The drama room at NBC is known for guarding the line between reality and comedy. For an audience that expects grounded, yet visceral programming, this genre-mashing can create the perfect storm, cultivating die-hard fans while also bringing low ratings and inconsistent viewership. The following short-lived NBC series is a perfect example of the need and necessity of this juxtaposition.
Freaks and Geeks
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Even Freaks and Geeks only ran for one season in 1999, its impact on the years to come cannot easily be overestimated. Set in the 1980s, this teen comedy-drama follows the titular sets of two teen troupes as they showed audiences what life was like for “the rest of us.” The list of series regulars reads like a casting call – from John Francis Daley and Jason Segel to Seth Rogen and James Franco and even Linda Cardellini and Busy Philipps. The series was also written and directed by Judd Apatow and Paul Feig, the latter of whom was also the creator of the series.
Packed with a burgeoning crew and thrown to the brink of greatness, this series seemed like a sure shot for success… until suddenly it wasn’t.
Between the melancholy feel, schedule changes, and episodes airing out of order, it was hard for audiences to keep tabs on the show. Even worse, conflicts between the creators and NBC executives just sped things up. Executives wanted there to be a victory for the characters at the end of each episode, which was one aspect Apatow just didn’t want to back down from.
Rogen said after running into the TV executive who canceled the show: “… That’s what the whole show is about. It’s high school. You lose all the time, and that’s it.”
The executive in question, Garth Ancier, said of the verdict, ““This was a terrible decision that has haunted me forever…but the show was consistently NBC’s least-watched show. For what it’s worth, I’ve watched all the episodes over and over on Netflix wondering what I could have done better to save it.
Constantine
Based on DC Comics Hellblazer series, Matt Ryan played the titular role of an occult specialist and demon hunter whose soul is damned from the start in this fantastic detective drama.
Constantinebased on the comic co-created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben,has worked its way in and out of the zeitgeist since its inception in the mid-80s (from several small-screen iterations to a major movie starring Keanu Reeves). With a slew of award nominations from 2014-2016 and an average Rotten Tomatoes rating in the mid-70s, it’s a wonder how this series was canceled after just 13 episodes (although a fourteenth script has since been released by showrunner Daniel Cerone).
According to former executive producer David Goyer, “In hindsight I don’t think it should have been on NBC. I think it was the wrong channel, and I’m sure they would probably agree.”
There is merit to this argument. Ryan would reprise the role for both of them legends of tomorrow, the Arrow verse and in Constantine: City of Demons.
To get up
To get up was based on a novel about the real life of teacher Lou Volpe, who revived a high school drama program in a working-class Pennsylvania town before eventually gaining international acclaim. This series starring Josh Radnor and Rosie Perez hit the air in the spring of 2018 with hopes of hitting high notes.
Both on the show and in real life, the school was one of the first to put on a production of the musical Spring blossoms, which tells the story of remote teens discovering their sexuality. In reality, the series fell flat for portraying Volpe so straightforwardly on the show when he wasn’t in real life.
Premiered shortly after the season finale for This is us, NBC described the series as an “encouraging new drama about finding inspiration in unexpected places.” Despite these high expectations, ratings for the show remained modest at best. A soundtrack for the series was released less than a week before the show’s cancellation in May.
Perez said of the cancellation“I think it didn’t have enough time… Everyone kept comparing it to cheerfulness, and that also hurt the show. It was a drama. It was a heavy, heavy drama. But I think if it had been given a chance for a second season, it would have really exploded, in the best possible way.”
The cloak
The cloak premiered in 2011 during the early re-imagings of the superhero craze. In it, David Lyons was cast as Vince Faraday, a cop who transforms into his son’s favorite comic book superhero to protect his family and clear his name. The series was picked up by NBC in May 2010, where it premiered early the following year. Webcomics were even introduced on the company’s website, similar to what was done for the Heroes franchise.
Unfortunately, the series never ended well in the ratings, and the writing was on the wall after the network cut the season order from 13 episodes to ten. The show would air all nine episodes in total, while the tenth and final of the series would be streamed online.
