- 5 months ago
Talk about burning through cash! Join us as we count down the most spectacular financial disasters in television history. From ambitious sci-fi epics to musical cop dramas, these shows cost networks millions only to crash and burn spectacularly due to poor ratings, critical panning, or both.
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00:00The council regrets to inform you, you won't be permitted to attend the next session.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most disastrous commercial flops in television history.
00:11What if I told you there's a place where we're all like you? All inhumans.
00:16Number 20. Ringer.
00:18I was wondering how you'd look after six years. Not nearly as good as you.
00:22Widely advertised as Sarah Michelle Gellar's big return to TV, Ringer was heavily backed by The CW.
00:28Thanks mainly to the star power of Gellar, the series generated initial buzz but quickly saw declining ratings thanks to a lack of consistent quality.
00:36The numbers rapidly dropped following the strong premiere, and unfortunately, the show had high production costs due to its slick visual style and complex filming techniques, like putting Gellar in a dual role.
00:48It was simply too financially unstable for The CW to continue, and it didn't have the cult following or the strong reviews that often buoy other shows that struggle in the ratings.
00:57So, Ringer's bell was rung after just one season.
01:01They're looking for you. Tell me where you are, and I'll come and get you.
01:04No. It's not safe for either of us. I shouldn't have even called you.
01:11Bridget! Bridget!
01:12I gotta go.
01:13Bridget, wait.
01:14Number 19. Troy. Fall of a City.
01:17And you were different too.
01:18What do you mean?
01:21Your world here was wild.
01:24Your civilized husband didn't want that. It scared him, so he tamed it.
01:29And he tamed you too.
01:30The Trojan War is just begging for a great TV adaptation.
01:33This was not that.
01:35Co-produced by the BBC and Netflix, the series aimed to retell the famous story with a fresh perspective.
01:40It was also fully backed by the BBC, with a primetime Saturday night slot and a significant budget of £2 million per episode.
01:48But while a typical BBC drama in that slot would average over 5 million viewers,
01:53Troy received about half that for its premiere, and the ratings only got worse from there as disappointed viewers dropped off.
02:00This was a crushing blow, with the show failing to match the high expectations set by the BBC and similar period dramas like Game of Thrones.
02:08Is that why you're leaving early?
02:10Because of her.
02:14She rejected you, didn't she?
02:20Don't come back.
02:22Number 18. The Event.
02:23Looking for a man with TSA credentials would have just passed his way.
02:26This man is carrying a biological weapon he's going to release inside the terminal.
02:31Beginning in September 2010, NBC's The Event truly was, wait for it, an event.
02:37The alien sci-fi thriller came bursting out of the gate, debuting with nearly 11 million viewers,
02:43strong numbers that caused NBC to order a full season.
02:46Alas, the show failed to maintain momentum.
02:49It soon suffered a rapid ratings decline, and by late November, the show was averaging just 6 million viewers.
02:55Following a mid-season break, the ratings dropped even further.
02:58By now, the early buzz was entirely absent, and the show had completely bungled its strong momentum.
03:04While exact numbers were never released, it's believed that NBC spent a significant chunk of money on the show,
03:11and unfortunately, the return on investment just wasn't there.
03:14So, please, lock yourself inside.
03:16Martinez did it. All the flights have been canceled.
03:19Sterling said that the other two locations have been neutralized.
03:21Not easy, yeah.
03:21So, we have to still release the virus from here, and we have to get everyone out.
03:24We can't. They've locked down all the exits.
03:27Number 17. Good Girls Revolt.
03:29If this was, in fact, a riot, it could have national and social significance.
03:33Sam, get started.
03:34Wait.
03:34What?
03:34Sam's written top flight covers four weeks in a row, and he and Jane are a good team.
03:37Patty is sourced. I'm fresh. Sam is tired from a month...
03:40What I need right now is the fastest rewrite man in the building and is an efficient researcher.
03:45You can't take a chance in case this merits a cover.
