Actually, it did come back for a second season. And the fact that you didn't know that is a good indication of why it didn't get a third, and why many say it never should have been given a second.

The critically acclaimed, popular sci-fi series aired its first season in 2015 on Fox -- a twisty, thrilling affair that marked a return to form for twisty, thrilling writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (who burst onto the Hollywood scene with 1999's "The Sixth Sense").

Indeed, there was so much plotting in the first season that it burned through all three of the novels it was based on, written by author Blake Crouch. So when the first season ended, everyone -- including many of the actors -- assumed it was the end. Fox gave it a surprise renewal afterward, but the nature of the first-season finale, and the fact that many of the actors had gone on to other things, meant that the second season told a very different story based in the creepy town of Wayward Pines, Idaho.

ScreenRant.com's Matt Dolloff summed it up rather bluntly: "'Wayward Pines' was originally destined to be just a 10-episode limited series, and probably should've stayed that way." 

Instead, it got a second season that aired a year after the first, but to much weaker ratings. There was talk of a third for a year and a half before Fox finally got around to canceling it in early 2018.

The only consolation now is the many great things the people involved have gone on to do.

Shyamalan has continued his return to favor with the smash-hit film "Split" (2016) and the news of his next one, "Glass," both sequels to his genre-bending 2000 hit "Unbreakable."

On the small screen, Shyamalan's "Wayward Pines" co-producers and writers Matt and Ross Duffer went on to create a similarly creepy sci-fi series called "Stranger Things" for Netflix.

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