^{Credit: The Tiny Chef Show}

On June 24, 2025, the creators behind The Tiny Chef Show released a video on social media in which the titular stop-motion culinarian’s daily housework is interrupted by an ill-fated call from Nickelodeon. Eager to cook up another batch of episodes, Tiny Chef’s heart breaks in real time as Nickelodeon informs him that his show has been canceled after 31 episodes. In just over a minute, we see Tiny Chef go through the stages of grief. Granted, Tiny Chef doesn’t get angry, as that’s not in his nature. Yet, Tiny Chef initially experiences denial (unable to fathom what he’s hearing), bargaining (trying to pitch new ideas), depression (tearfully thinking about what will happen to his friends), and finally acceptance (attempting to resume his housework before breaking down in bed).

Even if you had never heard of Tiny Chef or struggled to understand his distinct speech pattern, this video left viewers with a moral obligation to save him at all costs. “Cheffers” have rallied behind their tiny green idol through the show’s “Fan Cwub.” Celebrity friends like Melissa McCarthy, Dionne Warwick, and Florence Pugh have also shown support. The show’s YouTube channel is seeing new levels of engagement, going from roughly 50-100 comments to over 1,000, according to Ozi Akturk, who co-created the series with Rachel Larsen and Adam Reid. Even if Nickelodeon doesn’t reconsider, the creators have reportedly been in contact with A24. Ironically, the cancelation has arguably made The Tiny Chef Show more popular than ever, which may lead to a happy ending. Or maybe that viral video will go down as the saddest finale since Six Feet Under.

While the entire video is a tear-jerker, a particular gut-wrenching line stands out: “But we, we won an Emmy …” Indeed, at the 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards, Larsen and Chris Tichborne were honored for their direction on the series. The following year, Tiny Chef won Outstanding Preschool Animated Series. The latter Emmy victory came just over a week after Tiny Chef aired what might be its last official episode. Three months later, Tiny Chef got the bad news. In addition to Emmys, Tiny Chef won two Annies for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children. In the show’s canon, Tiny Chef has his fair share of pancake-flipping trophies as well. While awards can be symbols of quality, they sadly don’t put food on the table.

^{Tiny Chef with Tiny Emmy}

Tiny Chef is far from the first Emmy-winning animated show to get prematurely canceled. At the inaugural Children's and Family Emmys in 2021, City of Ghosts won Outstanding Animated Series and Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program. The “ghosts” in question are truly a metaphor for the diverse communities and cultures across L.A. that’ve been paved over, preserving their stories. Consisting of just six episodes, this charming mockumentary series also won a Peabody Award. Even after picking up these accolades, creator Elizabeth Ito claimed that she didn’t hear back from Netflix about producing another season.

^{Credit: Elizabeth Ito @kikutowne}

Last year, HBO Max (formerly Max… and HBO Max) pulled the plug on the critically acclaimed sci-fi series Scavengers Reign. The industry showed their support for the one-season wonder, nominating Scavengers Reign for Outstanding Animated Program at the Primetime Emmys. While it was always unlikely that Scavengers Reign would triumph over Blue Eye Samurai, Noémie Leroux received an Individual Achievement in Animation Emmy for her background design on the episode, “The Dream.” Even with its newfound Emmy-winning status, there hasn’t been much chatter about Scavengers Reign getting a second season. This isn’t a modern trend either.

In 1980, the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program went to Carlton Your Doorman. In the live-action sitcom Rhoda, Carlton was an unseen character played by Lorenzo Music, who’d go on to voice Garfield. An animated Carlton took center stage in this special, which Music co-wrote. The special was co-directed by Fred Wolf, who won an Oscar for his 1967 short The Box, and Charles Swenson, who’d win a Daytime Emmy for his work on Rugrats. Carlton Your Doorman initially wasn’t intended to be a CBS Special Presentation, however. It was a pilot for a series that ultimately didn’t get picked up. Even with an Emmy, the special never saw a rebroadcast. It’d be almost another decade until the idea of an animated primetime sitcom was revisited with The Simpsons.

The 90s gave us numerous Emmy-winning shows that were sadly short-lived, from the Will Vinton-produced The PJs to Todd McFarlane's Spawn. Among the decade’s most unfortunate casualties was Freakazoid!, which was canceled shortly before two of developer Tom Ruegger’s other shows, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. Where those shows at least had time to shine, Freakazoid! had to contain its insanity to 24 episodes. When Freakazoid! won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program, Paul Rugg (the eponymous character’s voice) made a note to thank “The WB for dropping us @ the Cartoon Network for picking us up.” While Cartoon Network aired the remaining episodes, the Emmy couldn’t convince them to make a third season.  

^{Credit: John P. McCann @JohnPMcCann2 & Paul Rugg @pkrugg}

Nickelodeon is also no stranger to giving Emmy-winning shows the axe. While shows like Rugrats had picked up a few Daytime Emmys, Invader Zim was the first Nicktoon to receive a Primetime Emmy for Kyle Menke’s storyboards on “The Nightmare Begins.” Despite the Emmy and a growing cult following, Nickelodeon reneged on its 40-episode order, only producing 27. That’s one more episode than El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera got. El Tigre garnered not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Daytime Emmys during its one-season run. Jorge R. Gutierrez, who co-created El Tigre with his wife Sandra Equihua, has since gone on to direct The Book of Life and win another Emmy for Maya and the Three.

While the Emmy has been a consolation prize for many of these canceled shows, there are a few that got happy endings. Young Justice seemingly hit the ground running with Phil Bourassa earning an Emmy for his work on the pilot, "Independence Day." The DC series was nevertheless canned after two seasons, reportedly because Mattel backed out amid low toy sales. Ongoing fan support eventually paved the way for two more seasons, however. Of course, Young Justice still had a short run compared to the most successful animated shows that came back from cancelation: Futurama and Family Guy.

It was bittersweet when Futurama won Outstanding Animated Program for Season 3’s “Roswell That Ends Well,” as the writing was on the wall that Season 4 would likely be the last. While Fox opted not to renew the series, Futurama later saw a revival at Comedy Central, winning another Emmy for “The Late Philip J. Fry.” Futurama was later canceled yet again, only to be revived by Hulu. With new episodes still in development, the future seems bright. As Leela once put it, "We all know any TV show that’s even slightly good gets canceled, sometimes two or three times."

Fox made another huge mistake when they canceled Family Guy. Of course, their real mistake was putting Seth MacFarlane’s cartoon against zeitgeist hits like Friends and Survivor. In the Family Guy canon, it’s a running gag that the show never wins Emmys. That’s not entirely true, as MacFarlane scored his first Emmy for voicing Stewie Griffin during the show’s second season. Season 3 brought MacFarlane another Emmy for co-writing the song “You've Got a Lot to See” with Walter Murphy. The Emmys weren’t enough to salvage the show from cancelation, but highly-rated Adult Swim reruns and gangbuster DVD sales did. Family Guy still doesn’t have an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Other than The Flintstones, though, it’s the only cartoon to get nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Futurama and Family Guy proved that sometimes shows just need time to find a following. They also proved that “canceled” isn’t always the end, especially if the creators and fans get vocal. The response to Tiny Chef’s cancelation provides optimism that the show might live on, if not at Nickelodeon, then through another distributor with better taste. There are more stories to tell, more dishes to cook, and more Emmys to win. Time will only tell how big Tiny Chef can get. For now, take a page from Tiny Chef’s cookbook: “Always believe in yourself and keep cooking.”

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!