19 great TV shows that were canceled way too soon

Some of the best shows ever didn't stay on TV for as long as they should have.

That's just how it is in the cutthroat TV industry, in which impatient network executives are focused only on last night's ratings. And things have only gotten more brutal with a saturation of TV content, including from streaming services.

Great series like HBO's "Deadwood" and Judd Apatow's teen dramedy "Freaks and Geeks" are among the many that have been cut off too soon.

As new series continue to make their way to the small screen this fall, we're looking over the best shows that were canceled before their time, ranked in order of increasing greatness.

Brett Arnold contributed to an earlier version of this article.