When you think of the Syfy channel, images of cheesy monsters, and unoriginal plots probably come to mind. Or you think of the Sharknado franchise.

The network has a major history of airing amazing television programs in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. If there’s one channel that’s not afraid to try adapting a book or a movie into a series, it’s Syfy.

On the other hand, since the network is steeped in the speculative categories, budgets can easily skyrocket because many scenes need CGI, unique costumes, or elaborate sets. Unfortunately, Syfy tends to cancel shows before its plots pan out or any characters get developed. Some shows are canceled before the initial episodes finish airing. Syfy has had many great programs that have been canceled too soon, but they also currently air shows that definitely need to go.

The channel was known as Sci-Fi before rebranding as Syfy. Then again, in 2017, the network released a new logo and slogan, “It’s a Fan Thing.” The head of Syfy, Chris McCumber said there's “…no better occasion than Syfy’s 25th anniversary to get to back our roots, double down on original programming.”

Some of the programs on this list are good examples of Syfy allowing a show to start off strong, but then slowly removing until it's time to end things.

Here’s 15 Syfy Shows That Were Canceled To Soon (And 5 That Need To Go.)

20. Needs To Go: The Expanse

The Expanse is an epic science fiction drama that’s so large in scope that, on a first watch, it could overwhelm you.

Based on a series of novels by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse has several plots going at once: a) a detective born on Ceres is tasked with locating a missing woman; b) an Executive Officer of an ice-hauling spaceship gets caught up in altercations between Mars, the Belt, and Earth; and c) a U.N. representative tries to stop a war between Mars and Earth.

The show has received praise from critics and fans and has won a Hugo award, but viewership is steadily dropping episode over episode. I the creators want The Expanse to continue, they’ll need quite a few more seasons to match the depth of the novel series.

First, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, not to mention the multiple plots being juggled. While the acting in the show is superb (especially from Thomas Jane and Shawn Doyle), it’s not enough to keep viewers entranced with the world of The Expanse. There’s simply too much in the novels to translate well to the small screen. This could be one show that suddenly gets axed with no resolution, forcing you to read the books.

19. Too Soon: Stargate: Universe

Stargate: Universe involved a ship called Destiny in a part of space billions of light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy. The crew escaped to that area and must find a way back to Earth while exploring this new, unknown part of space. It sounded like the creators ripped off the basic story-line of Star Trek: Voyager but set in the Stargate mythology.

Because the characters were more likable and interesting than other Stargate characters, and the show was better made than other Stargate shows, Universe became well-liked as a psychologically-darker program in the franchise. Universe won many Constellation, Gemini, and Leo awards, including Best Science Fiction Show of 2010 and various special effects awards.

For season 2, Syfy changed the show’s time slot, which the creators attributed the drop in viewership and ratings to. Syfy wanted Fridays for wrestling and moved Universe to Tuesday. Eventually, Syfy canceled the show, angering Stargate fans.

Brad Wright, a co-creator, felt the quality of the show wasn’t the issue. It was just Syfy’s decision to move the show to a different day.

Not all was lost: you can watch 34 webisodes to tie into the TV series as well as a comic book series that resolves the TV series finale and continues the story from there. Note: the creators are not involved in the comic.

18. Too Soon: Being Human

Did you watch a show about 3 roommates who were supernatural creatures trying to navigate the real world while being monstrous and human at the same time? If you did, then you watched Being Human. The show was based on the U.K. version of the same name, but similarities in plot ended after the 1st season.

With compelling characters that subverted from the usual tropes about werewolves, vampires, and ghosts, Being Human came into its own when it veered away from its British progenitor. Many critics felt the British version could (and possibly should have) ended a season before it did but the U.S. version had the potential to go much longer.

There were still stories to tell between the main characters and the recurring characters. It would have been quite possible for any of the recurring characters to shift into their own main story.

