I first came across the TV show and movie cancellation culture in the early 90s. I paid for satellite TV to be installed in my bedroom and started to enjoy shows from the US that were not available on the standard channels here in the UK.
Then it happened.
A sci-fi show I was enjoying named Earth2 was cancelled. There was no ending. There would be no more episodes. Then it happened again with a crime drama and again with more shows I was enjoying.
I had access to the early internet and learned how this was a common thing over the pond. Shows being cancelled due to ratings, budgets, or actor availability.
Then they cancelled Firefly. That was just too much.
I decided that I would no longer watch a show unless there was a second season also available and a good chance more would be made.
That didn’t work.
Shows would be cancelled mid-season in season 2 or 3 etc. Often on cliffhangers leaving questions left unanswered. After all that time you had invested in watching the show you were left hanging with no conclusion, unsatisfied.
It happened to movies too.
Stories told over trilogies where only the first movie was made or the last one was never made leaving the boxset, well, not really a set.
Sometimes the producers knew it was coming and would rush to complete the series. It showed. Storylines and questions quickly tied-up in an unsatisfactory way. It felt rushed and unpolished.
It kept happening.
Decades later and it is accepted as the norm. Anything coming from over the pond will have an expiration date that may come at any time. You can wait to see if it gets finished and wait for the reviews and summaries to let you know if it ends in a satisfactory and complete way. No cliffhangers and no questions left unanswered. Then you can watch it.
If you have the patience.
Or you can take a punt and give a show a try in the hope that it doesn’t get cancelled.