From everyone shows like Justified that are worth watchingKaren Sisco is solely credited with launching the franchise. Granted, it did so unintentionally, and it happened years before FX's crime drama about Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) came to fruition. However, "Karen Sisko" has canonical ties to "Justified," and it's unfortunate that the show is largely forgotten for being one of many great shows that were canceled after one season.

Based on Elmore Leonard's character of the same name, "Karen Sisko" sees Carla Gugino play the eponymous US Marshal as she solves crimes in Miami, Florida while simultaneously trying to earn the respect of her peers and navigate the dating world. full of men. who can never guess her real job. Fortunately, she has a close confidant in her father, Marshal Cisco (Robert Forster), a retired attorney who is always on hand to offer a few words of wisdom.

While "Karen Sisko" was sent to the chopping block after one season, the creators of "Justified" did not forget about it. With that in mind, let's explore how the two series are related.

In addition to both series being based on characters conceived by author Elmore Leonard, "Karen Sisko" and "Justified" establish their shared universe in the third season of the latter series. In the episode titled "Cut Ties", Carla Gugino reprises her role as a law enforcement officer based in Miami, albeit under the name Karen Goodall due to her character being married (and to avoid rights issues).

Despite the name change, the character's backstory still aligns with the events of "Karen Sisko." In the episode we learn that she is based in Miami and that is where she met Raylan Givens. While talking to Entertainment Weekly"Justified" series Graham Yost also admitted that Goodall and Cisco are one and the same, although he tried to jokingly deny it:

"I don't know what you're talking about. I honestly don't know what you're talking about. No, listen, we're big fans of Carla, she enjoyed playing marshal, we thought it would be fun to play marshal again."

At the time, the door was open for Gugino to return to "Justified," but the stars never aligned. However, her one-time appearance was enough to enrich the universe and give some closure to fans who wanted to know what happened to Sisko after her show was canceled in 2004.

"Justified" had the luxury of ending with a goal after six seasons. Furthermore, Raylan Givens has since returned to action thanks to the Justified: City Primeval spin-off, ensuring that the franchise continues to expand. On the other hand, "Karen Sisko" was canceled by ABC after seven episodes due to poor ratings despite receiving positive reviews, and the show became a forgotten gem in the annals of TV history.

At the time, ABC intended to make some changes to the series and bring it back with a bang. The network hoped that some reworking would help the show resonate with viewers, but they ultimately gave up trying to make it a success and the show ended up with three unaired episodes locked, loaded and ready to go.

What's more, "Karen Sisko" is not available to stream or purchase on DVD or Blu-ray at the time of writing. Hopefully, the continued popularity of Justified will lead to the show getting more exposure one day, but for now it seems destined to stay in ABC's vaults gathering dust.