List of television series canceled after one episode

The list of television series canceled after one episode consists of programs that were quickly removed from a broadcast schedule and/or had production halted after their premieres. Such immediate cancellations are extremely rare cases and are usually attributed to a combination of extremely negative reviews, very poor ratings, radical or controversial content, or circumstances beyond the network's control.

Purposely excluded from this list are pilots, premiere episodes produced primarily to be reviewed by network executives as a proposed series and backdoor pilots, feature-length premiere episodes produced to be broadcast as an extended premiere or as a distinct television movie. In either case, the pilot was never added to the programming or was aired as a television movie (for example, Virtuality) with no intent of producing a series.

Shows are listed in alphabetical order with the date the episode aired, any backlash from it, and what happened to the series after cancellation.

Contents 1 Canceled before the first episode finished airing 2 Canceled after one episode 3 Canceled after two episodes, seen back-to-back on premiere night 4 Special cases 5 Placed on hiatus after one episode 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Canceled before the first episode finished airing

Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos (September 4, 1992) 

A one-off special which was a spin-off from Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, hosted by Doug Mulray. Kerry Packer, owner of the Nine Network, was informed of the show's content by friends whilst at a dinner; he tuned in to watch the show on TCN-9, and was so offended by its content that he phoned the studio operators and shouted: "Get that shit off the air!" After a commercial break, the network cut to a rerun of Cheers citing technical difficulties.^[1] It was eventually shown after Packer's death in a repackaged version on August 28, 2008.^[2]

Turn-On (February 5, 1969) 

Variety comedy show on ABC. A racier derivative of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the show alarmed broadcast officials and sponsors who immediately perceived the show as offensive due to its strong sexual and political humor. At least one network affiliate did not return to Turn-On after the first commercial break, and others refused to air the program. ABC canceled the show before airing another episode.

Canceled after one episode

Co-Ed Fever (February 4, 1979) 

Sitcom that aired on CBS that attempted to imitate the then-successful National Lampoon's Animal House. The pilot was aired as a "special preview" of the upcoming season, but the series was canceled shortly thereafter. The other five completed episodes remain unaired in the United States, but were shown in Vancouver, Canada on BCTV in a late-afternoon weekend timeslot.^[3]

Comedians Unleashed (October 8, 2002) 

An attempt by Animal Planet to mimic Comedy Central's stand up comedy shows, but with animal-themed jokes. The episode was rerun a few times before being removed from the programming lineup.^[4] This is not to be confused with the 2006 syndicated series Comics Unleashed, hosted by Byron Allen.

The Debbie King Show (March 5–6, 2007) 

Aired in the UK on the controversial channel ITV Play with no publicity, the show (like all the others on the channel) was a live premium rate phone-in quiz presented by Debbie King who has previously hosted the popular Quizmania. As well as being a quiz, viewers were invited to phone/text in views towards current events. However earlier the same day ITV announced that transmission of the ITV Play channel was being suspended after that evening's programmes due to an investigation into its premium-rate phone services. Despite this, ITV still decided to push ahead with the launch of the series. The following week, it was decided that the ITV Play channel would permanently cease transmission (due to issues over participation television that had recently emerged). Although ITV Play did continue as a limited service on ITV1 The Debbie King Show was unceremoniously canceled, having only aired for two-and-a-half hours.

Dot Comedy (December 8, 2000) 

American series that appeared on ABC featuring humorous material from the Internet.^[5]

Emily's Reasons Why Not (January 9, 2006) 

Comedy show on ABC starring Heather Graham as a single career woman, unlucky in love, who employs a list-making system to help her determine when it's time to give up and move on. The series was canceled on January 10 by ABC programming chief Steve McPherson when he decided that it was "not going to get better and we needed a quick change".^[6] It was reported that ABC executives committed to the show without seeing its pilot.^[7]

Fun and Fortune January 6, 1949 

Game show on ABC hosted by Jack Lescoulie.

