With so much bad television sticking around for extra seasons, it’s a shame that so many good shows don’t make it. It could be because so many people have bad taste in television — reality TV comes to mind — or because networks don’t know a quality show when they have one. Whatever the case, here are the 5 crime dramas that should never have been cancelled.

Southland

This cop show was designed to show the lives of cops in greater, more realistic detail. Its grittier than your usual cop show feeling served to elevate it somehow, making it feel more real. It also did not hurt that Benjamin McKenzie brought his own following to boost the show’s ratings and gained even more as the young cop facing the criminal element. Although this show may have been picked up by another station, it should never have been cancelled in the first place. With a little luck, maybe it will survive its second chance at being a long running television cop drama.

Life

This cop show featured a British actor playing the lead role of an American. This show just had it all. From its killer soundtrack to its seemingly effortless use of humor to lighten its dramatic plots, this show was a melding of many small good decisions on the part of its creators.

Police Squad!

This show was formed around the adventures of the legendary Frank Drebin. You probably know him best from the Naked Gun movies but this show with its slapstick comedy with a touch of drama was poised to become a force in the world of television humor. The success of the Naked Gun movies that followed should have caused studio execs to rethink their decision but still this show was cancelled too soon.

The Unusuals

This is another cop dramady that was not on the air for long. This show was based on the exploits of a group of cops in New York City and featured a cast of talented actors. While following a group of cops in New York City is hardly a novel idea, the Unusuals had a spark that rose out of the interaction between its characters. Unfortunately, this was not enough to save it from finding a spot on this list of cancelled shows.

The Job

This short lived cop drama starring Denis Leary was just gone too soon. The writing on this show was smart and it was gone long before its time. While it may have been comparable to many cop shows that preceded it, Denis Leary brought an edge that was worth exploring. Like so many other cancelled shows, it never had a chance to grow to its full potential and the potential was definitely there.

These 5 crime shows should never have been cancelled. One or two may have been brought back to life for a second chance at success but their cancellation shows you one thing. Goods shows don’t always last no matter how bad everything else on the air might be.

Maryellen Ward writes about how to enroll in forensic science colleges.