History Main / VindicatedByReruns

* ''Series/TheThundermans'' was a minor hit for Nickelodeon, but it wasn't as big as ''Series/HenryDanger''. In the early 2020's, the show [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/powerful-people-kids-entertainment-1235507904/ became a hit on Netflix]] to the point where it did better than ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

* ''Series/TheMatchGameHollywoodSquaresHour'' did poorly in its' first run back in 1983 due to a combination of the quality of the series and being scheduled against ''Series/GeneralHospital'' for its' entire run. When Buzzr started airing reruns in 2019, they got such high ratings that more timeslots were added for the show.

* While ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse'' was Playhouse Disney (later Disney Junior)'s biggest original series during its' run, it saw a massive growth in popularity once Creator/DisneyPlus launched, to the point where it's often one of the top trending series on the service, and usually it's the most popular children's series on the service (or in some cases the second-most popular, as ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'' sometimes tops it). It got to the point that a revival would be announced for Disney Junior with a set release of 2025.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' got this in the United States. The show originally aired on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}, where halfway through its' run, most ads for the show stopped airing and the show was moved to Creator/{{Nicktoons}}. It was thanks to Creator/{{Netflix}} acquiring the rights to the show that it would become a hit in the United States, which lead to Creator/DisneyChannel acquiring the American cable rights to the show.

* While ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse'' was Playhouse Disney (later Disney Junior)'s biggest original series during its' run, it saw a massive growth in popularity once Creator/DisneyPlus launched, to the point where it's often one of the top trending series on the service, and usually it's the most popular children's series on the service (or in some cases the second-most popular, as ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'' sometimes tops it).

* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' was receiving Emmy awards for best show during its run, but it always received low ratings and was pricey to produce, so it got cancelled after three seasons airing on FOX. Many noted it was beloved in Hollywood because of how it played with the sitcom format, but others struggled to get it. The series did very well on DVD and acquired some {{syndication}} packages despite being a comparatively ShortRunner show, which gave it more fans and became a huge phenomenon. Years later, it got {{uncancelled}} by Netflix for a fourth and fifth season.

SisterTrope to VindicatedByCable.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' had an interesting history with American audiences. The first successful attempt to get it on television after the Harmony Gold dub failed was Creator/TheOceanGroup's dub of the first story arc of ''Dragon Ball,'' but was cancelled after one season. A little while later, they tried again, but with ''Dragon Ball Z,'' but it was aired early in the morning and was cancelled midway through the Namek Saga. The ''Dragon Ball'' franchise didn't truly see popularity in the states until it started airing on Creator/{{Toonami}} in the after-school hours. The reruns were so successful that Creator/{{Funimation}} was tasked with finishing the English dub for not only ''DBZ'', but also the original ''Dragon Ball'', with a voice cast that's [[TheOtherDarrin completely different]] from the Harmony Gold and Ocean dubs

* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' was acclaimed from the start, but it always received low ratings, and wasn't that popular, so it got cancelled after three seasons airing on FOX. After the whole series got put on MSN, and started airing reruns on [=HDNet=] and Creator/{{G4|TV}}, it got many more fans and became a huge phenomenon. Years later, it finally got a fourth season on Netflix, and even has a movie in development.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', to the point where it had [[Film/{{Serenity}} a feature-film adaptation]] on the strength of its post-cancellation fandom.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' is probably the TropeCodifier. Lasting only three seasons (five had been planned and were integral to the show's concept), it was a modest ratings success until Creator/{{NBC}} developed the habit of [[ScrewedByTheNetwork switching its timeslot around]]. The [[ExecutiveMeddling extensive rewriting of scripts]] and lack of immediate success made many of its more talented writers leave, which caused [[SeasonalRot the quality to slip noticeably in a short time]]. It was canceled after the second season, but quickly UnCanceled following an extensive letter-writing campaign from its fans. The third season saw even worse ratings, and NBC canceled it for real. Shortly afterwards, American television industry discovered the use of {{demographics}}. When stations noticed that, according to the new standards of how ratings were calculated, ''Star Trek'' should have been one of the most successful shows on TV (and that NBC had killed what could have been their golden goose), not only did they rush to throw on ''Star Trek'' reruns to attract the young demographic that it had been popular with, but the networks launched what came to be known as UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge, a massive shift towards more urban and youth-oriented programming in the early '70s aimed at capturing the upmarket demographics that ''Star Trek'' was most popular with. It didn't take many years of reruns before the show's modest fanbase grew into a force to be reckoned with. The rest is history.