Sam Witwer, who played the vampire Aidan Waite, made sure fans knew that the cancellation was purely creative. “Wanted to tell a great story,” he said via Twitter, “from beginning to end. We didn’t want to bleed the concept dry.” At least Syfy allowed the final few episodes to give the show a “not-to-be missed send-off.” In the TV industry, that’s rare.

17. Needs To Go: Face Off

Face Off is a reality show that has prosthetic makeup artists compete to create prostheses that could be featured in horror and science fiction films. The show has been on for 13 seasons now.

After so many years, a reality show - especially a competition reality show - beings to show its age. Face Off reached that level seasons ago. The format is essentially the same season after season: contestants participate in challenges, and judges (celebrities and industry experts) decide who is eliminated week over week based on the work. Attempts to revitalize the show have recently occurred - judges could save a contestant, or the participants work on teams - but Face Off needs to go completely.

The reality show isn’t really offering anything new anymore.

Season 13 will be an “all-star” cast from previous seasons. Syfy did announce that the 13th season will be the show’s last. Fans and viewers started a petition at the beginning of May to keep the show going. Even William Shatner is sad: he signed the petition.

If you're a fan, you shouldn’t worry: in August 2017, a spin-off show called Face Off: Game Face premiered, which welcomes back four all-stars from the Face Off seasons to compete in rounds as they go head-to-head in challenges. That’s way too much Face Off.

16. Too Soon: Lost Girl

Running for 5 seasons beginning in 2010, Lost Girl chronicles the life of a succubus named Bo who is learning to control superhuman abilities. She helped people while on the path of discovery about her origins.

Lost Girl does have a formulaic “monster-of-the-week” format, but the characters and relationships between them drew viewers in. The show is a Canadian import, but when it premiered on Showcase, viewers made it the highest-rated scripted series of all time on that channel. On Syfy, the show immediately received great ratings and reviews that called Lost Girl witty and stylistic. As the show continued, it made many “Best of” lists, like those from Slate magazine and CNN.

There could have easily been more stories told in Lost Girl, giving it additional seasons. It was canceled too soon to create buzz for any other main plotlines. Even star Ann Silk thought the show would get one more season, but she said of the 5th and final season, “It’s time, in a way.”

On a good note, Syfy canceled the show early enough so that the creators and writers could adjust the story to give fans and viewers a real series finale.

15. Too Soon: Warehouse 13

Warehouse 13 became an extremely popular program for Syfy. In the first season, many of the episodes were some of Syfy’s highest-rated episodes, while the episode “Burnout” set the record for the highest-rated show of all time for Syfy in 2010. That was an amazing feat for a show that, at first glance, drew parallels to many other shows.

The potential for Warehouse 13 to grow and develop into a long-running cult favorite was cut short after 5 seasons.

Described as a combination of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The X-Files, and Moonlighting, the dramedy followed Secret Service agents locating missing supernatural artifacts. Right away, you can see the possibilities of Warehouse 13 continuing past season 5 since there’s really no limit on what constitutes a supernatural artifact. Theoretically, the writers’ imagination could have driven the show endlessly.

This show was considered part of Syfy’s shared universe, with some characters from Eureka crossing over to Warehouse 13, and a single character from Warehouse 13 making an appearance on Alphas.

If you loved the show and wanted more, you have a few options to live in the mythology again. Warehouse 13 was immortalized in comic book form, and Greg Cox wrote a tie-in novel called Warehouse 13: A Touch of Fever. Into board games? Then you can play Warehouse 13: The Board Game, a semi-cooperative game where one Agent secretly works against the Warehouse.

14. Too Soon: Heroes of Cosplay

If you’ve attended any comic conventions in the past 10 years, you’ve seen cosplay. While cosplay has been around since fan-centric convention got their main start in the 1960s and 1970s, cosplay (or costume play) really became popular recently. You might even know some household (and famous) names like Jessica Nigri and Ivy Doomkitty.

