Following American tv can be a seriously frustrating thing these days. You can get hooked on good tv shows, not the really major numbers pulling shows but still great in their own way, and they get cancelled far too early in their lifetime. Recently I learned that two of my favourite shows of recent years, both crime dramas and both that have lasted 3 seasons, have been cancelled. Both shows have suffered from bad broadcasting decisions from their respective networks, which I think has hurt their successes in the long run.

First comes Unforgettable, a police procedural drama television series that aire on CBS. It stars Poppy Montgomery as Detective Carrie Wells, a female police detective with an unusually detailed and photographic memory along with Dylan Walsh and a talented group of supporting cast that included Jane Curtin, Dallas Roberts, Tawny Cypress & James Hiroyuki Liao (the last four are only in seasons 2 & 3). After the first season of 22 episodes ended in 2012 CBS canceled Unforgettable, only to reverse their decision and renew the show for another two seasons. On October 10, 2014, CBS canceled the show again. Even with only 13 episodes they put long gaps in between the two halves of the short seasons off 2 & 3 and that affected the American public’s awareness of this fun show.

Next up is crime drama series Perception on the cable channel TNT, and is produced by ABC Studios. The series stars Eric McCormack as Dr. Daniel Pierce, a schizophrenic neuropsychiatrist who assists the FBI on some of their most complex cases. His former student and close friend FBI agent Kate Moretti is who he works with, and the cast also has Kelly Rowan, Arjay Smith & Levar Burton as part of Dr. Pierce’s circle of friends. Scott Wolf joined from season 2 onwards as an ADA and former husband of Kate, who rekindles their relationship as they work closely to solve crimes. Season 1 was just 10 episodes long and it was renewed for 14 episodes in season 2 and 3 but they air it with 10 episodes followed by large gaps of a few months to finish the final 4. I think that hurt this show a lot.

Sadly these shows are far better than a lot of the crap that gets shown on tv for years and years.