TV shows are always getting canceled, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about them. Some of my favorite shows of all time got the axe, but they still pack a punch and I recommend them constantly. All too often, people avoid watching a show because it was cut short, but that’s a mistake.

You Heard About It for a Reason

When a terrible show gets canceled, you don’t hear about it after that. There aren’t unhappy fans, shocked critics, retrospective editorials, and petitions for its revival. But the cancelations people still talk about are remembered for a reason.

Maybe the show had great promise but bit the bullet too soon, like the sci-fi cult-classic, Firefly. Maybe it was praised by critics and audiences alike but cost too much to make, like David Fincher’s Mindhunter. Or maybe it’s a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that was too niche to justify another season, like puppet-led The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

These shows are always making it onto recommended lists because they were so good. They didn’t need long runs to make a lasting impression—Mindhunter is the only one of them to get a second season—because they were packed with sharp writing, compelling performances, and intriguing storylines from the moment you hit play.

You shouldn’t skip them because they got canceled. You should watch them because they were so good people still talk about them.

Related

10 Acclaimed TV Shows Netflix Canceled Too Soon

Brilliant, beloved, and brutally axed.

The Journey Is Worth More Than the Destination

Going into a canceled TV show, you know it’s going to end badly. That last episode will come up too soon and there’s a good chance you’ll be left with incomplete character arcs, loose plot threads, and unanswered questions. But a show doesn’t need a perfect ending to be worth watching.

The best part of most TV shows is the moment-to-moment action, getting to know the characters, and learning more about the world you’re in. Sure, it’s normally building up to a climactic ending, but that needn’t make the journey to get there any less enjoyable.

What’s more, many canceled shows are episodic in nature, like Inside Job, meaning there’s very little to lose from watching a few episodes without getting a season finale. Meanwhile, other shows, like Mindhunter, have neat arcs for each season, so you’ll get a sense of resolution even if the larger story hasn’t wrapped up yet.

It’s also worth noting that even when a show doesn’t get canceled, it can botch the ending. Lost and Game of Thrones are two famous examples that disappointed fans with their final episodes, but they’re both still worth watching—and plenty of people rewatch them despite knowing the endings. A canceled show is no different, and at least you can imagine a satisfying ending without being doomed to the bad one you got.

Related

The 6 Best Netflix Shows That Actually Tell a Complete Story

Not every Netflix show gets canceled midway through.

Cancelation Isn’t the End of the Line

Plenty of TV shows have survived cancelation in one form or another. Firefly got a follow-up movie in Serenity, Twin Peaks got a third season 25 years after its cancelation, and Farscape continued its story as a comic book.

Embarking on a canceled TV show doesn’t mean you’re destined for disappointment. It just means you might need to be flexible about how you find that resolution after the last episode. You could look for other media, check out other shows from the writer and director, imagine a satisfying ending for yourself, or read endless fan fiction from other people on the web.

Related

The 5 Best TV Shows That Survived Cancelation

Even the best shows can’t avoid cancelation, though they might survive it.

By choosing to watch an axed show despite its cancelation, you’re also keeping the flame alive and increasing the odds that it might get brought back some day. There are plenty of stories of letter campaigns, physical media sales, and syndication success reviving canceled shows from the dead, but those only work if people refuse to give up on them.

At the very least, nothing brings people together like needing a shoulder to cry on, and so there are often active and lively communities around canceled shows. If you get to the last episode and you can’t believe it ended on such a cliffhanger, jump on the relevant subreddit and shout about it with all the like-minded folk you’ll find there.

A canceled show can’t offer you a satisfying ending, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a good time watching what exists. The best shows will have episodes worth experiencing even if you’d rather there were more of them. Depriving yourself of that just for a better conclusion isn’t worth it, especially when watching the show could make a revival a little bit more likely to happen as well.

So don’t write off a show just because it ended too soon. Jump in, enjoy the ride, and join the community calling for a comeback when you’re done.