Huge TV Shows That Were Quickly Canceled and Forgotten

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Huge TV Shows That Were Quickly Canceled and Forgotten

Networks spend a lot of money and effort getting audiences excited for their new shows, but marketing and hype can only go so far. Here are 11 failed series — including even reboots (fly away, Charlie's Angels) and spinoffs (arrivederci, Joey) — that we won't blame you for already having blocked out.

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'Cavemen'

Just because something is funny for 30 seconds doesn't mean TV execs should push their luck. ABC's decision to turn a Geico ad campaign into the 2007 sitcom Cavemen became instantly notorious, and the network dropped a meteor on the show after just six episodes. Call it a hunch that costar Nick Kroll probably doesn't brag about this resume item too often. 

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'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'

Matthew Perry has had his share of post-Friends misfires (Mr. Sunshine, anyone?), but the one that was the most heavily marketed and featured a seemingly can't-miss pedigree (Aaron Sorkin! Amanda Peet! Sarah Paulson!) was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Viewers didn't know what to make of a brainy drama set at a sketch-comedy show, and despite the oodles of hype, NBC turned off the lights after a single season. Meanwhile, the similarly themed 30 Rock, which also launched in fall 2006, ran for seven highly acclaimed seasons. But who's counting?

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'Joey'

How is this show doin'? The answer quickly became clear after its fall 2004 launch, as NBC's high hopes never came to fruition for Matt LeBlanc's Friends spinoff. Viewers clearly didn't care as much about Joey Tribbiani's quirky family as they did about his five NYC-based pals, and the series was put on a (permanent) break after two seasons.

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'Armed and Famous'

Yes, a reality series in which La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne and Wee Man trained to become real police officers was an actual show that aired on CBS in 2007. And no, we're not making this up.

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'Terra Nova'

TV viewers apparently only like watching dinosaurs when they host morning children's shows or say "Not the mama." Even with Steven Spielberg on board as executive producer, the dramatic (not to mention expensive) dino-themed action series starring Stephen Lang and Jason O'Mara went extinct following its initial 13-episode order.

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'Charlie's Angels'

It boasted a name cast led by Minka Kelly, but this widely promoted ABC reboot of the popular 1970s action series (which also spawned the popular 2000 film and its sequel) turned in its badge in 2011 after just seven episodes.

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'UTOPIA'

You're forgiven if you've already forgotten about this far-from-perfect unscripted series that Fox had initially aired two days a week. After launching in August 2014, the show centering on a group of people trying to start their own society was supposed to run for the entire year but was gone by that October.

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'The Playboy Club'

Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan and Eddie Cibrian starred in the sexy 2011 crime drama that lasted just three episodes before NBC closed the book on it.

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'The Muppets'

It ain't easy being canceled. The Muppets was by far ABC's highest profile new series heading into fall 2015, counting The Big Bang Theory cocreator Bill Prady among its executive producers. But despite the seemingly winning concept of putting the familiar plush characters in adult situations, Kermit and Co. got their pink slips after just one season.

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'Red Band Society'

Hot on the heels of cancer tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars' box office success, Fox launched Red Band Society in September 2014, set in a hospital's pediatric wing and boasting an Oscar winner (The Help's Octavia Spencer) on the cast. With ratings flatlining, the drama series checked out 13 episodes later. 

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'Coupling'

Not every American reboot of a British sitcom can be The Office. With Friends nearing the end of its run, NBC tried to mimic the hit show's formula by remaking Coupling on this side of the pond in 2003. Alas, only four episodes saw the light of day. Bugger.