03:46Amazon wanted their own Mad Men, so they created Good Girls Revolt,
03:50based on a non-fiction book about the underpaid and underappreciated female employees of Newsweek.
03:56The show was heavily compared to Mad Men, complete with a 60 setting, an office environment,
04:01and themes centered around workplace power structures and second-wave feminism.
04:05Unfortunately, it was also considered a lesser Mad Men,
04:08and it failed to attract an audience, with Amazon's internal figures showing just 1.6 million total viewers.
04:15And with an astounding budget of $81 million, the show was an obvious commercial disaster,
04:21and was nixed after just one season.
04:23You know, maybe things could change.
04:26At News of the Week?
04:28Yeah.
04:29How?
04:29Maybe we could start something.
04:32You know?
04:33Talk to some of the girls.
04:34Two are better than one, and ten is better than two.
04:40Number 16.
04:41Chaos.
04:41Do you see this thing here?
04:44Ah, come on.
04:45Come on.
04:46This prophecy.
04:48Jeez.
04:49I think...
04:50I think it's coming to pass.
04:52It's happening.
04:53Another show about Greek mythology.
04:55Another bomb.
04:56Maybe it's just not meant to be.
04:57This high-budget Netflix series reimagines Greek myth in a modern setting,
05:02and some sources peg its budget around $50 million.
05:05That is a staggering amount, especially given its mere eight episodes.
05:09We suppose Jeff Goldblum doesn't come cheap.
05:11Despite its star-studded cast and ambitious concept,
05:14the show failed to gain significant traction,
05:16and viewership numbers were reportedly underwhelming.
05:20Maybe Netflix would have gone easy on it had it not been for that Herculean budget.
05:23Ultimately, chaos did not meet expectations,
05:27either creatively or commercially,
05:28and it failed to establish itself as a must-watch series.
05:32So, like the great and powerful Zeus,
05:34Netflix quickly smote it in a passionate rage.
05:37Mortals, today is a holy day upon which you honor me.
05:44Do you do that well?
05:49Yes.
05:52You do, but you shouldn't.
05:54He's a transcendent, unmitigated bastard.
05:56Number 15.
05:57Vinyl.
05:58How long I know you guys?
05:59Come on.
06:02Something's going on.
06:03You're not happy.
06:04I heard about it.
06:05The royalty rate.
06:06Do you remember the HBO show Vinyl?
06:08No, probably not.
06:09Which is weird,
06:10considering the involvement of figures like Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese.
06:14Being a period drama with tons of great music,
06:17Vinyl did not come cheap,
06:18costing HBO around $100 million.
06:22So, imagine their surprise when the show received good,
06:24not great reviews and modest viewership.
06:27It was immediately obvious that Vinyl had underwhelmed both critically and commercially.
06:31And like CDs, interest only dropped as time went on.
06:34In fact, HBO had initially greenlit the show for a second season,
06:38believing that it would be carried by its concept an unbelievable star power.
06:42But they reversed course when it became obvious that Vinyl was DOA.
06:46But still, it's clear all the book cooking in the world ain't going to save the company.
06:50Time to dump and run.
06:52Number 14.
06:53Sense8
06:54This is it.
06:55Oh, hell no.
06:57This wasn't a dream.
06:59For all the partners, I end up with a molder wannabe.
07:02Created by the Wachowskis of The Matrix fame,
07:04hype was enormous for their sci-fi epic Sense8.
07:07But like The Matrix sequels, it was met with a collective...
07:11Meh.
07:11Each episode cost millions of dollars,
07:14driven by its large ensemble cast and global filming locations spanning multiple continents.
07:19And while it did gain a small and passionate fan base,
07:22it struggled to attract wide mainstream attention.
07:25While Netflix does not generally release detailed viewership numbers,
07:28the show clearly failed to justify its expensive budget,
07:31and it was cancelled after two seasons.
07:33However, Netflix threw its loud and irate fan base a bone,
07:37resulting in a two-hour special meant to wrap up dangling storylines.
07:41I know I will still remember this moment.
