How Canceled TV Shows Were Going To End, Ranked By How Much Viewers Missed Out

How It Ended: The show ended just as River became a full-fledged member of the Firefly crew, seemingly hinting at the further continued adventures of Mal and his family in the years to come. The follow-up film, Serenity, attempted to tie up a number of storylines by killing off some key characters and delving further into some of the Alliance's very disastrous mistakes.

How They Wanted It To End: The show's second season would have included the pay off of several of the first season's subplots. Adam Baldwin's Jayne would finally get to pilot his own ship alongside the Firefly. Wash (RIP) and Zoe would have had a child, as shown in comics created after the show went off air. There would have also been some further development of Inara and Mal's relationship, which would have been interesting to see unfold, as Inara would have confirmed that she is terminally ill in Season 2.

How It Ended: Agent Carter ended its second season with Peggy and Agent Sousa finally hooking up, but left a whole lot unanswered as well. That included the fate of Jack Thompson and where exactly Bridget Regan's Dottie Underwood may have been hiding out at.

How They Wanted It To End: Speaking with THR, executive producer Michele Fazekas teased how Peggy and Sousa's relationship would have played into the show's third season story, along with the possibility Dottie's inevitable return at some point down the line: 

"We're certainly not saying that this is definitely who Peggy Carter ends up marrying. They established in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that she ends up getting married at some point down the line. I would be interested to see Peggy in a relationship. She doesn't seem like a woman who would just kiss a guy like that and things wouldn't change. She's committed to trying to actually be in a relationship with Sousa.

We will put Bridget Regan in as many episodes as she wants to be in. She has like two other jobs. [Laughs] But I know she has said that she has now put it into her contract that she can work on Agent Carter whenever it fits into her schedule. So we will use her as much as we can."

How It Ended: Freaks and Geeks ended on a notable cliffhanger, with Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) ditching an academic summit to follow The Grateful Dead on the road with her friends... without telling any of her family members.

How They Wanted It To End: Creator Paul Feig revealed the fate of every character from the show back in 2012, much to fans' delight. Lindsay was going to become a performance artist in Greenwich Village after high school, and then move into adult world as a human rights lawyer. In addition, Sam would have become a member of Drama Club, Neal would have gone into Swing Choir, Bill would have transformed into a jock, Daniel would end up in jail, and Nick would enlist in the Army.

How It Ended: The show ended just as Kristen Bell's titular detective was relegated to being an outcast at her school once again. Seeds of a romantic reunion between her and her ex, Logan were planted as well. Some of this was wrapped up in the subsequent film that was made years later, as well as one season of a revival on Hulu even later than that, but fans never really got to see the rest of Veronica's college career play out.

How They Wanted It To End: Despite Veronica becoming a lawyer in the follow-up film, creator Rob Thomas has said that the original plan was to send her to an FBI training school in the fourth season. This way the stakes would have been raised all over again, and Veronica would have had to become used to an entirely new environment. 

How It Ended: My So-Called Life ended on such a cliffhanger moment filled with pure heartache: Claire Danes' Angela decided to ride off into the sunset with Jordan Catalano, despite knowing that Brian was the one who wrote Jordan's so-called love letter to her. It's a moment that has left fans talking for decades since its original airing.

How They Wanted It To End: Creator Winnie Holzman revealed to Elle how the show's second season was supposed to have picked up where the series finale left off:

"I pictured a situation where Angela and Jordan are an item, Delia and Brian are an item, and Angela and Brian are constantly looking to each other for advice and help with their respective dysfunctional relationships."

The second season would have also included Sharon getting pregnant and Mr. Katimski's status as a gay man being revealed to the whole school. So yes, there would have plenty of teen drama still to go around.

How It Ended: Pushing Daisies was never supposed to end with its second season finale, which would explain why so many plot threads were never fully resolved. Instead, the series ended with a major twist, as Ned finally let Charlotte enter back into her Aunts' lives again. 

How They Wanted It To End: While speaking with SyFy, creator Bryan Fuller revealed what the original plans were for the show's third season:

"We've arced it out. The dangling threads from the series with Chuck's father and Ned's father and the pocket watches are all dealt with, not secondarily, but there's a whole new story that happens when there is a flash flood in the cemetery and all the bodies wash past Ned, and it's Ned versus a thousand corpses."