The landscape of television is shaped by its failures just as much as its successes, networks and creators learning by trial and error what kinds of things last for 20 seasons and what kinds of things are risks that never pay off. For every Mad Men or Seinfeld or The Sopranos there are a hundred other sitcoms, dramas, superhero shows, and anthology serials that either fail as soon as they debut or don’t last long enough to make an impact.
Most people, statistically, watch the good stuff, the shows that get the most attention week after week (or, if you’re on streaming, minute by minute), the hours adding up into advertising and app revenue that justify the money they take to make and market. It’s always fascinating to track a TV show’s success: What does Lost have that a hundred other sci-fi soap operas never did? Why did audiences pick Supernatural over Shadowhunters? Why did everyone watch high concept high school musical Glee, while no one watched high concept high fantasy musical Galavant?
But it’s even more fascinating to look at why certain TV shows failed. The most spectacular failures are the ones that are the most hyped, the shows that were sure to be network or streamer darlings until they premiered, and for whatever reason no one ended up watching them. For this list, we’ve picked ten shows from the past three decades that were meant to be on TV forever, and what exactly it was that drove them straight into the ground before their first and only seasons were done airing. These shows span network TV and streaming, tracking an era of upheaval in an industry that’s constantly looking for the next big thing. Unfortunately for these shows, none of them were it.
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky