40 TV Shows That Were Failures Before They Even Began
![40 TV Shows That Were Failures Before They Even Began](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/2/833992_320x180.jpg)
Do you ever find yourself watching a TV show so bad, it's amazing that it ever made it to air in the first place? The truth of the matter, though, is that it’s amazing that any show manages to make it to your TV set, let alone any of them managing to be any good. In fact, many shows are so troubled, problematic or so ill-advised that they never end up making it to air in the first place. Did you know, for example, that there was a game show based on the party game app Heads Up? A season’s worth of episodes of that show were filmed, and not a single one of them made it to air.
So the next time you find yourself in front of the “worst show you’ve ever seen,” remember it’s probably better than any number of terrible shows that never saw the light of day.
This one is just yikes all around.
![Misconceptions 5.75 3.00 A sperm donor lied about his genetic credentials; his bio daughter becomes smitten can anyway, to the absolute and justified horror of her mother. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/7/833967.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Good Grief! How did this even happen?
![Good Grief Lifetime 575 A 2014 reality show about 3.001 a family-owned funeral home that was scrapped when 8 rotting bodies were discovered by the landlord, and the owners were sent to jail. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/7/833957.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
They may as well have called it: "Raven and her friends The Cheetah Girls"
![The Cheetah Girls A Disney show, based on 3.00 a band, based on a movie, based on a YA book series, nudged aside because Raven-Symoné was busy with That's So Raven. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/9/833979.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
This was a bad idea from the start.
![Mail Order Family MAIL ORDER FAMILY 575 3.001 A widower orders a mail-order bride from the Philippines. Human trafficking victim card advocates had to remind NBC that, um, there's not a ton of comedy there. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/8/833978.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
2003 was a very different time.
![The Mayor 575 People in 2003, adorably, thought political corruption was a source of comedy. This Happy Madison show was about an 18-year-old goofball becoming mayor and saving the the town from the deep state. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/9/833969.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
How bad could this have been for three networks to drop it?
![What The Blank! MICHA ENNIS LAND EAVER 5.75 3.00 This remake of Match Game from the '70s, hosted by Fred Willard, was inexplicably dropped by 3 different networks! CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/0/833950.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Protip: Get permission when you need permission.
![The Robert Taylor Show A 1963 drama based on real 3.00 stories from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and 350 Welfare's official files. The network realized no one had gotten the government's permission, and canned it. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/2/833982.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
There's a way to rip yourself off, and this isn't it.
![Bridge and Tunnel 5,75 3.00 If Jersey Shore took place on Staten Island. It was cancelled in 2010 because MTV thought it was ripping itself off too hard. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/0/833970.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Dolly Parton is allowed to do whatever she wants. Have we not realized that?
![Heavens To Betsy 5.75 3,00 Dolly Parton is dead country singer who has to fix some family she doesn't know in 350 order to get into Heaven. They later reused the concept for a tv movie: Unlikely Angel. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/5/833955.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Simpler times, simpler times...
![Liza and David 5.75 3.00 A VH1 suit cancelled this 2002 reality show when Liza Minnelli insisted on singing with Ray 350 Charles instead of Michelle Branch at her own dinner party. It was a simpler time. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/5/833975.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Community was better anyway.
![The IT Crowd 5.75 3.00 We almost had a US version featuring Joel McHale. But it was postponed, and McHale cust jumped ship for Community before they got their act together. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/2/833962.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
How did this get so far in the first place?
![Escaping the KKK A 2017 575 A&E docuseries about - 3.00 you guessed it - escaping the KKK. It was cancelled when it came out that production of the show helped - you guessed it - fund the KKK. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/1/833971.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
You know your show is bad when this happens.
![Day One A 2010 sci-fi drama about about apartment dwellers who survived a mysterious 350 apocalypse. It was slowly demoted from series to mini-series, to TV movie, to dead in the water. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/3/833963.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Imagine shooting 65 episodes of something and never releasing it.
![Heads Up! Cat 00:47 5.75 3.00 We'd hereby like to thank HLN for never airing the 65 episodes they shot of... people just playing a popular mobile app? CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/0/833960.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
....Oh no.
![Thick and Thin A 2006 sitcom about 3.001 a once-overweight woman struggling to maintain her new lifestyle. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/1/833981.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Roseanne just wasn't destined for a smooth return to TV.
![Domestic Goddess A 2003 cooking show 3.00 that ground to a halt when host Roseanne Barr needed an emergency hysterectomy. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/1/833961.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
Christopher Mintz-Plasse's sitcom was cancelled for a tragic reason.
![Friend Me 5,75 3.00 A light-hearted 2013 CBS sitcom starring Christopher Mintz-Plasse, it was shelved due to the co-creator's tragic suicide. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/1/833951.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
3 years of the internet yelling: "Nobody wants this."
![Confederate 5,75 3.00 The guys who ruined Game of Thrones sold Confederate fan fiction to HBO in 2017. It was dropped after a mere 3 years of public outcry. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/8/833988.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
We could list the reasons this sounds like a bad idea... But you get it.
![Murder Police 5.75 3.00 3 200 Family Guy does a cop show, starring Jane 350 Lynch. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/5/833965.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
What was with the era of "We Have Lots of Kids" TV?
