Turkeys in TV: Shows That Were Quickly Cancelled - Sitcoms Online Message Boards (2025)

** Never Aired **

Snip (1976)

This comedy from James Komack (Chico and the Man), about a hair stylist (played by David Brenner) who works at the same Cape Cod salon as his ex-wife (Lesley Ann Warren), was clipped from NBC’s schedule at the very last minute, in the wake of hubbub about the salon’s openly gay proprietor (played by Walter Wanderman).

“They made up all kinds of excuses, but… They were afraid to have a gay on television,” Brenner asserted in a 2000 interview.

Manchester Prep (1999)

TV’s first attempt at a follow-up to Cruel Intentions was a no-go, cancelled prior to broadcast.

But unlike NBC’s 2016 effort, which was never even ordered to series, this project eventually was repurposed as a direct-to-video film — 2000’s Cruel Intentions 2.

Still Life (2003)

If this drama, about a family coping with the loss of their eldest son, had gone on to success — let alone made it to air! — perhaps Jensen Ackles would have never been cast in Supernatural.

Yeah, we don’t want to think about that either.

The IT Crowd (2007)

The U.S. remake of the critically acclaimed UK sitcom was ordered to series, but never actually went into production after the pilot.

Needless to say, Joel McHale (Community) and Jessica St. Clair (Playing House) landed on their feet in no time.

Day One (2010)

More like Day None.

A 13-episode order for this post-apocalyptic drama starring David Lyons (ER) was reduced to a meager four episodes before the network ultimately decided that the pilot would air as a TV-movie… which never saw the light of day.

Next Caller (2012)

Four episodes were filmed before NBC stopped production on this Dane Cook vehicle, which also featured Collette Wolfe and Jeffrey Tambor.

Us & Them (2013)

You take two of Lauren Graham’s best costars — Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel — put them in a Gavin & Stacey remake, order it to series and then… never air the seven episodes that were produced?!

We’d say we were still angry at Fox, but five years later, all episodes were quietly released on ad-supported streaming service Sony Crackle and, well… we get it now.

Hieroglyph (2014)

This ancient Egypt-set, action-adventure drama sure made history — just not the way its producers had hoped.

Despite receiving a straight-to-series order, Fox cancelled the show outright over creative differences, having already completed production on Episode 1.

Mission Control (2014)

Casting issues were allegedly to blame for production on this 1960s-set space comedy being grounded. But do you really expect us to believe Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) and Tommy Dewey (Casual) couldn’t have made this one work?

It would have also reunited former Better Off Ted costars Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin aka Lem and Phil. (Sigh)

Coach (2015)

Not every revival is a good idea. For instance, NBC gave this follow-up to the Craig T. Nelson sitcom a straight-to-series, 13-episode order… and then quickly rescinded on that offer after seeing a pilot. Fumble!

** Cancelled After 1 Episode **

You're in the Picture (1961)

Jackie Gleason hosted this poorly received game show, which premiered on the eve of JFK’s inauguration and immediately bombed.

The following week, Gleason went on the air and used the 30 minutes he had to hawk the Handy Housewife Helper apologize for the show ever existing.

Turn-On (1969)

This sketch comedy series from the producers of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In lacked sets and tended to focus its (bad) jokes on sex. As Tim Conway, the guest host for the first and only episode once said, “as it aired across the country, it was being cancelled,” with an Ohio market even cutting off its broadcast midway through the half hour!

“By the time it got to California, it was off” completely, Conway said, allowing the launch party he was at to double as a wrap party.

Heil Honey, I'm Home! (1990)

Our one and only British entry was too notorious not to include. Presented as “found footage” of a famously “lost” American sitcom, it asked: What if Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun lived in circa 1938 Berlin next door to a Jewish couple?

The answer: Only one of eight episodes saw the light of day.

South of Sunset (1993)

This light procedural starred musician Glenn Frey as a movie studio security chief who starts up his own P.I. firm, The Beverly Hills Detective Agency.

Alas, following a heavy push during Fox’s World Series coverage that month, the series’ October launch was stymied by West Coast preemptions for Malibu wildfire coverage, and overall disappointing ratings.

(The five total episodes that were produced eventually got play on VH1 during an Eagles-themed 1994 programming event.)

Public Morals (1996)

Peter Garety and Donal Logue starred in this Steven Bochco-produced sitcom, which lasted all of one week.