Heil Honey I'm Home! (September 30, 1990) 

A British comedy on Galaxy that spoofed American sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s by featuring caricatures of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun who live in matrimonial bliss until they become neighbours to a Jewish couple.^[8]

Lawless (March 21, 1997) 

Fox action series starring former American football star Brian Bosworth as a private investigator.^[9]

The Melting Pot (June 11, 1975) 

BBC sitcom written by Spike Milligan, who also starred as "Mr. Van Gogh", a Pakistani illegal immigrant in London. The debut was shown on BBC1, but the remaining five episodes have never been seen.^[10]

Osbournes Reloaded (March 31, 2009) 

Fox variety show hosted by The Osbournes – Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly. The remaining five episodes were immediately shelved due to a combination of bad reviews and several Fox affiliates (including the entire Raycom and Local TV LLC station chains) either airing the program in an early-morning timeslot or not at all due to content concerns.^[11][12]

Public Morals (October 30, 1996) 

Steven Bochco-produced sitcom about a vice squad unit of the New York City Police Department that aired on CBS. The cast included Bill Brochtrup, reprising the role of John Irvin, a recurring character on another Bochco series, NYPD Blue. Thirteen episodes were produced, and the pilot was originally scheduled to air first, but several affiliates refused to show it. CBS then decided to air a different episode from the thirteen produced, which turned out to be the only one aired. Brochtrup and his character returned to NYPD Blue, becoming a regular.^[13]

Quarterlife (February 26, 2008) 

Broadcast version of the popular MySpace series that aired on NBC, with an intent to air on Sunday nights following its debut. Following the dismal reception of the premiere episode, the other five episodes were aired in a marathon on NBC Universal sibling channel Bravo on March 9.^[14]

The Rich List (November 1, 2006) 

Game show by the British producers of The Weakest Link and Dog Eat Dog, adapted for America. Despite being heavily promoted on Fox during the World Series, the show was axed on November 3 following low ratings.^[15] GSN revived the show in 2009 as The Money List, hosted by Fred Roggin; this iteration, the first GSN original to employ a returning-champion aspect, lasted nine episodes. The remaining episodes from the original series remain unaired.

Secret Talents of the Stars (April 8, 2008) 

Reality talent show on CBS where celebrities competed by participating in talents that differed from their profession. Although the show was to follow a seven-week tournament-style structure with home-viewer voting (which would have taken the show through May 13 with a May 22 "grand finale"), the series was pulled after its debut due to extremely low ratings.^[16]

South of Sunset (October 27, 1993) 

Private-detective show on CBS starring Glenn Frey of rock band The Eagles.^[9] Despite being heavily promoted during the World Series, the show was canned not only due to bad ratings but because news coverage of wildfires in Malibu had pre-empted the show on much of the West Coast (although KCBS showed the pilot on October 30 at 11:30 PM). The remaining five episodes aired on VH1 a year later.

Who's Whose? (June 25, 1951) 

A panel quiz show hosted by Phil Baker that aired on CBS in which three celebrity panelists (Robin Chandler, Basil Davenport, and Art Ford) tried to determine which of three male contestants was married to which of three female contestants. This show was brought to the air on short notice to replace The Goldbergs, which was dropped when its creator Gertrude Berg refused to fire the blacklisted actor Philip Loeb.^[17] While some sources have classified this show as a television pilot,^[18] a contemporary news account in the New York Times confirms that this was a series which was dropped by its sponsor (General Foods) after one airing.^[19]

The Will (January 8, 2005) 

A reality TV show on CBS in which family members and friends competed to be named the beneficiary of a will.^[20] The series eventually aired in its entirety on Fox Reality Channel.

Canceled after two episodes, seen back-to-back on premiere night

The following series were canceled after their first two episodes had aired back-to-back on one evening:

Anchorwoman (August 22, 2007) 

Comedy/reality series about Lauren Jones, a model who became a television news anchor. The show was canceled by Fox on August 23 due to a disappointing 2.0 Fast National rating; however, its premiere was one hour, consisting of two 30-minute episodes.^[21]

Beware of Dog (August 13, 2002) 

Sitcom on Animal Planet; two episodes presented back-to-back for the only appearance of the series on U.S. television.^[22] The show featured Look Who's Talking-style observations (voiced by Park Bench) by a stray dog named Jack who was adopted by a suburban family.^[17][23]

The Bussey Bunch (January 22, 2008) 

Reality show on TLC about the Busseys, a family that promotes a local professional wrestling federation in Texas. The series was pulled following its premiere showing, with a scheduled showing on January 29 also pulled.^[24]

The Hasselhoffs (December 5, 2010) 

The A&E reality series starring David Hasselhoff and his two daughters was canceled after only two episodes aired. The first two episodes aired back-to-back on the same night leaving eight episodes unaired.^[25] However, A&E hasn't ruled out running those eight episodes on a later date.^[26]

Special cases

Due to more complex situations, such as shows canceled independently in separate countries, the following programs can be said to have been canceled after one episode under a special set of circumstances only.

