15 shows that were cancelled just after a pilot 

The annals of television history are filled with shows that never stood a chance, but there are highlighted failures that went down with their very first episodes. Networks invoke millions in the development and promotion of new shows, and yet an idea may be so bad or the execution so wrong that the very next instant, it finds itself scrapped.

Vanished are these one-shot shows, garnering reputation for the times they barely spent on air. Some became cult oddities, while others faded into oblivion.

These pilots had various reasons for their flaming crash and burn, spanning from kooky sitcoms to the unsavory reality show. Some were just plain offensive (Heil Honey, I'm Home!); others burned from the inside out, like the hilariously mismanaged U.S. version of The IT Crowd; and some were misguided grabbers of hipness (Co-Ed Fever).

Either way, these 15 TV series wear the black mark of cancellation after one episode, disappearing before they could ever be nurtured.

1) Heil Honey, I’m Home! (1990)

How could a sitcom about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living next door to a Jewish couple have ever been promising? From its very conception, it was doomed. A satire on 1950s sitcoms, the plot was instantly surrounded by controversy. Sky Television aired only one episode and then shut it down amid fears of a backlash.

The show never saw the light of day for any new episodes, though the pilot resurfaced online years later. Today, it ranks as one of the most offensive TV concepts ever attempted.

2) Emily’s Reasons Why Not (2006)

ABC had great expectations for this Heather Graham-starring sitcom, advertising it as the new Sex and the City. The show followed Emily, a self-help writer who was unable to put her own advice into action in her relationships. The writing was poor, the humor didn't work, and the characters weren't endearing.

Fans tuned out fast, and ABC canceled it within 24 hours of its initial airing. While six episodes were shot, only the pilot was aired. Decades later, the series is a cautionary lesson on how overselling a subpar show can result in one of the quickest cancellations of television history.

3) The Rich List (2006)

The Rich List was a big-name game show that tried to mix trivia with the thrill of money prizes. The show possessed a special format where the contestants had to estimate lists of items based on their ranking. In spite of possessing an interesting idea and being broadcast on prime-time television, it did poorly in ratings and did not manage to excite viewers.

Fox canceled it after merely a few episodes. Mostly, the show was criticized for failing to properly cash in on its potential and being too much like other available formats. It is now a forgotten relic of the mid-2000s game show period.

4) Lawless (1997)

This action drama featuring ex-NFL player Brian Bosworth was intended to deliver action and thrill to the evening prime-time slot. Bosworth starred as John Lawless, a private investigator who brought down the bad guys in Miami. Neither the concept nor the show worked out.

Critics panned the script, and audiences failed to show up. Fox canceled it after only one episode, ranking it as one of the quickest TV flops of the '90s.

Bosworth, more famous as a footballer than an actor, never appeared in another lead role. Today, Lawless is all but forgotten, a reminder that not all sports heroes are good at being TV stars.

5) The IT Crowd (U.S. Version) (2007)

NBC's bid to remake the British sitcom The IT Crowd was a complete failure. Whereas the original was a cult favorite, the American version couldn't muster its charm. Starring Joel McHale and Richard Ayoade (the sole cast member from the original), the pilot episode came across as a lifeless copy-paste job.

Test audiences hated it, and NBC canceled it before it ever had the chance to air. Years afterward, leaked video emerged, demonstrating just how cringeworthy and uninspired it was. McHale subsequently confessed it was a horrible experience.

6) Comedians Unleashed (2002)

In the words of its namesake, the series brought all-star stand-up comics together for an uninhibited conversation about their lives and careers. The show's premise sounded good because it was a chance for comedians to be themselves. Somehow, the jokes felt old, and the premise began to wear.

After its inaugural episode, Fox swiftly relegated it to the trash bin, showing that not even star power could salvage a concept bereft of genuine comic chemistry.

7) Osbournes: Reloaded (2009)

After the success of The Osbournes, Fox offered Ozzy and his family a variety show. It included skits, live music, and interaction with the audience. Some affiliates did not even air the episode because it was too raunchy. Even though the Osbournes were television stars, this show could not replicate the charm of their reality show.