Dracula
This historical drama version of the classic Bram Stoker novel was commissioned to air in 2012 for 10 episodes. Jonathan Rhys Meyers played the lead character, a member of the undead who arrives in London in the late 1800s posing as an American entrepreneur seeking modern science to the Victorian era. Brought to the network by the producers of the Emmy Award-winning hit Downton Abbeythe show received a ten-episode direct order.
While it was never a perfect performer in the ratings, it was nothing if not consistent. The series was partially canceled after one season Strengthen NBCupcoming slate.
Iron silk
A reboot of the popular late 1960s/early 1970s show of the same name, this cop drama aired for less than a month in October 2013. Iron side starred Blair Underwood as Robert Ironside, a police detective who doesn’t let his newfound need for a wheelchair after a shooting stop him from solving the case. It turned out that Robert Ironside was the only character taken directly from the original series.
Aside from the controversy over casting an able-bodied actor in the role, reviews for the series were poor from the start and the show was withdrawn after only airing four episodes. The remaining November and December time slot was replaced by a series of new ones Date line episodes, Saturday Night Live holiday-themed specials and other holiday music.
Terrifying, Indiana
The mavericks of the 90s Terrifying, Indiana is described as something in between Twin Peaks meets Wishbone and Stephen King via The Simpsons. The show followed a teenage investigator of all things weird as he explored the strange happenings in his small town with his two friends.
Though highly regarded by The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, and USA Today, this show’s staying power proved short-lived on the network. A total of nineteen episodes were produced, the last of which aired in syndication on The Disney Channel.
As it turned out, the syndication brought with it a whole new fan base. Just a few years later, a spin-off of the show aired on the Fox Kids Network, accompanied by a slew of paperbacks.
Emerald city
Another walk down the Yellow Brick Road, oh my! Set in the fictional Land of Oz, this modern version of the series transported our heroine Dorothy to a fantasy realm where all magic is strictly forbidden.
Emerald city received its own 10-episode order from NBC in April 2015. The show was previously ordered by NBC in 2014, but was discontinued midway through production. One change in showrunner later and the project was back on track. The incoming pilot would premiere two years later.
Unfortunately, the elements of the show didn’t come together in time to save it from being canceled. It was pulled from its three-month run after a string of low ratings.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
From Executive Producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip gave viewers a more dramatic behind-the-scenes look at a fake sketch comedy show. Sounds familiar? It should – the format of the show was similar to that of the long-running network Saturday Night Live. This series also featured comedy gold in the form of Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, and even Sarah Paulson.
The show was renewed for the rest of the 2006-2007 season after consistently delivering decent audience ratings across all prime-time network series (in the major luxury categories).
Even with several Primetime Emmy nominations, the series would quickly rise up the ranks as one of Sorkin’s few short-lived television shows (without The West Wing, Naturally). When it came down to it, the network went with the similar theme, cheaper to produce 30 Rock instead of.
The bionic woman
This 2007 reinvention of the 1970s series was actually a spin-off… of a spin-off… of a spin-off… of a spin-off.
First, The six million dollar man TV movie was expanded into a TV series… and the first iteration of The bionic woman followed soon after. And to top it off, the overall concept was loosely inspired by the 1972 book Cyborg by Martin Cadin.
This iteration of The bionic woman followed Jaime, who is rescued from a devastating car accident by advanced, top-secret technology that carries more than just a hefty price tag. The series debuted with nearly 14 million viewers, but viewership dropped to less than half by its eighth (and final) episode. All in all, this version lasted a little over a month on the air. The series was canceled shortly after being suspended during the 2007 Writer’s Strike.
Regardless of the reason for their cancellations, it’s important to remember and appreciate the impact these short-lived shows have on their audiences. While some were already part of the larger zeitgeist, others would inspire more and more adaptations of the original in their own right. Most importantly, they have continued to motivate and inspire future generations of content creators and viewers, and likely will continue to do so for years to come.