Question 2-Those shows which were officially cancelled,but given a second chance at life on another network.Know of any?Feel free to post.

Southland canceled by NBC and then picked up by TNT.

Cheers almost got cancelled in its first season.

As for shows that were cancelled by one network, only to be picked up by another...

In no particular other, other than when they pop into my head:
Leave It To Beaver (CBS to ABC)
Still The Beaver/The New Leave It To Beaver (The Disney Channel to TBS)
The Hogan Family (NBC to CBS)
Medium (NBC to CBS)
Taxi (ABC to NBC)
The Critic (ABC to Fox)
Grounded For Life (Fox to The WB)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (The WB to UPN)
Scrubs (NBC to ABC)
JAG (NBC to CBS)
Diff'rent Strokes (NBC to ABC)
Family Matters (ABC to CBS)
Step By Step (ABC to CBS)
Silver Spoons (NBC to first-run syndication)
Punky Brewster (NBC to first-run syndication)
Baywatch (NBC to first-run syndication)
Webster (ABC to first-run syndication)
TV Nation (NBC to Fox)
Inside The NFL (HBO to Showtime)
Stargate: SG1 (Showtime to Sci-Fi)
Babylon 5 (first-run syndication to TNT)
Matlock (NBC to ABC)
Father Dowling Mysteries (NBC to ABC)
In The Heat Of The Night (NBC to CBS)
Wheel Of Fortune (NBC to CBS, then back to NBC)
Sliders (Fox to Sci-Fi)
Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher (Comedy Central to ABC)

The Wonderful World Of Disney has been on ABC, CBS and NBC under various titles and incarnations, as well as on The Disney Channel and in syndication.

'Cagney and Lacey' was cancelled by CBS in 1983 because of low ratings, but when fans started a letter writing campaign, they brought it back in the spring of '84, and it became a big hit.

1)"The Donna Reed Show"barely escaped cancellation,running,on ABC, and as we all know,ran from 1958-1966.2)"The $10,000 Pyramid"("The $20,000 Pyramid")was given new life by ABC after being cancelled by CBS in 1974,and ran on ABC from 1974-1980.It later successfully came back to CBS as "The $25,000 Pyramid"and ran from 1982-1988.

"The Paper Chase" originally aired 1 season (1978-1979) on CBS.

Showtime brought the show back for 3 more seasons (1983-1986).

And,"Mama's Family",which was also cancelled by NBC but revived successfully in syndication,where it ran from 1986-1990.

After its first season aired on CBS, the show "Jericho" was canceled in 2007.

However, CBS brought the show back for a second season due to an intense fan campaign.

The ratings still didn't improve and the show was gone for good in 2008.

Charles in Charge was cancelled by CBS after one season but ran for three additional seasons in first run syndication.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch was cancelled by ABC after four seasons but was revived by the WB where it ran for three additional seasons.

The Dick Van Dyke Show was very nearly cancelled after its first season but survived to complete a six season run and become a TV classic.

mr belvidere was canceled by abc after its second season but then abc changed its mind and brought it back , also saturday night live was canceled by nbc in 1986 it was only after lorne micheals had a last minute meeting with brandon tartakoff that they diceded to give the show one more chance

"America's Most Wanted" was briefly canceled by FOX for about a month in 1996.

An intense protest from law enforcement, politicians, and fans made FOX decide to bring it back.

mr belvidere was canceled by abc after its second season but then abc changed its mind and brought it back , also saturday night live was canceled by nbc in 1986 it was only after lorne micheals had a last minute meeting with brandon tartakoff that they diceded to give the show one more chance

Actually it was around S3 that Mr. Belvedere was facing cancellation along w/ one of its Friday-night stablemates Webster.

ABC threatened to cancel both shows and ABC gave Mr. B another chance and its 4th season started in October of 1987 (when Ilene Graf of Mr. Belvedere mentioned to Dick Clark about Mr. Belvedere's renewal and escape from cancellation on an episode of The $100,000 Pyramid), while Webster wasn't as unfortunate, especially attesting to its declining ratings throughout the 4th season.

However, Webster was given new life in 1st-run syndication and Henry Polic II mentioned it on his appearance on The $100,000 Pyramid.


