TV's Biggest Turkeys: Revisit 35 of the Shortest-Lived Shows Ever

Matt Webb Mitovich
·2 min read

This year will serve up a strange Thanksgiving, no doubt, but rest assured that we have plenty of turkeys for everyone.

Because for this Turkey Day, TVLine has revisited our round-up of the shortest-lived shows ever and stuffed it with White Castle sliders a few reader suggestions as well as one UK sitcom that you did not see on our original list.

Yes, TV has been home to myriad one-season wonders (detailed here) — but those shows are veritable warhorses when compared to the less fortunate who got the hook nearly as soon as they debuted (and sometimes even before).

In the attached gallery, TVLine takes a look back at 35 of TV’s most infamous flame-outs — some which were beloved (Lone Star, we hardly knew ye), and others… not so much.

Some of these shows had the misfortune (or blessing, depending on how you look at it) of being pulled after just a single airing. (Take, for instance, when ABC apparently had a handy answer to Emily’s Reasons Why Not. Or when Swamp Thing was sent to sleep with the fishes.)

Others, meanwhile, were picked up to series, only never to make it to air. That includes the spiked Coach revival, a Cruel Intentions spinoff starring Amy Adams, and Joel McHale’s powered-down IT Crowd remake.

But all of these ill-fated shows have one thing in common: None of their original runs made it past five episodes.

Browse the attached gallery (click here for direct access) to revisit some of TV’s biggest, most quickly plucked turkeys, then hit the comments and tell us if you watched (or, at the very least, were planning to watch) any of ’em.

Launch Gallery: TV's Shortest-Lived Shows

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