TV shows, like most things, will eventually come to an end but this doesn’t mean we have to be sad though. Sometimes there are shows you already know will be canceled, you’re just waiting for the networks to pull the plug.
Not every TV show can have the longevity of Law & Order or The Simpsons, no, some don’t even get through their first season before being canned. The core ideas behind some of these canceled shows are so bad we are amazed they got through the initial pitch. Here are some of the TV shows we knew would be canceled before they even hit our screens.
Who’s Your Daddy?
Forgetting the insensitive title, this show was never going to last long. Laughably it was a game show that trivialized the sensitive topics of adoption and parentage. The aim of the game was to figure out which of 25 men you were locked in a room with was your father, all in the name of $100,000. If you guessed right, you got to keep the cash, got it wrong, and that stack of money went to the person trying to convince you they are your dad. Fox aired the pilot and didn’t feel the need to continue with the series after it caused much controversy with adoption rights groups and viewers.
Cavemen
There is probably a good reason why TV shows do not use advertising campaigns as the basis for their plot. The premise was that cavemen did not disappear off the face of the earth, but survived and lived in a subculture – sounding good yet? Throw in some racist undertones, and you’ve probably not got the next Breaking Bad on your hands. Luckily the TV network listened to the protests and canceled the show halfway through the maiden season.
Mail Order Family
The sitcom didn’t even get commissioned to air because it was such a bad idea. A widower orders himself a bride from the Philippines to give him some much-needed assistance in raising his family. Apart from the fact it is making light of the serious issue of human trafficking, it also is reinforcing negative racial stereotypes. It faced a backlash from the get-go, and, following a petition to have it canceled, NBC prevented it from airing.
Armed and Famous
Not all celebrity reality shows are bad, think Run’s House or Dancing with the Stars; they are entertaining to watch and have had several seasons. It is fair also to say that not all celebrity reality shows are good, and in Armed and Dangerous’ case it definitely was not a good show. Take an eclectic group of famous faces and train them to become cops and initially it seems like something worth watching. Putting real firearms under their control and giving them the responsibility of a law enforcing officer was a recipe for disaster. One lawsuit later and the show was canceled. How the executives didn’t have the foresight to realize this show was doomed before the beginning is pretty shocking.
We knew they would be canceled, they were just too ridiculous to last. Overlooking negative stereotypes and failing to canvas opinions before filming has resulted in the demise of these shows, thankfully. We’re sure the networks will look back and wonder what they were thinking when cooking up these ideas, but at least they came to their senses before too much damage was done.