It also featured Bill Brochtrup’s NYPD Blue character John Irvin, who immediately returned to the venerable ABC police drama after Public Morals got canned.

Lawless (1997)

Panned as “a show that made The A-Team look sophisticated,” this drama starred former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth as special forces operative-turned-P.I. John (yep, you guessed it) Lawless.

After debuting to numbers that were paltry even for a Saturday night, Lawless was ordered to park his motorcycle.

Emily's Reasons Why Not (2006)

Ordered to series before anyone had even seen a script, Emily got the swift axe due to some truly atrocious reviews.

“It was not going to get better,” ABC’s boss said at the time, “and we needed to make a quick change.”

Secret Talents of the Stars (2008)

We’d make some sarcastic comment at CBS’ expense for thinking viewers would have any interest in seeing D-list celebs participate in what was essentially a weekly talent show, but Dancing With the Stars has 32 seasons under its belt, so…

Osbournes Reloaded (2009)

After screening a six-minute “sizzle reel” of the variety special (which featured bleeped expletives and risqué sketches), no fewer than 16 Fox stations nixed it outright, while another 10 moved it from its post-American Idol perch to the middle of the night.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Fox slashed the premiere from a planned hour to just 35 minutes, and never attempted to air a second episode.

Swamp Thing (2019)

The live-action series’ swift cancellation came just six days after its debut, though the now-defunct DC Universe streaming hub continued to roll out episodes weekly.

An initial report placing blame on a smaller-than-expected tax credit from North Carolina was quickly scuttled; instead, it appeared that DC Universe was hedging its bets ahead of an uncertain future, with WarnerMedia’s then-upcoming streaming service HBO Max still taking shape.

(The CW eventually wound up airing all of Season 1)

** Cancelled After 2 Episodes **

The Fifth Corner (1992)

Alex McArthur led this mystery drama as Richard Braun, a man who one day woke up with amnesia — and with a dead woman next to him in bed.

Kim Delaney played a reporter out to uncover Richard’s secrets.

Head Cases (2005)

This dramedy starred future NCIS agent Chris O’Donnell as a rising star attorney who, after a nervous breakdown and time spent in a wellness center, starts a law firm with a stranger (Adam Goldberg) diagnosed with explosive disorder.

The show struggled out of the gate, not helped at all by having ABC’s Lost for competition. The cast also included Rhea Seehorn, Rockmund Dunbar and Richard Kind.

Viva-Laughlin (2007)

This casino-set musical drama, which featured once-frequent Tonys host Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith, was hailed by The New York Times as possibly “the worst show in the history of television.”

The Beautiful Life: TBL (2009)

Much like Marissa Cooper, Mischa Barton’s O.C. follow-up wasn’t long for this world.

The Ashton Kutcher-produced drama also featured supermodel Elle Macpherson, Nico Tortorella and Ashley Madekwe.

Lone-Star (2010)

We had such high hopes for this one — which featured James Wolk, Adrianne Palicki and Jon Voight — but it failed to reap the benefits of a cushy, post-House time slot.

The Paul Reiser Show (2011)

The Mad About You star is probably grateful that no one remembers this Curb Your Enthusiasm rip-off.

Made in Jersey (2012)

Before turning in a bewitching performance on Salem, Janet Montgomery laid a tacky New Jersey accent on thick for this subpar legal drama.

Work It (2012)

It’s hard to believe that ABC thought a Bosom Buddies-esque sitcom based on the premise that women have an easier time getting jobs would work in the year 2012, if ever.

Do No Harm (2013)

This Jekyll and Hyde riff — in which Steven Pasquale was brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jason Cole from 8:25 am to 8:25 pm, and bad boy Ian Price during the other 12 hours — at the time delivered the lowest-rated, in-season debut of any scripted Big 4 series ever.

Yanked from the sked after two outings, its remaining 11 episodes got a summertime burnoff.

Of Kings and Prophets (2016)

Already postponed from a proper fall launch, this biblical saga instead was held until midseason — where it landed in ABC’s Tuesdays-at-10 “death slot,” and in turn suffered a near-identical fate as predecessor Wicked City.

Doubt (2017)

Despite a stellar ensemble that included Dulé Hill, Laverne Cox and Elliott Gould, this Katherine Heigl-fronted procedural was canned after just two weeks of dismal ratings.