Viva Laughlin (October 22, 2007) 

Musical comedy-drama that takes place at a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, based on the BBC series Blackpool. While originating network CBS canceled the Hugh Jackman-produced series after two episodes had aired, Australia's Nine Network aired the first episode on October 22 and then canceled it the following day.^[27][28]

Who's Your Daddy? (January 3, 2005) 

A reality series on Fox that involved an adopted woman trying to pick her biological father out of a group of impostors. The show attracted protest from adoptive families and adoption-rights groups before airing. This episode aired as a "special", not a "series premiere", and as such the series can be said to have been canceled before airing an episode.^[29]

You're in the Picture (January 20, 1961) 

CBS game show starring Jackie Gleason, which received such negative reviews that Gleason used the same timeslot on January 27 to apologize. He called the previous week's show "the biggest bomb—it would make the H-bomb look like a two-inch salute". Gleason used the timeslot to revive The Jackie Gleason Show as a talk show for the remainder of his contract.

Placed on hiatus after one episode

The following series are sometimes included on lists of shows canceled after one episode, but strictly speaking do not belong there. The following series were placed on hiatus after a single episode aired, but were later brought back by the originating networks, and aired their remaining episodes on the originating networks some months later (usually during a non-ratings period).

Family Forensics UK (2005) 

A LivingTV reality show, it was canceled in November 2005 after one episode had been broadcast when the producers discovered that their private investigator, Michael Brown, had been convicted that October of six child sex offences.^[30] Brown was in breach of his contract for not telling the producers about this, and Living TV apologized for broadcasting the one episode.^[31] Pulling the show cost Living £600,000.^[32] The show was re-filmed with another team, and broadcast in April and May 2006.^[33]

The Great Defender (1995) 

Legal drama on Fox starring Michael Rispoli as a My Cousin Vinny-type lawyer; the premiere aired opposite 60 Minutes and received dismal ratings, so the series was promptly placed on hiatus. FOX aired the remaining episodes in the Summer.

It's Now or Never (July 22, 2006) 

British light entertainment programme presented by Phillip Schofield on ITV1. Two episodes were produced to be aired in a Saturday night timeslot during the summer of 2006, but only the first was aired owing to ratings of 1.7 million viewers, or 10% of the available audience.^[34] The second episode was eventually aired later in the year, on December 30, 2006.^[35]

The Master (August 16, 2006) 

Australian quiz show hosted by Mark Beretta on the Seven Network, which was axed after the premiere received low ratings (744,000 viewers). The following six episodes were eventually broadcast on the network, albeit in non-ratings periods. Ironically, the second and third episodes (December 12 and 19) showed an increase in ratings by approximately 95,000 viewers.

Melba (January 28, 1986) 

A CBS sitcom starring Melba Moore as a single mother who runs a New York information bureau; the series premiered on the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. CBS immediately pulled the show from its schedule, then aired the remaining episodes in the summer.^[36]

Proving Ground (June 14, 2011)

A G4 popular science reality show hosted by Ryan Dunn and Jessica Chobot in which stunts from video games, films and comic books are tested in the real world. The series was pulled from G4's schedule after Dunn was killed in a car accident shortly after the airing of the first episode.^[37] G4 began airing the remaining eight episodes in July 2011, but no further decision has been made to continue the series without Dunn.^[38]

See also

• Mass media
• Television program
• List of television series canceled before airing an episode
• List of longest-running U.S. television series
• List of longest-running U.S. cable television series
• List of longest-running U.K. television series

References

External links

• Mercy Kill: 6 Shows (Thankfully) Canceled After One Episode