Heroes of Cosplay followed cosplayers both relatively known and unknown as they traveled to conventions during the show’s seasons. You got behind-the-scenes access to how costumes are made and judged. Of course, we also saw the drama that can sometimes ensue from such a close-knit community.

There are some extremely talented costumers out there, and those in the show deserved to be there! The show lasted only 2 seasons, but it was a good way to show the world that cosplay was (and is) a viable career choice. For example, Yaha Han has gone one to have license deals with McCall’s, and many cosplayers make a great living through print and calendar sales.

It would have been nice to see more cosplayers. Season 2 did go overseas to some of the bigger conventions, but in the limited episodes per season, it was hard to really showcase enough cosplayers for variety. Either more episodes per season or additional season would have made Heroes of Cosplay a staple of Syfy.

13. Needs To Go: Killjoys

Killjoys needed to go before the 5th season was announced as its concluding season. The concept of bounty hunters in space sounded intriguing to some, but when stripped of the story, there really isn’t much else there. The show was nominated for six awards but didn’t win any of them from 2015 to 2017.

Critics found that the science fiction archetypes in Killjoys offered nothing new to the genre. There are witty, sarcastic, and hardened characters essentially performing apprehensions of people (and things) because they don’t really have the skills to do anything else. The characters have pasts that catch up to them, forcing them to keep a low profile outside the entity they work for.

When you look at all the comparisons to other science fiction shows - especially those in space - the resemblance to Firefly is apparent.

Except Joss Whedon did it better.

One of the biggest complaints of Killjoys is the creators seemed to have developed a fiction universe so large that it overshadows the character interactions and depth. The show presented so much so fast that it became convoluted to the point where you don’t care about what individual characters are doing. Although Killjoys is basically Firefly, the show does enjoy high percentages on Rotten Tomatoes.

12. Too Soon: Incorporated

Dystopian books and movies are perenially popular. Something about watching characters handle a bleak future is entertaining.

Incorporated took place in 2074 in a dystopian Milwaukee. Numerous crises and extreme climate changes forced most countries to go bankrupt. Big, rich corporations have become mini-governments who head Green Zones. The places where governments don’t exist or have small influence are called Red Zones. The main character, Ben Larson, is Red Zone refugee who has infiltrated a Green Zone to locate his long-lost love, Elena, who’s become a high-end night worker.

Incorporated lasted 10 episodes before Syfy canceled the show after the first season. Ratings were never outstanding, but most numbers were higher than some of Syfy's longer-running shows. Rotten Tomatoes had the show maintaining a 75% on the Tomatometer and an 87% Average Audience Score.

The depressing future and how it featured in the show was unique and interesting and would have benefited from additional seasons. A deep mythos could easily have been created.

Some fans found the storylines too predictable, but everything else kept people engaged. Incorporated was one of those shows that had a consistent first season but needed at least one more to create a solid fan base.

11. Too Soon: Helix

Recently, with networks now having “half-seasons” of hour-long shows (typically 10-13 episodes per season), it’s imperative that shows nab viewers and keep them enthralled as the first few episodes air. Helix managed to do just that.

Scientists from the CDC go to a special facility located in the Arctic to check out a possible outbreak. As they research the disease, they discover that the future of humanity is in peril. One of the show’s executive producers was Ronald D. Moore, best known for his involvement with Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

Some unique storytelling features involved using viral infections to have the characters hallucinate traumatic events of their past. This was more effective in the context of the show since writers wouldn’t have to use flashbacks to provide backstories. Another interesting feature of the show was that each episode took place over a single day. While not the first time this concept was used (24 should come to mind), it provided viewers with an immediacy to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Unlike some of Syfy’s shows, Helix made it 2 season, 26 episodes before it was canceled in April 2015. Was it too soon for Helix to leave the airwaves?

The world of Helix was creepy and effective while giving the actors perfect opportunities to show viewers how good they were.

For the story and characters alone, Helix should have continued.