31 of the Strangest Shows to Ever Air on TV

To upset anyone trying to get a show produced
31 of the Strangest Shows to Ever Air on TV
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These series got picked up, but our sweet show idea about random TV facts didn’t make the cut? Like, not one producer thinks that TV lovers would love facts about TV???

No! They thought that you fine people would love a show about an escaped orangutan who becomes a hot-shot political mastermind! Can you believe the audacity? Well, luckily the four people who actually watched these shows were like, “No thank you!” 

We’ll go drum up some more TV ideas while you check these out — really bad ones, too, because really bad ones seem to get picked up all the time!

Taking on Tyson

CRACKED TAKING ON TYSON 2011 Remember when Mike Tyson starred in an Animal Planet reality show about competitive pigeon racing?! Mike loves pigeons, but audiences and PETA (clearly) felt that training them for competition was exploitative.

Who Gets The Dog?

CRACKED WHO GETS THE DOG? 2005 Who Gets The DOG Animal Planet thought, What if the dog chooses the owner? So people competed for a shelter dog's love, while behaviorists determined who the dog liked most. Thought to be unethical to treat a rescue like a prize, it got axed (the show, not the dog).

Bet on Your Baby

CRACKED BET ON YOUR BABY 2013-2014 JOSHUA MUST CORRECTLY GUESS THREE OF JAIDYN'S IMPRESSIONS Parents bring their babies (which were all toddlers aged 2 - 3.5) into the Babydome (an in-studio kid's room) to guess the kid's next move for a full scholarship ($50,000- enough for one year and some books). ABC, you're a trash network of lies.

Dog With A Blog

CRACKED DOG WITH A BLOG 2012-2015 ENC Like Lassie saving the day? No, no, he just blogs about it. It's another Disney Channel case of Kids better like it, 'cus everyone else hates it. Variety called it strictly low-hanging biscuit fare, because how many butt-sniffing jokes can we handle?

Nearly Departed

NEARLY 4 DEPARTED EPISODES got and all the way gone CRACKED This 1989 sitcom starring Eric Idle as a friendly ghost who haunts a family just didn't have the (Beetle)juice.

Supertrain

SUPERTRAIN 9 jumped the tracks EPISODES GRACKED The most expensive show ever made at the time was about... a luxury train? The model train crashed, and so did the series.

The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

THE SECRET DIARY OF DESMOND PFEIFFER 4 stayed mostly unread EPISODES CRACKED A freed black slave is the serious butler to a wacky version of President Abe Lincoln - need we say more?

Baby Bob

Disastrous Comedy 2002 Baby Bob Food Turning an ad into a sitcom, this talking baby got his own CBS primetime show after a string of Freelnternet.com commercials. It's 14 episodes of Wait, that baby can talk? moments that got old right away. CRACKED

Comedians Unleashed

Disastrous Comedy 2002 Comedians Unleashed Not to be confused with Comics Unleashed, this was Animal Planet's attempt at a stand-up comedy show. Here's the kicker: It was only animal-themed jokes. They only aired one episode. CRACKED

Dot Comedy

Disastrous Comedy 2000 Dot Comedy As the internet was still this new and exciting thing, ABC tried to capitalize by having a terribly unfunny host show off silly computer products, like a mouse that doubles as a deodorant stick. It aired one episode and was canceled two days later. CRACKED

Emily’s Reasons Why Not

Disastrous Comedy 2006 Emily's Reasons Why Not The ABC sitcom starring Heather Graham was canceled after one episode. Programming chief Steve McPherson said, It's not going to get better. Apparently ABC committed to the show without even seeing its pilot. CRACKED

George

Disastrous Comedy 1993 George Thinking he was a draw, ABC gave former heavyweight champion George Foreman a TV comedy about a retired boxer running a youth center, forgetting that he's not an actor or comedian. The show bombed and was canceled in two months (leaving one episode unaired). CRACKED

Rainbow Brite

Disastrous Comedy 1984 Rainbow Brite The Hallmark-owned Rainbow Brite started out as a line of greeting cards, and was made into an animated series in 1984. Mattel introduced a line of dolls for the show, but the show only lasted eight episodes and was a complete flop. CRACKED

