Bring It Back 2019: Should Shadowhunters, One Day at a Time, The Punisher be saved?
Welcome to the second annual Bring It Back Tournament! This is a tradition that we’ve started up last year at CarterMatt with one goal in mind — shining a spotlight on shows that are truly worthy of a second life that we don’t think should’ve ended in the first place. We do this through polls that allow your voice to be heard also! We’re in the month of May, and with that, cancellations are going to be running rampant throughout the month.
We’re going to be announcing entrants in this year’s Bring It Back in waves (so if you don’t see the show you are most disappointed in ending it may still be coming up!), mostly as more cancellations come out over the next week or so. For the first wave today, we’re focusing on six shows that have already been canceled/ended on their respective networks. The criteria is simple — we’re focusing here on shows that aired their final episode, or will air their final episode, at some point from September 2018 until September 2019.
How do you vote for which show should come back? You can do that at the bottom of this article! There are more specific voting rules/technical information at the bottom of this article. The two shows with the highest votes in round one will move forward to round two, and voting will remain open here for five days, from now until Sunday, May 12 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time.
With all of this spelled out, let’s go ahead and get now to the first six shows!
Counterpart – Probably one of the best shows that very few people actually saw — other than permanent Starz subscribers and big-time fans of JK Simmons. We know that alternate dimensions are all the rage right now, but this show really took on the idea perhaps better than just about anyone. It’s mostly just unfortunate that the ratings weren’t better, since there should be enthusiasm around this show. It’s a wonderful show!
Into the Badlands – Fiercely original, action-packed, and with some of the best characters out there. We don’t know why more viewers didn’t discover the AMC wonder, and we remain saddened that last night was the series finale when there really should’ve been at least one more season on the air.
The Last Ship – It had a powerful end last season, and one that could’ve easily led into more seasons down the line. While there hasn’t been too much conversation about a revival, we know that military dramas of this scale are extremely rare on TV these days and there is still a devoted following of fans eager to watch more.
One Day at a Time – One of the most heartbreaking cancellations out there, mostly because of what this show brought to Netflix — an inclusive, loving comedy for a wide audience that did something that so few sitcoms are doing anywhere else. We know that there’s a legion of fans eager to have more, and we know there was interest from CBS All Access. However, Netflix’s rights to the show are still causing problems from it landing anywhere else.
The Punisher – An unfortunate casualty of the Marvel – Netflix deal disintegrating a la a snap from Thanos. It was just about as faithful of a TV adaptation as you’re ever going to find, but it barely even got a chance with a second season that didn’t exactly receive a lot of promotion and was largely considered to be doomed before it even began. We know that the interest is there among fans for a new home, whether it be Disney+, Hulu, or elsewhere.
Shadowhunters – It officially concluded on Freeform last night with an epic finale, one that had hearts racing all over the globe as there was romance, drama, and some epic twists that has people still clamoring for more. The #SaveShadowhunters movement has been active and passionate for almost a year now; it’s hard to see it slowing down anytime soon!