Hit 4-Season Detective Series Now On Netflix Is The Show That Refuses To Die

Published Oct 16, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer. 

Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV.

When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Though the television landscape has rapidly evolved over the past few years, one thing remains the same: there will always be shows that get prematurely canceled. Some are axed before audiences have time to connect with their characters, while others struggle to maintain their momentum despite having intriguing premises and dedicated fan bases. Every so often, however, a series emerges that seems almost impossible to put down for good, like this excellent detective series that is seeing a resurgence on Netflix.

Netflix is home to some great mystery shows, from Dep. Q to The Sinner. The new addition to the streaming giant’s platform, however, has a unique history that sets it apart from anything else available on Netflix, which in turn adds to its allure.

Few TV shows manage to survive one cancellation, let alone two, but CBS’s Unforgettable did just that. Even before the detective series debuted, it was already facing some huge challenges. Though the script was written and the series showed a lot of promise, CBS decided to pass on Unforgettable in 2010 when a lead actress couldn’t be found. Surprisingly, the crime drama got another shot when Without a Trace's Poppy Montgomery was cast as the brilliant Carrie Wells, but that was hardly the end of the issues it would have to face during its four-season run.

Unforgettable Survived 2 Cancellations & Is Now Enjoying A Resurgence On Netflix

The television industry is full of shows that disappear after a single disappointing season, never to be heard from again. However, Unforgettable proved to be a notable exception. The crime drama endured multiple cancellations, found new life on different networks, and eventually completed a four-season run.

The show debuted to relatively strong numbers and was performing well, but as it drew closer to its season 1 finale, the ratings and viewership dropped, prompting CBS to cancel it. Though the dwindling viewership numbers played a significant role in Unforgettable's cancelation, the fact that it wasn’t well-reviewed — season 1 earned a paltry 40% on Rotten Tomatoes — was also another factor.

Fortunately, CBS’s decision did not last. Fans campaigned for the show's return, while Sony Pictures Television explored other options for keeping Unforgettable alive. By June 2012, CBS had reversed its decision and ordered a second season. Though it seemed like Unforgettable had just won its biggest battle, its victory was short-lived because CBS canceled it again in October 2014 after season 3's ratings weakened.

Scratch & Peek

Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.

Unforgettable’s second cancellation indicated that it might be the end of the road for the series, but A&E stepped in, ordering a fourth season. However, the network did not pick up Unforgettable for a fifth. Recently, Netflix added the detective TV show to its already incredible crime drama library, and it has, unsurprisingly, risen in popularity. Netflix is known for saving TV shows, so while it's highly unlikely that they'll revive Unforgettable, which has been off the air for over a decade, it's still fun to think about.

Why Unforgettable Refuses To Go Away, Despite Everything

The challenges that Unforgettable faced pre- and post-production are not uncommon in the entertainment industry. A lot of TV shows get passed on and canceled, especially today. The repeated cycle of Unforgettable’s cancellation and revival helped turn it into an unusual television success story. Every time the show appeared to have reached the end of the road, it found another opportunity to continue, which in turn led audiences to wonder why the series refused to stay down.

The heart of a procedural crime drama is often a quirky detective with a skill set that most people don’t possess. Carrie’s hyperthymesia set her apart from the crowd, thus making her a compelling protagonist in a genre that has so many TV shows. Unforgettable is also the type of series that is easy to delve into. Each episode explores a different crime, with Carrie using her extraordinary ability to solve cases, something that fans of detective stories enjoy.

When Unforgettable returned to the small screen for the second time, there was a bit of worry that it wouldn’t live up to audience expectations. However, its revival brought a new style that kept it from falling into the pit of relying on past formulas. In a way, the title Unforgettable became almost ironic, as it refused to be forgotten about for four seasons.

• 

  Al Burns

• 

  Poppy Montgomery

  Carrie Wells

• 

  Roderick Hill

  August Kincaid

• Bianca Amato

  Alison Sonnenland