Simon & Simon rated so low in its 1st season that CBS almost threatened to cancel it. But by moving the show alongside hit CBS series Magnum, P.I., ratings drastically improved within the next several seasons to even one point that in the 1985-86 season, it even eclipsed Magnum in the ratings.



Other series to move from network to another network, synd., cable, and etc.:

Let's Make a Deal (1963-77): NBC canned LMaD in very late 1968,ABC snatached it up at the very last week of 1968 and aired it until 1976.

The New Twilight Zone (1985-89): The New TZ did middling-to-average ratings during its 1st season. But by S2, it was soundly beatenby the likes of Webster and Mr. Belvedere, prompting CBS to can TNTZ after 2 seasons. But the new TZ re-surfaced in 1st-run syndication and stayed until 1989.

The New Alfred Hitchock Presents (1985-89): The New Alfred Hitchock started off w/ a bang, thanks to the newly-produced TV movies. But soon after ratings declined and NBC canned it after 1 season. But it would resurface on USA for 3 more seasons.

Airwolf (January 1984-87): CBS (1/1984-86) to USA (1986-87)

Disney's Adventures of The Gummi Bears (1985-91): NBC (1985-89) to ABC (1989-90) to 1st-run syndication (1990-91)

I believe the nicktoon "Doug" jumped to Disney somewhere along in its run.

And,the ORIGINAL "Alfred Hitchcock Presents",was cancelled after a 5 year run on CBS(1955-1960), was given new life by NBC, airing it from 1960-1962.Same with "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour",which ran on CBS from 1962-1964,and then on NBC for its last season,1964-1965.And finally,the ORIGINAL "The Price is Right",which ran on NBC from 1956-1963,and on ABC from 1963 to its end in 1965.

I believe the nicktoon "Doug" jumped to Disney somewhere along in its run.

Yes it did indeed. It came back on ABC from Nick in 1996 and ran on ABC's One Saturday Morning until 1999.

And I don't even wanna think about how bad Doug became when Disney took over that show. ;) (IMO).


Another show that jumped networks was:

Beat the Clock (1950s-early '60s version). 1950-58, CBS; 1958-61, ABC

"STAR TREK" was cannceled by NBC twice; once after it's first season and again after it's second season. But both times viewer demand brought it back.

"STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE" was cannceled by UPN after it's first season but was then renewed at the last second, likewise after it's second season.
(however, some people-including me-wouldn't of missed it if it hadn't been renewed. Even some "tweaking" to the format in the third season didn't improve it much)

"MASH" was cannceled by CBS after it's first season due to low ratings (in fact Time magazine called it "the biggest dissapointment of the 72-73 fall season") but was only renewed because Bill Palleys wife (he was the network president) liked it and asked her husband to renew it.

"STAR TREK" was cannceled by NBC twice; once after it's first season and again after it's second season. But both times viewer demand brought it back.

"STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE" was cannceled by UPN after it's first season but was then renewed at the last second, likewise after it's second season.
(however, some people-including me-wouldn't of missed it if it hadn't been renewed. Even some "tweaking" to the format in the third season didn't improve it much)

"MASH" was cannceled by CBS after it's first season due to low ratings (in fact Time magazine called it "the biggest dissapointment of the 72-73 fall season") but was only renewed because Bill Palleys wife (he was the network president) liked it and asked her husband to renew it.

The NBC show "Friday Night Lights" was saved from cancellation when they partnered with DirecTV (The 101 Network) to keep it on the air after the 2nd season.

TV critics and fans love the show but "FNL" was never big with the ratings. "FNL" will come to an end after the current 5th season.





DirecTV also saved the FX show "Damages" from being canned.

The show's first 3 seasons aired on FX and DirecTV picked up the show for 2 additional seasons starting in 2011.

DIRECT TV? The cable company? They have a TV network? When did that happen?

Sister, Sister aired for two seasons on ABC and was cancelled but was picked up by The WB where it ran for four more seasons.

Similarly, NBC's "For Your Love" aired for six episodes in 1998 before getting cancelled. But the WB picked it up and aired it until 2002.

DIRECT TV? The cable company? They have a TV network? When did that happen?

The 101 Network originally launched in 1999 exclusively for DirecTV subscribers.