8 Short-Lived TV Shows That Should Use Crowd Funding To Make a Movie

Five years after its cancellation, the TV series Veronica Mars still has a loyal and thriving fan base—despite the fact that it aired for just three seasons on lower tier TV networks UPN and The CW. Need proof? Look no further than the Kickstarter campaign for a film adaptation of the series, which raised $1 million in under 5 hours. UPDATE: As of 8:56 pm, the Kickstarter had met its $2 million goal. Looks like the show's fans will finally be getting that long-discussed Veronica Mars movie! Here are eight other short-lived cult TV shows that might want to consider using crowd funding to make a feature film.

1. Pushing Daisies (2007 – 2009; ABC)

Television producer Bryan Fuller created something special with Pushing Daisies. The self-described “forensic fairy tale” was too fantastical for TV viewers, but too kooky and strange for moviegoers. The story of a pie maker named Ned who could bring people back to life with one touch pleased some, but bewildered others. The TV series was so full of imagination and style that people are still demanding more stories that take place in this wonky world.

2. Sports Night (1998 – 2000; ABC)

Before Aaron Sorkin delivered the hit TV series The West Wing and penned the Academy Award winning The Social Network, he created a work-based comedy about people who ran a 24-hour sports cable network. Sports Night had a hard time finding an audience because it didn’t cater enough to sports fans or TV viewers. After 15 years, Sports Night still has its fans, and keeps gaining new ones as new people are being introduced to Sorkin’s work.

3. Jericho (2006 – 2008; CBS)

CBS is not known for its genre TV offerings, but the network saw something it liked in this Stephen Chbosky-created TV series. Taking place in the fictional Kansas town of Jericho, the post-apocalyptic TV series followed characters cutoff from the rest of the world after nuclear fallout during an attack from an unknown enemy. The series was canceled after one season, but fan outcry brought Jericho back for a second season when fans sent CBS angry letters and emails. Jericho was canceled again, but found new life in comic books and graphic novels. Why not make a crowd-funded movie?

4. Get A Life (1990 – 1992; FOX)

Actor Chris Elliott played the childlike and immature Chris Peterson, a 30-year-old paperboy who still lived with his parents. Get A Life was too weird, offbeat, and surreal for its time, but benefited from its collection of rising-star writers including Bob Odenkirk and Charlie Kaufman. The TV series gained a cult following who demanded the series be made available on DVD in 2012.

5. Party Down (2009 – 2010; Starz)

“Are we having fun yet?” Television writer and producer Rob Thomas followed up Veronica Mars with Party Down in 2009. The series followed a group of struggling actors and writers in Hollywood, as they took up part-time jobs at a catering company to supplement their income. Party Down elevated actors Jane Lynch, Adam Scott, Martin Starr, and Lizzy Caplan into the mainstream pop culture ether. A Party Down movie has been discussed; maybe now it will actually happen. 

6. My So-Called Life (1994 – 1995; ABC)

Created by screenwriter Winnie Holzman, My So-Called Life was one of the first TV dramas to portray teenage angst and high school life in a realistic and serious way. The key to the TV series’ success were the breakout performances of its exceptional cast, which included Claire Danes, Devon Gummersall, A.J. Langer, Wilson Cruz, and Jared Leto. If My So-Called Life were to be brought back as a movie, it could surround the lives of the adult Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano.

7. Freaks and Geeks (1999 – 2000; NBC)

Following in the footsteps of My So-Called Life, Freaks and Geeks took a realistic look at high school burnouts and awkward sci-fi fans in the early 80s. It only lasted for one season, but it made a big impression on television and movies, as we know it today. Freaks and Geeks also launched the careers of directors Judd Apatow and Paul Feig, as well as actors James Franco, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen. Since they're all good friends to this day, making a movie about these characters—provided they could get the funding—would probably be an easy decision. 

8. Firefly (2002; FOX)

While Firefly had already spun off a movie adaptation with Serenity in 2005, fans of the short-lived TV series wanted more. There were plans to make Serenity the first part of a Firefly trilogy, but its lukewarm box office tempered any plans for a sequel movie. Director Joss Whedon gained clout in Hollywood with the success of The Avengers, so it always seems like Serenity 2 could be just around the corner (though at a panel for his next film, Much Ado About Nothing, at SXSW, the director made it clear no one at the studios has shown an interest, and there are currently no plans to make another movie). A Kickstarter campaign to fully fund the would-be project could seal the deal to make the movie happen—and please Browncoats across the ‘verse.