The California Raisin Show

Disastrous Comedy 1989 The California Raisin Show The claymation Motown group had a string of successful '80s ads. CBS aired the TV special Meet the Raisins! in 1988, they released a Saturday morning series in 1989, and a sequel to the special in 1990. Wow, they really kept trying to make it work! CRACKED

Rubik, the Amazing Cube

Disastrous Comedy 1983 Rubik, the Amazing Cube He-Man was a highly successful show based on a toy, because look at the characters they had to work with. Giving a Rubik's Cube an alien-like face and random powers only lasted 13 strange episodes, and did nothing to help hawk the product. CRACKED

Cavemen

Disastrous Comedy 2007 Cavemen Geico's original so easy a caveman could do it ads were pretty funny, but did not warrant their own show. The ABC sitcom only lasted six episodes, and was dubbed one of the worst ever. CRACKED

Heil Honey I’m Home

Disastrous Comedy 1990 Heil Honey I'm Home! A British sitcom involving Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun not being able to get along with their Jewish neighbors aired one episode, but everyone wondered how the highly offensive show ever aired at all. This shock value was out of touch. CRACKED

Oh My Ghost

Oh My Ghost South Korea, 2015 A virgin ghost inhabits a woman's body, and makes her f* her boss. CRACKED.COM

The Swan

The Swan FOX, 2004 This perverse ugly duckling allegory gave reality show contestants Spring 2004 extreme plastic surgery. That, and a lifetime of body dysmorphia, depression and agoraphobia. CRACKED.COM

Slow TV Salmon Fishing

1.6 million Norwegians tuned in live to watch SLOW TV SALMON FISHING The prize for winning this salmon fishing competition was a pair of weird sunglasses. Netflix carried a 7-hour cutdown of the lo-fi, barely directed snoozefest. CRACKED.COM

Manimal

Manimal NBC, 1983 Shapeshifting crime-fighter Dr. Jonathan Chase could turn into any animal in the world. Although he mostly just turned into a hawk, because special effects are expensive. CRACKED.COM

Where’s Rodney?

In 1990, NBC aired a single episode of a show called WHERE'S RODNEY? wherein a troubled teen magically summoned Rodney Dangerfield to solve his romantic problems. CRACKED.COM

Kid Nation

Kid Nation CBS- 2007 Lord of the Flies meets... actually, it's just Lord of the Flies. BONANZA SALOON 40 kids between 8 and 15 spent a month trying to create a working society from scratch. CRACKED.COM

Buddies

Buddies ABC, 1996 After a single, wildly popular appearance on Home Improvement, Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer were given their own series. Then producers replaced Breuer with Christopher Gartin, completely changing the dynamic. It was canceled after 5 episodes. CRACKED.COM

Joe Millionaire

Joe Millionaire Fox, 2003 Contestants on this dating show battled for the love and affection of a multi-millionaire. In reality, the handsome bachelor was just a regular guy with an exceptionally punchable face. CRACKED.COM

Cop Rock

COP ROCK ABC - 1990 This musical police procedural featured showstoppers like: - Quitcherbitchin -I ache to hear the doggie sing again -I wanna go bumpty bumpty with you CRACKED.COM

Mr. Smith

Mr. Smith NBC, 1983 An escaped orangutan drinks a serum at a government facility and becomes a hot shot political mastermind. CRACKED.COM

Shattered

SHATTERED UK- 2004 This reality show was a competition to stay awake for one full week while completing menial tasks. ROOM The final 3 contestants had to lie down in bed and hope they were the last to fall asleep. 10 10 CRACKED.COM

Wonder Showzen

Wonder Showzen MTV2, 2005 This was a psychological horror dressed as children's programming. M D.O.G. b + e a i k d S Who did you exploit today? O.B.G.Y.N It used Sesame Street-style segments to deliver some of the most disturbing sh*t to ever grace the airwaves. KIDS How long have you Hello Officer. been a cop? CRACKED.COM

My Mother the Car

My Mother the Car NBC, 1965 A man buys a used car that turns out to be his dead mother, reincarnated as a vintage 1928 Porter. Also, this guy is horny for the car for some reason. GRAGKED.COM

Jigsaw

31 of the Strangest Shows to Ever Air on TV

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