EW: "7 Potentially Awesome Shows Canceled Before They Premiered"

[JamesG.]

7 Potentially Awesome Shows Canceled Before They Premiered
by James Hibberd
July 1, 2014



"Manchester Prep"
(Fox, 1999)






Did you know that there was a TV series prequel to the film Cruel Intentions? And that it starred Amy Adams in the Sarah Michelle Gellar role?

Yup: This was "Manchester Prep", a series following the sexually-charged shenanigans at an elite New York private school.



The pilot infamously opened with a teen girl gawking at her stepbrother while he’s taking a shower and commenting on his endowment. Two episodes were filmed, then used for the direct-to-DVD movie Cruel Intentions 2.

(Woe to the weak-minded seeking titillation at Blockbuster Video)









"Fearless"
(The WB, 2003)






This is probably the most surprising fail in the bunch.

"Fearless" starred Rachel Leigh Cook (She’s All That), Bianca Lawson (Pretty Little Liars), Eric Balfour (Haven), and Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries).

It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman (who are behind a ton of hit crime shows).



It had a TV-friendly crime drama hook (female FBI agent who cannot feel fear). It was based on a series of YA novels by Francine Pascal. Yet even with all that and a series order, it still didn’t air! On The WB, no less!

What could have possibly gone wrong? Well, it was apparently terrible—and during production things weren’t getting any better. So a little show called "One Tree Hill" took its planned time slot, and that one did pretty well.









"The IT Crowd"
(NBC, 2008)






Before there was "Community", there was "The IT Crowd", which starred Joel McHale and Jessica St. Clair and was an adaptation of a British comedy favorite (or as they say, favourite).

It didn’t even make it to one aired episode, let alone six seasons and a movie. It was about the staffers in a company’s tech support department. Could this show have been NBC’s "Big Bang Theory"? Probably not.

NBC kept pushing around the premiere date, then put McHale in "Community".









"Day One"
(NBC, 2010)






Ordered as a series, then scaled back to a miniseries, then never aired. This alien invasion title might have had better luck if developed after AMC’s "The Walking Dead" became a mega-hit that made every network want apocalypse now.

"Day One" also had the sort of premise that broadcast networks have a tough time sustaining week after week, as NBC discovered after moving forward with the vaguely similar "Revolution".

The pilot was directed by Alex Graves, now known for his work on HBO’s "Game of Thrones".









"Arranged Marriage"
(CBS, 2010)






A head-turning reality idea that’s exactly what it sounds like. "Arranged Marriage" was to follow four adults who allow their friends and family to choose a spouse for them.

Basically: Let’s watch strangers be prodded into marrying each other, then having sex. Trashy? Sure—but reality TV is all about social experiments, and this one could have generated a lot of conversation.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect is that the series was greenlit by buttoned-down CBS, not Fox. Between grumbles of protest and the show’s creative supposedly not coming together, it wasn’t surprising that the network quietly shelved the show.









"Us & Them"
(Fox, 2013)






"Parenthood" actor Jason Ritter and "Gilmore Girls‘" Alexis Bledel co-starred in another U.S. version of an acclaimed UK favorite that never came to pass, this one about a couple who meet online.

Fox ordered 13 episodes, then cut down the order, before ultimately deciding not to air the show at all.









"Hieroglyph"
(Fox, 2014)






Sex and pyramids! Fox’s Ancient Egypt drama looked like a hot mess in the desert, one that oddly stars a white guy—but we’d have checked this out.

Sources say the show wasn’t coming together creatively and, as with "Day One", these type of big swings are tough to pull off on broadcast.

Fox’s programming chief exiting the network also didn’t help its fate.









* Bonus:

"Star Trek: Phase II"
(Paramount Pictures TV Network, 1978)









We’re going really far back here, and cheating a little—while this one was ordered to series, only test footage was shot rather than actual episodes. But it’s "Star Trek"!

Ongoing interest in the axed late-1960s NBC series prompted studio Paramount to order a sequel titled "Star Trek: Phase II" (not to be confused with a 2008 fan series using the same title). The show would have aired on its proposed Paramount Pictures network.

New characters included a studly young Vulcan named Lieutenant Xon and bald empath Lieutenant Ilia. But when the network idea collapsed, the scripts were used for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/01/ca...awesome-shows/

[zeze]

Thanks for posting. Was an interesting read.

[fatediesel]

I've seen Cruel Intentions 2 and it was absolutely awful. The male lead was an absolutely horrible actor and Amy Adams wasn't much better. Manchester Prep wouldn't have lasted a season.

[Al_The_Strange]

Didn't even know there was a US version of The IT Crowd in the works. I just saw the British version recently and it was great.

[xander]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Didn't even know there was a US version of The IT Crowd in the works. I just saw the British version recently and it was great.

No kidding! Especially since looking at the picture, they had Richard Ayode reprise his role.

[theprestige85]

Theres one 'cancelled before it was even aired' show missing from that list, and that's HBO's The Wonderful Maladys. It started Molly Parker and Sarah Michelle Gellar and was about three siblings and the different approaches to dealing with their parent's death. It was never picked up.

[Elandyll]

I will always mourn the non existence of "17th Precinct".

It sounded great (at least on paper).

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by theprestige85

Theres one 'cancelled before it was even aired' show missing from that list, and that's HBO's The Wonderful Maladys. It started Molly Parker and Sarah Michelle Gellar and was about three siblings and the different approaches to dealing with their parent's death. It was never picked up.

That was a pilot that wasn't picked up. This list is shows that were picked up but then the network decided to cancel the show and never air the episodes that were produced, which is fairly rare.

[theprestige85]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

That was a pilot that wasn't picked up. This list is shows that were picked up but then the network decided to cancel the show and never air the episodes that were produced, which is fairly rare.

Oh.

[Gamma_Winstead]

I knew us and them was canceled but I never knew it didn't air!

[sycro]

All of these look and sound horrible, except for The IT Crowd, which O'Dowd > McHale.

[Michael24]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

"Arranged Marriage"
(CBS, 2010)



A head-turning reality idea that’s exactly what it sounds like. "Arranged Marriage" was to follow four adults who allow their friends and family to choose a spouse for them.

Basically: Let’s watch strangers be prodded into marrying each other, then having sex. Trashy? Sure—but reality TV is all about social experiments, and this one could have generated a lot of conversation.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect is that the series was greenlit by buttoned-down CBS, not Fox. Between grumbles of protest and the show’s creative supposedly not coming together, it wasn’t surprising that the network quietly shelved the show.

I'm not really sure how this is supposed to have been potentially awesome. Sounds like typical reality TV garbage.

[HDMe]

How are any of these "potentially awesome" in any way?

The highest profile one is the Star Trek one... and truth be told, even though some good ideas came of that an were used in years since with newer Trek and movies... I'm pretty sure that Star Trek series wouldn't have gone over very well if it actually happened in the 1970s.

[Jonno2009]

I'm pretty sure Hieroglyph is coming mid season in 2015. I mean that's what they said back in may at the upfronts. it was on the schedule...

[detective392]

Originally Posted by Jonno2009

I'm pretty sure Hieroglyph is coming mid season in 2015. I mean that's what they said back in may at the upfronts. it was on the schedule...

It was cancelled a few days ago.

[Talyn]

I'd be game for checking out Day One if it ever got put out on Home Video.... Falling Skies is living up to it's name on me and V got killed, after Invasion was kicked to the curb....I need an Alien Invasion fix...