Even Sharon Osbourne herself eventually conceded it was a blunder. Osbournes: Reloaded is now hardly remembered, other than as a reminder that not all reality stars can leap to variety TV.

8) The Will (2005)

A show in which family members competed against each other to inherit from a dying relative? It sounds melodramatic, but The Will was an unmitigated disaster. CBS hoped viewers would be riveted, but the premiere episode was so boring that people tuned out at once.

The network yanked the show after one episode, one of the quickest reality TV cancellations ever. Curiously, the entire season was broadcast in New Zealand, and it developed a small cult following.

This notwithstanding, The Will is best known as evidence that not every reality series ought to have been produced, particularly those revolving around greed amongst families.

9) Manchester Prep (1999)

A Cruel Intentions prequel was a great idea, but Manchester Prep tanked before it ever premiered. The show would have chronicled Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteuil's high school years. Fox canceled the series after its pilot. However, In an attempt to recover their investment, the network took the three filmed episodes and packaged them into a direct-to-video film, Cruel Intentions 2.

The movie flopped, demonstrating that not all hit films require a television spin-off. Manchester Prep is now an afterthought within the Cruel Intentions franchise, known only to die-hard fans who caught glimpses of the ill-fated spin-off.

10) Co-Ed Fever (1979)

Riding on the success of Animal House, CBS hurried to produce Co-Ed Fever, another raunchy college sitcom. Unfortunately, it was neither funny nor appealing to audiences. Critics labeled it tasteless, and ratings were terrible. CBS quickly axed it, one of the shortest-lived TV programs of all time.

The pilot did manage to air as a one-shot special in Canada, where it got slightly better reviews. But it was not enough to save the program. Co-Ed Fever today is a lost piece of television history, an example that aping a box office hit isn't always successful.

11) Dot Comedy (2000)

In the early days of the Internet era, Dot Comedy sought to cash in on the increasing fascination with web culture and viral videos. The program had sketches relating to the dot-com bubble and internet phenomena. It quickly seemed unnecessary, with a structure that failed to interest fans of comedy or those with an interest in technology.

Even with a celebrity cast, the show's comedy didn't work, and it soon failed to find its target audience. ABC canceled Dot Comedy after one episode, and it served as a warning against leaping onto trends without taking the time to really understand them.

12) Anchorwoman (2007)

Fox's Anchorwoman was a reality show with an odd concept: a swimsuit model becomes a television news anchor. The show was confusing; was it a satire of the media business or a reality game show? The pilot didn't explain this, leaving viewers perplexed.

Fox dropped it right after the premiere, unable to recapture the appeal of shows like this one. Even though it aired once, the show's disastrous premiere left no opportunity for a second chance. The Anchorwoman pilot was a pop-culture anomaly, frequently cited as a failed experiment in reality television.

13) Public Morals (1996)

Public Morals was a police comedy about a group of detectives who had to deal with crime and corruption. While the concept was good, Public Morals didn't do well in ratings or reviews. CBS canceled it after showing only a handful of episodes. Though the show's original concept was good, its presentation could not connect with the audience, and Public Morals soon became forgotten.

14) The Melting Pot (1975)

Melting Pot's run was short-lived. The show revolved around an Asian family who immigrated to the UK. The Melting Pot failed to survive in the competitive TV marketplace of the 1970s, mainly because of poor entertainment value, though it tried hard with its good intentions. Today, we remember it mainly for making this attempt to blend comedy with multiculturalism.

15) The Singles Table (2007)

NBC's The Singles Table revolved around a mismatched group of individuals who gathered for a wedding reception. With an intriguing concept, the pilot didn't quite tickle anyone's funny bone, and audiences didn't care. With a cookie-cutter storyline and unimpressive characters, the show couldn't leave its mark.

The cast's chemistry wasn't quite there, and the uncomfortable humor didn't connect. NBC canceled it following the premiere episode, rendering it another of television's dense array of sitcom forgettables. The talented cast aside, The Singles Table was a show hardly anyone recalls nowadays.