Doomed US reality shows

[uk666 5,298]

Doomed reality shows that were axed before the first episode ever aired

Since the reality boom in the noughties, viewers have been blessed with countless great – and not so great – shows that have ranged from the bizarre to the downright ridiculous.

But it's worth remembering that for every show that did make it to air, there are so many others that sadly never managed to.

Here are some of the most infamous cases of failed reality shows that were axed by worried TV execs at the very last minute.

1. Bill and Martha (1964)

A sitcom starring veteran actor William Bendix, Bill and Martha was scheduled to air on CBS, but Bendix was in poor health and the network cancelled the show before it aired. 

Bendix subsequently sued the network for $2.5 million, claiming the cancellation hurt his career and that he was in excellent health. 

The case was soon settled out of court – and Bendix died six months later. 

2. Snip (1976)

A new show from the guy who created Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter seems like a slam dunk for success.

But despite a full write up in TV Guide and extensive promotion from NBC, the hairdresser sitcom Snip was cancelled before ever airing.

Star David Brenner believed the cancellation was related to one of the supporting characters being openly gay.

3. The Young Astronauts (1986)

Talk about bad timing. This was a midseason replacement on CBS's Saturday morning schedule.

A comic sci-fi adventure involving kids, pets, and robots in space, this Marvel series was going to hit the air in February 1986, timed to capitalize on the space fever sweeping America with the launch of the Challenger space shuttle, the first time a civilian would travel into space.

The whole project was suggested to Marvel by the government's Young Astronaut Program, a science and aerospace advocacy organization designed to get kids excited about the space program.

The show had been delayed to February because nobody at Marvel, the YAC, or CBS could agree on the tone or format of the show.

But they finally got one together … and then sadly. the Challenger exploded shortly after launch on January 28, 1986. Everyone on board was killed, including civilian, a teacher named Christa McAuliffe.

CBS opted not to air The Young Astronauts at all.

4. Star Trek Phase II (1978)

Paramount bet big on this planned revival of Star Trek – going so far as to create an entire television network for it.

13 episodes had been written, sets and costumes had been designed, and some of the cast was in place when Paramount got cold feet and cancelled it.

The first script for Phase II was recycled into Star Trek: The Motion Picture, with others being used for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

5. Liza and David (2002)

The unlikely and rather short-lived showbiz couple were set to star in their own VH1 reality series in 2002. Seriously. But the show, which was even produced by the late David Gest himself, was frustratingly axed with no explanation just a month before it was due to begin.

6. When Women Rule the World (2007)

US network Fox announced it was producing a show consisting of 12 women and 12 men, who were sent to a "primitive" location where the women would rule over their male counterparts.

The women voted off one man per week, and the last man standing was handed a massive $250,000.

However, after the network initially delayed the premiere, it then made the decision to scrap the show completely and it never saw the light of day.

A British version (pictured above) did happen, though, in 2008.

7. Day One (2010)

Set to air in 2010, this was supposed to be NBC's next big sci-fi mystery show, succeeding the departing Heroes.

The premise: a bunch of otherwise unconnected people who live in the same apartment building all survive the apocalypse and must face post-Armageddon Earth together.

But NBC had second thoughts on Day One, cutting it from an open-ended series to a finite miniseries. Then NBC had third thoughts about Day One, and decided to just cancel the series altogether and run its pilot episode as a made-for-TV movie.

And then that didn't even make it to air—NBC executive Angela Bromstad said the network was a little shy after the failures of similar shows such as V and FlashForward.

8. Bridge & Tunnel (2010)

https://youtu.be/QOij5O1R5Hk

This failed MTV documentary reality show was set to follow the lives of a group of young 20-somethings on Staten Island, New York.

The show was in production and had a scheduled air date for October 2010, but was ultimately pulled last minute for being too similar to the network's hit Jersey Shore. Apparently TV execs couldn't have twigged that before filming…

9. The Frame (2011)

US network The CW announced that it was producing an eight week long Big Brother-style reality game show back in 2011.

It was set to air as a mid-season replacement, but by March the following year it was revealed the series had been quietly canned. The format's originators managed to make it in Turkey, so there's that.

10. Ev and Ocho (2012)

VH1 was gearing up to feature NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson ("Ocho Cinco") and his then-wife, former Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada in this new series.

The broadcaster had taped 11 full episodes, but when Johnson was arrested for assaulting his wife just three weeks before the premiere, the show was put on hold indefinitely.

11. Hieroglyph (2013)

https://youtu.be/frxaRXeXKKE

Fox took years and tens of millions of dollars to develop this big-budget costume drama, essentially a claim for its own Game of Thrones, and then never even aired it.

An elaborate drama about power struggles in ancient Egypt, Hieroglyph was created by Pacific Rim writer Travis Beacham and concerned a thief (Max Brown) who is released from prison to serve the mysterious Pharoah. 

It was given a 13-episode order in October 2013. Less than a year later, Fox changed its mind about debuting Hieroglyph in 2015.

The show just wasn't coming together (specifically that it seemed like a cheap Game of Thrones knockoff). Its cancellation also followed the exit of Kevin Reilly, the Fox programming boss who had approved the show and its massive budget.

12. Good Grief (2014)

Back in 2014, Lifetime announced plans for their debut reality series. The show would have followed the owners of Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth, Texas, and the network had even begun airing teasers to get viewers revved up.

but Lifetime killed it in late July when the Johnson Family Mortuary came under investigation.

The owner of the building that housed the funeral home was attempting to evict the mortuary's operators for failure to pay their rent, and in doing so, authorities discovered eight bodies in a state of mummification or decomposition—in other words they weren't embalmed or being properly stored, as should be done at a funeral home.

Other problems included an insect infestation and bodily fluids from the deceased pooling on the floor.

In response to the news, Lifetime quietly pulled the show from its schedule and it was never spoken of again.

[Rædwulf 1,441]

all of those shows looked horrible.. thank god they took the cut..