicated to fighting the evil that most do not see, from serial killers to the occult. Over three seasons, it became clear that it was much more than just that, which sometimes was not to the benefit of the overall story.

That being said, the plot created a grim and brutal dynamic in which Frank lived and gave the audience one of the most horrifying shows that television had ever seen. Three seasons was not nearly enough to travel this grisly path. This is one of the cancelled horror TV shows we would love to see a return to television, especially in the new golden age of TV. 

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While FOX was airing Millennium, I was pleasantly surprised when they announced a new lead-in show titled Brimstone, premiering in October 1998. It followed Ezekiel Stone (Peter Horton) as a dead detective sent back to the land of the living by the Devil to retrieve one hundred and thirteen souls that had escaped Hell. It was an interesting premise, but I found it was so much more than a “bounty hunter for the Devil” story and, in fact, a possible redemption story.

Ezekiel Stone’s wife was sexually assaulted, and the man responsible got away with it, cleared of all charges. This pushed Stone past his breaking point, and he hunted the man down and killed him, doing so without getting caught. However, a few months later, Stone is killed, and his soul goes straight to Hell. The Devil promises him a second chance if he catches and returns all one hundred and thirteen souls, but what are the chances that the Devil will keep his word?

Horton and John Glover (who plays the Devil) had great chemistry together, verbally going back and forth about more than “work” and covering some interesting ground. It’s always interesting to see evil played by charismatic actors, and Glover was that and more as the ruler of Hell.

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The morality of many issues was discussed, with both men making good points and making their working relationship, at times, seem almost friendly. However, as the Devil, Glover made a point through words and actions to remind Horton who the boss was here and what he stood for, leading to fascinating interactions. 

The show was dark, with many grey areas, and was heavy on atmosphere and tone. Going back to back with Millennium was probably not the best of ideas, as that was some pretty heavy material to digest for a couple of hours. However, the show had promise and a great concept with two engaging leads.

Still, it had the same fate as these other cancelled horror TV shows after only thirteen episodes (even with six more episodes in different states of production). With streaming services aplenty now, this kind of show could grab an audience, especially loyal horror fans, so why not give this another shot?

It will be hard to ever forget the iconic performance by Anthony Hopkins portraying Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs. While it was a masterful performance, it cast quite a shadow over anyone wanting to do something substantial with the character of Hannibal moving forward (the movies that followed, even ones with Hopkins involved, were just not up to the task). Enter the TV series Hannibal, starring Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter. The show gave us excellent acting performances and a combination of art, chaos, and blood that audiences had never seen before.

The series explored the complex relationship between Hannibal and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI profiler with a unique gift. He fascinated Hannibal, who, as a psychiatrist, was asked to help on a case, even as Graham was hunting him. This made for a strange and wildly compelling back and forth between these two. Both Dancy and Mikkelsen were up to the task, making their characters believable, as well as the strange bond they shared. The men walked the fine line between the darkness and their own personal codes, making for a very intriguing story arc.

Make no mistake, though, this series was dark. I’ll never know how it got away with some of the things it showed, especially while airing on NBC and not a streaming service that can show almost anything. It had a moody, eerie tone with a sense of foreboding hanging in the air. Somehow, they made some grotesque death scenes come off as twisted art forms, a ballet of blood and the perverse, but in ways that were never simply for exploitation but with attempts at intelligence and story behind them. 

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The problem with the show is it never really found an audience, even with a stellar cast that included the likes of Laurence Fishburne (as Jack Crawford), Gina Torres (as Bella Crawford), and Gillian Anderson (as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier), to name a few. NBC could air some of the more disturbing visuals throughout the three seasons by having it in a later time slot, but it didn’t help bring in the viewers.

Another issue went back to Hannibal, as some viewers didn’t think Mikkelsen was the right choice, especially with Hopkins’ performance looming large. Alas, the show was cancelled after the third season. 

This is one of those cancelled horror TV shows that deserves more attention. While Mikkelsen and most of the cast might be hard to bring back, they have, over the years, expressed an interest in continuing the story in some fashion. One would think there would be a bigger audience for it now, especially in this golden age of television. I, for one, hope that somewhere down the road, they figure out a way to resurrect the show and bring Hannibal back into our collective living rooms. 

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