dozens of hopeful TV show creators head
to the big networks every year looking
to get their shows on the air very few
make it to the pilot stage and even less
actually make it to series however even
with such a long and competitive process
not all of the shows that hit the air
are instant hits some in fact are so
badly received by audiences they're axed
before they even get off the ground
here are some TV shows that were
cancelled before they hit the five
Episode mark anchorwoman it only took
one night for Fox to decide they didn't
want to see any more of their reality
show anchorwoman 15 days her dream comes
true Lauren Jones at Father she's coming
in August of 2007 the show was cancelled
after airing two back-to-back episodes
reaching only 2.7 million viewers the
would-be series followed former The
Price is Right model Lauren Jones as she
tried to become a news anchor at a Texas
TV station the series pitted Jones
against the station's 5:00 p.m. anchor
on a Lisa petrolia and Fox even promoted
their rivalry on their website but
needless to say the show was trashed by
critics once it premiered the LA Times
concluded if you hate women men Texas
Los Angeles television news and any of
the social progress made by Americans in
the 20th century then anchorwoman is the
show for you
the beautiful life TBL Mischa Barton is
dramatic exit from The OC may have left
fans reeling but they still weren't
ready to follow Marissa Cooper to her
next project Barton's 2009 CW series the
beautiful life TBL only lasted for two
episodes before it was cancelled due to
low ratings even though it featured a
beautiful star-studded cast and was
executive produced by Ashton Kutcher it
still only brought in just over 1
million viewers for its second episode
fans were upset to see the show canceled
and more than 8,000 people signed a
petition to bring it back to no avail
Kutcher was adamant about still getting
the produced episodes of the show out to
the public when it went off the air
landing a deal with hewlett-packard to
have them all uploaded to YouTube for
fans to watch ad free coupling the
office may be the model example of a
British TV series turning into a
successful American sitcom but many
attempts to take comedy stateside have
failed one such experiment was coupling
NBC's 2003 attempt at a DAB
the bbc2 romantic comedy series from
Doctor Who's Steven Moffat the show is
based on his relationship with producer
sue virtue NBC started looking into the
show when friends was nearing the end of
its run however their attempts to bring
coupling to the states were troubled
from the start with the network's
shooting and then scrapping a pilot
because they felt Moffat script was too
confusing three of the six lead roles
were recast when the pilot was reshot
want us to split up yes
coupling ended up getting the axe after
only four low rated episodes on NBC
although Moffat had much more success
with the British version which ran for
four series Moffat blamed NBC for the
show's cancellation and later said I
learned not to work in America I say
that slightly facetiously but truthfully
I'm British what is the point of me
going to try to make it somewhere else
Ironside remakes may be all the rage
nowadays but not all of them are
successful such was the case with NBC's
2013 attempt at remaking the popular 60s
and 70s cop procedural Ironside this
time with blair Underwood starring as
the title character a wheelchair-bound
police officer who solved the city's
most difficult cases just say that a
different view of the world from down
here
Underwood's take on the show was
imagined as grittier and darker than the
original which didn't sit well with
viewers the show was also hit with
controversy from disability rights
advocates with some groups calling out
NBC for casting a non-disabled actor in
the role of a disabled character the
show's producers claimed they needed an
able-bodied actor for flashback
sequences pre wheelchair the show was
trashed by critics airing only three
episodes before it was pulled from the
schedule made in Jersey being shuffled
to Friday nights is never a good sign in
the 2012 CBS procedural made in Jersey
was sentenced to the fatal slot before
it even started the legal drama star
Janet Montgomery as a New Jersey born
and raised attorney who gets a job at a
big New York City law firm this isn't my
first murder case I did major crimes in
Trenton Trenton I think you're amazing
with a jury
it was totally relate to you the show
received mixed reviews from critics but
didn't fare well in the ratings after
premiering to 7.8 million viewers its
second episode dropped to 5.8 million
CBS ended up hauling the show and