![All My Babies' Mamas 5.75 3.00 A 2013 reality show that followed rapper Shawty Lo, who had 11 kids by 10 women. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/7/833987.jpg)
Source: 21 TV Shows That Were Cancelled Before They Had A Chance
If something is truly "the worst" there is a responsibility to let us see it.
![The Grubbs An unauthorized knock-off of a popular British show, starring Randy Quaid, Carol Kane, and Michael Cera. It was canned just 2 days before airing, and is said to be the worst sitcom ever produced. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/2/833972.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Reality TV producers should probably stick to reality TV.
![Commando Nanny A Survivor producer 4 tried to make 300 a sitcom, and it was doomed from the start. An actor broke his foot, another needed lung surgery. After they were replaced and the pilot was reshot, the showrunner jumped ship. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/0/833980.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Captain America would figure itself out just over a decade later.
![Captain America SMASHING TYPECAPTAIN AMERICA CAM FACE TO FACE WITH HIT ER 4 300- This 1998 animated series was cancelled because, being based on the comic books, the subject matter wasn't very cartoon-y. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/6/833956.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
To ABC's credit... this sounds boring.
![Members Only MEMBERS ONLY Think Downton 4 Abbey in Connecticut, starring John Stamos. 13 episodes were ordered, but one of the developers lost interest and ABC got cold feet. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/4/833964.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
What a way for a show to end.
![The Don Hornsby Show Polio Downs Bri Hornsby on Last-Mi Eve of Debut Monroe, Leftwi Two CBS-TV NEW YORK, May 20. . - Tragedy week resigned fr struck Creesh Hornsby, young comic satisfaction as to recently brought in from the Coast America's 300 first late-night variety show, the host of which died of surprise polio the day he was meant to shoot the first episode. NBC replaced him within a week. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/2/833952.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
It would take awhile for Star Trek spin-offs to fully take flight.
![Star Trek: Phase II BON TAZI This was the 4 flagship show for Paramount's brand new TV network in 1978, before they changed their mind and scrapped it. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/6/833986.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Klasky Csupo for adults? No thanks.
![Immigrants 4 A 2004 adult 300- animation from Klasky Csupo that looks like Rocket Power all grown up. Spike TV never aired it, but a recut feature-length version is available on DVD. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/8/833968.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
John Cho in a hangout sitcom? We actually want this!
![The Singles Table 18 A 2007 attempt to fill the hole that Friends left behind, about a crew of singles who meet at a wedding. This was at least can the second starring role that John Cho had cancelled on him. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/7/833977.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Dane Cook and Jeffery Tambor never got this off the ground.
![Next Caller 4 300- While a Dane Cook and Jeffrey Tambor teamup sounds like a nightmare in 2020, it was comedy gold in 2013. It was sadly shelved after 4 episodes were filmed. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/6/833976.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Garbage Pail Kids got left in the garbage.
![Garbage Pail Kids 300-II 4 A 1987 animated series based on the raunchy trading cards. CBS caved to pressure from parental groups and just threw an extra half-hour of The Muppet Babies at us. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/9/833959.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Heathers was made at a very inconvenient time.
![Heathers 4 300 A 2018 violent teen comedy, it was postponed because of the Stoneman Douglas High shooting, then paused and heavily edited due to the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/4/833984.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
What random reality show generator spit this idea out?
![Jingles 4 300- Like 5.75 The Voice, but for commercial jingles, and starring Gene Simmons. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/6/833966.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
Tucker Carlson could have stunk up our screens even earlier.
![Do You Trust Me? DO YOU TRUST ME? Y A 2007 CBS game 4 show about two contestants building up trust as host Tucker Carlson continually narcs on them. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/4/833954.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
We could have told you this was a bad idea.
![Angels '88 CHARLIE'S ANGELS 4 A revival of 300- Charlie's Angels that, due to a Writers Guild strike, would have just reused old scripts. It was postponed, renamed Angels '89, and eventually canned. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/4/833974.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
When your show gets cancelled, just throw it on DVD!
![Manchester Prep 4 300- Written as a prequel series to Cruel Intentions, it was later turned into the feature-length Cruel Intentions 2. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/3/833983.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
...and 2014 wasn't much better.
![Flip It Forward 4 300 A 2014 HGTV house-flipping series that was cancelled when HGTV found out their handsome muscle brothers were bigots, describing homosexuality as demonic. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/5/833985.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
The 70s might have been... bad?
![Snip A 1976 highly-hyped A sitcom from the creator of Welcome Back Kotter, apparently cancelled because one of the actors was openly gay. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/3/833953.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
You can't replicate Game of Thrones by just... replicating Game of Thrones.
![Hieroglyph An ancient Egyptian Game of Thrones that was ultimately scrapped by 350 Fox... for being too similar to Game of Thrones. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/8/833958.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
This is just the perfect storm of cancellable.
![The Cops LISA JO AMER POLICE ACADEMY END SAVE THE DATE DOMESTI COMPANY PICNIO VIOLEN OCTOR DAIS 4 300 A 2017 animated cop show 200 that was cancelled as soon as GUT its creator Louis С.К. was. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/8/833948.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)
We'd love to see Bateman and Gas together some day!
![The Jake Effect 4 300- This was a 2008 sitcom starring Jason Bateman and 350 Tenacious D's Kyle Gass. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/9/833949.jpg)
Source: 20 Wild TV Shows Never Seen (Because They Never Aired)