* Music/DavidBowie's "Changes" has never charted in the UK, having gone unnoticed on its original release and never afforded a proper reissue after he made the big time. That hasn't stopped it from becoming one of his best-known and most-played songs, to the point where most people would confidently name it as one of his biggest hits.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' had a [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very clumsy first season]] that caused most critics and viewers to write it off as a pale clone of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', not helped by the fact that ''Parks'' was originally conceived as a {{spinoff}} by the same writers and producers before they decided to [[DivorcedInstallment make it into its own independent entity]]. Even though it had [[GrowingTheBeard found its footing]] by its second season and continued to improve from there, ''Parks'' was still largely a QuietlyPerformingSisterShow in comparison to ''The Office'' and struggled in the Nielsen ratings for its whole run on NBC, though it did manage to avoid cancellation (albeit just [[OnlyBarelyRenewed barely]])and lasted for seven seasons (125 episodes in total) thanks to its small but very loyal fanbase. Eventually, reruns on FXX and other networks, as well as help from streaming services (as the series was available on Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu until late 2020) led to good word-of-mouth and a bump in fans that missed the show's initial run. Moreover, thanks to having lasted longer than its ratings would've normally allowed, Parks has also managed to avoid the [[TooGoodToLast "critically beloved but short-lived" label]] that usually plagues shows that go through this, with most critics and TV fans considering it equal to, and in some cases, ''better'' than its parent show. Fittingly, when the series returned to NBC's hands via Creator/{{Peacock}}, it was touted as one of the freshman streamer's signature offerings.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' had a [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very clumsy first season]] that caused most critics and viewers to write it off as a pale clone of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', not helped by the fact that ''Parks'' was originally conceived as a {{spinoff}} by the same writers and producers before they decided to [[DivorcedInstallment make it into its own independent entity]]. Even though it had [[GrowingTheBeard found its footing]] by its second season and continued to improve from there, ''Parks'' was still largely a QuietlyPerformingSisterShow in comparison to ''The Office'' and struggled in the Nielsen ratings for its whole run on NBC, though it did manage to avoid cancellation and lasted seven seasons (125 episodes in total) thanks to its small but very loyal fanbase. Eventually, reruns on FXX and other networks, as well as help from streaming services, led to a bump in fans that missed the show's initial run, and thanks to it having lasted longer than its ratings would've normally allowed, ''Parks'' has also managed to avoid the [[TooGoodToLast "critically beloved but short-lived"]] label that usually plagues shows that go through this. Nowadays, the show is considered to be on par with its predecessor, with some critics and fans even preferring it.
* ''Series/PartyDown'', one of Starz's first forays into original scripted series, was not a major success in the ratings, but it did become a huge success on Netflix Instant Viewing and got star Creator/AdamScott a lot of notice for his performance. A third season was considered due to the cult success, but Starz forgot to renew the cast's contracts in time, leading production to cease. A revival was announced in 2021, though.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' had an interesting history with American audiences. The first successful attempt to get it on television after the Harmony Gold dub failed was Creator/TheOceanGroup's dub of the first story arc of ''Dragon Ball,'' but was cancelled after one season. A little while later, they tried again, but with ''Dragon Ball Z,'' but it was aired early in the morning and was cancelled midway through the Namek Saga. The ''Dragon Ball'' franchise didn't truly see popularity in the states until it started airing on Creator/{{Toonami}}. The reruns were so successful that Creator/{{Funimation}} was tasked with finishing the English dub for not only ''DBZ'', but also the original ''Dragon Ball'', with a voice cast that's [[TheOtherDarrin completely different]] from the Harmony Gold and Ocean dubs

* ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' had an interesting history with American audiences. The first successful attempt to get it on television after the Harmony Gold dub failed was Creator/TheOceanGroup's dub of the first story arc of ''Dragon Ball,'' but was cancelled after one season. A little while later, they tried again, but with ''Dragon Ball Z,'' but it was aired early in the morning and was cancelled midway through the Namek Saga. The ''Dragon Ball'' franchise didn't truly see popularity in the states until it started airing on Creator/{{Toonami}}. The reruns were so successful that Creator/{{Funimation}} was tasked with finishing the English dub for not only ''DBZ'', but also the original ''Dragon Ball''.