replacing it with Undercover Boss after
just two episodes the Paul Reiser show
launching the show with a big-name
comedian has worked well in the past but
that wasn't the case for NBC's the Paul
Reiser show the 2011 series featured the
Mad About You actor as a former TV star
who decides to find his next big project
after taking a few years off to be with
his family
exactly famous enough woods it's never
good only bit although riser holds four
Golden Globe nominations for his work on
Mad About You
critics were less kind when it came to
his own sitcom slamming it in part for
feeling like a less fun copy of Curb
Your Enthusiasm the show premiered to
only 3.3 million viewers and its second
episode dropped to 2.5 million
NBC pulled it and replaced it with
reruns of The Office in a prickly
appearance on The Tonight Show Reiser
joke we enjoy missing you more than
actually having you the Playboy Club
following the lives of 1960s Playboy
Bunnies may seem like a great idea for a
TV show but NBC's the Playboy Club
proved it definitely wasn't the 2011
historical drama featured Eddie Cibrian
as an attorney with political
aspirations who frequented the notorious
Playboy Club the club's bunnies featured
future stars Amber Heard Jenna Dewan and
Laura Benanti gonna be the first
chocolate centerfold I am you can't
discriminate against these babies the
Playboy Club felt some backlash with the
Parents Television Council calling the
show degrading and sexualizing and
asking audiences to boycott their
request was backed up by activist Gloria
Steinem who said the show portrayed the
tackiest place on earth as glamorous
although many blamed the
behind-the-scenes drama for the show's
bad buzz some insiders offered other
reasons for the show's failure to
connect with audiences one source said
it was a fundamentally flawed concept
it's a soap which inherently appeals to
women but it's a brand so tied to men I
just think it was doomed from the start
the series brought in only five million
viewers in its premiere falling to 3.8
million and 3.2 million for its final
two episodes we are men the quick demise
of CBS's we are men proves that
sometimes even big stars aren't enough
to save a show the comedy series brought
together Tony Shalhoub kalpen and Jerry
O'Connell along with Rob Greenberg but
their collective star power couldn't
prevent the show from getting the axe
after two episodes dad you know Fiona's
mama told ago outfit well let's go to
lunch great she's super nice in his
really big boobs organ er we are men
premiered to 6.4 million viewers
dropping to 5.4 million viewers for its
second episode the show failed to hold
on to the audience of its lead in How I
Met Your Mother and it's performance
made it a disappointing precursor to
CBS's other big comedy to bro
girls the network determined that reruns
of the Big Bang Theory and eventually
Mike and Molly would fare better in the
slot wicked city the ed Westwick led
drama wicked city was set in 1982 Los
Angeles and followed two police
detectives on a mission to capture the
notorious Hollywood Slayer and it lasted
only three episodes are you feeling
wicked City was cancelled midway through
production on its eighth episode but the
show's producers were allowed to finish
it up so it could become the show's
finale for online streaming executive
producer Laurie Zak's assured fans at
the time that the final episode made the
series story complete work in some show
seem like they're doomed right from the
premise and work it may be a prime
example the ill-advised ABC sitcom
starred VIN call Dyke and a Maori
nolasco as two recently laid-off men who
decide to remedy their situation by
posing as women to get jobs at a
pharmaceutical company
excuse me please
the show was predictably met with
controversy for many LGBTQ groups
including GLAAD who said that the show
was harmful to the transgender community
lads then acting president Mike Thompson
said that the show would contribute to
transphobia and the idea that trans
people are men pretending to be women
rather than people living their lives
authentically the show earned even more
criticism when the pilot aired with
Puerto Rican activists taking objection
to nolasco character saying in the pilot
that because he's Puerto Rican he would
be good at selling drugs but controversy
aside work it just wasn't a good show
the series was absolutely trashed by
critics and sat at a 5 percent on Rotten
Tomatoes after two episodes it was sent
to work it wherever TV shows go when
they die thanks for watching click the
looper icon to subscribe to our youtube
channel plus check out all this cool
stuff we know you'll love to
you
[Music]