** Cancelled After 3 Episodes **

Beyond Westworld (1980)

This offshoot of the 1973 film followed Delos security chief John Moore (Jim McMullan) as he hunts down androids embedded in society by evil scientist Simon Quaid (James Wainwright).

Only three episodes of the five that were produced made it to air, and yet the series still earned two Emmy nods (for makeup and art direction).

On The Air (1992)

Likened in retrospect to “30 Rock as conceived by David Lynch and Mark Frost,” the duo’s follow-up to Twin Peaks revolved around a 1950s variety show fronted by a down-on-his-luck former movie star (Ian Buchanan).

Though the series was not viciously panned, we Yanks only got to see three of the produced episodes, while the UK and others were privy to all seven.

Four Corners (1998)

Ann-Margaret! Sonia Braga! Future Grey’s doc Justin Chambers! Raymond J. Barry!

None of ’em could save this CBS sudser from swirling down the drain after just three outings.

Smith (2006)

The first cancellation of the 2006-07 TV season was this post-Ocean’s Eleven caper drama about a band of thieves played by Ray Liotta, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, Jonny Lee Miller and Franky G.

Alas, Smith‘s audience dwindled to “just” 8.4 million by Week 3, after which it was yanked and replaced with CSI reruns.

The Playboy Club (2011)

The Amber Heard-led period drama faced an uphill climb from go, targeted by Gloria Steinem, the easily irritated Parents Television Council (which lobbied advertisers to pull their support) and multiple anti-pornography coalitions.

Ultimately, a low-rated debut, followed by two weeks of declines, cut short this bunny tale.

Wicked City (2015)

The serial killer drama — starring Gossip Girl‘s Ed Westwick and Parenthood‘s Erika Christensen — was all kinds of disturbing, but not in a good way.

Production was ultimately halted, but five unaired episodes made their way to Hulu later that year.

** Cancelled After 4 Episodes **

Profit (1996)

Co-created by David Greenwalt (Grimm) and John McNamara (The Magicians), Profit starred Adrian Pasdar (Heroes) as the titular junior executive at the multinational conglomerate Gracen & Gracen, where he was perceived as a “golden boy” all the while concealing a dark side that wasn’t above using any means necessary to get ahead — even murder. He even slept in a cardboard G&G shipping box.

Despite bowing to solid reviews, Profit hemorrhaged most of its Melrose Place lead-in audience, while its ahead-of-his-time antihero triggered negative feedback from viewers, especially those in the Bible Belt.

The Secret Diary of Desmond Phieffer (1998)

Chi McBride led this sitcom about a Black English nobleman who, after fleeing the UK in disgrace, gets a gig as President Lincoln’s valet.

Some protests — by the NAACP, among others — preceded the show’s debut, to a degree that UPN agreed to replace the controversial pilot with a different episode.

Drive (2007)

This drama about an illegal cross-country road race, created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen, boasted a cast populated by the likes of Nathan Fillion, Emma Stone, Kevin Alejandro and Kristin Lehman — but after bowing to just 6 million viewers, it was pulled from Fox’s schedule after two weeks/four episodes.

Another two episodes were made available via an exciting and new “online” option (Fox on Demand).

Ironside (2013)

CBS’ MacGyver and Hawaii Five-0 are examples of successful TV reboots. This Blair Underwood-led reimagining of the Raymond Burr classic, which lasted all of one month, is not.

Sunnyside (2019)

The sun set very early on for this Kal Penn-led comedy, which just a few weeks into its run got shuttled off to NBC.com and the NBC app, to finish out its 11-episode run.

Connecting... (2020)

Filmed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecting... followed a group of friends who were forced by quarantine restrictions to only spend time together via video chat.

When the show failed to “connect” with its truly quarantined audience, NBC announced that the remaining episodes would air solely on Peacock and NBC.com.

** Cancelled After 5 Episodes **

Hank (2009)

This Kelsey Grammer sitcom led off an all-new night of comedy for the Alphabet network, which included fellow newcomers The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town.

It was so unfunny, Grammer admitted to Jay Leno, that he personally called Warner Bros. and asked that they halt production immediately.

Promised Land (2022)

When the Latino family sudser had a low-rated, midseason debut and then suffered a steady decline in audience every week, ABC announced that after its fifth airing, the back half of the season was Hulu-bound.

https://tvline.com/lists/tv-shows-ca...s/turn-on-abc/

Turkeys in TV: Shows That Were Quickly Cancelled - Sitcoms Online Message Boards (2025)
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