07:46I will still be wearing this ring.
07:53Because inside your arms is the only place I've ever felt like I was home.
08:01Number 13.
08:02Altered Carbon
08:03Another sci-fi epic,
08:17another premature cancellation,
08:19another irate fan base.
08:21Tale as old as time.
08:22Altered Carbon was initially seen as a major bet for Netflix,
08:26featuring a unique cyberpunk premise,
08:28strong source material,
08:29and an exorbitant budget,
08:31reportedly around $7 million per episode.
08:34The first season garnered a mixed critical reception,
08:36with some praising the aesthetics,
08:38but criticizing the convoluted plot and shallow emotional depth.
08:41The second season fared no better.
08:43Reviews still weren't excellent,
08:45viewership still wasn't there,
08:46and even worse,
08:47it came out right before COVID hit.
08:49So, significant production delays further weighed against its potential renewal.
08:53Unfortunately,
08:54the suits didn't think it was worth the risk,
08:56and Altered Carbon was given the most permanent alteration of all.
08:59Hey, I'm looking for somebody.
09:02Goes by Takeshi Kovach.
09:04Do you know him?
09:04People don't mind questions around here.
09:06Number 12.
09:07Inhumans
09:08You're safe.
09:09Who are you?
09:10My name's Triton.
09:12I've been looking for you.
09:14You're one of us.
09:15What are we?
09:19We are Inhumans.
09:20Originally intended as a movie within the MCU,
09:23Inhumans was eventually downgraded to a TV series,
09:26which immediately signaled a huge lack of confidence.
09:29The show did nothing to allay those fears.
09:32It tried being a mega blockbuster in the vein of the MCU,
09:34complete with ambitious visual effects and even the use of IMAX cameras.
09:38But critics panned the show for its horrible storytelling and wooden performances,
09:42leading almost immediately to poor viewership numbers.
09:45Additionally,
09:46Inhumans felt disconnected from the larger MCU,
09:49making it feel irrelevant to casual viewers.
09:52In the end,
09:53Inhumans failed to meet both fan and critical expectations,
09:56resulting in its early cancellation after just one poorly received season.
10:00Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
10:01This was not.
10:02What did you get?
10:04I don't know.
10:07I walked out of the chamber and fell down.
10:09I guess I had a seizure.
10:11To the mines you go.
10:13Number 11.
10:14The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power.
10:17There will be ample time later to discuss official matters.
10:21I want to hear about you.
10:24Your harrowing journey.
10:25Perhaps it's unfair to include The Rings of Power,
10:28as it hasn't even finished yet,
10:29but it seems like the writing is on the wall.
10:31Amazon spent an eye-watering $1 billion on the rights to The Lord of the Rings,
10:36intending to make at least five seasons.
10:39But the show faced criticism for its slow pacing,
10:42fragmented storytelling,
10:43and significant deviations from Tolkien's lore,
10:45which alienated diehard fans.
10:47And it couldn't hold on to casual fans either,
10:50with just 37% of American viewers even finishing the first season,
10:54signaling major retention issues.
10:55It also failed to achieve any semblance of cultural impact,
10:59especially when compared to its source material.
11:02Amazon may not want to admit it,
11:04but this was a disastrous fumble.
11:06The last time we had travelers this early,
11:08it was the Great Frost.
11:09And there's no one is remembering how bleak a season that was.
11:13Number 10.
11:14Kings.
11:15Kings was set to be NBC's great drama.
11:18It was based on a biblical story.
11:20It starred the incredible Ian McShane,
11:22fresh off his revolutionary performance as Al Swearengin on Deadwood,
11:26and the studio reportedly put up a whopping $10 million for its pilot.
11:31The subsequent episodes weren't much cheaper,
11:33most of them coming in with a $4 million bill.
11:36Judging by those numbers,
11:37we can assume that the 13 episodes of Kings,
11:40including its two-part pilot,
11:41cost well over $50 million to produce.
11:44However, the show received middling reviews,
11:47and viewers quickly dropped off after the first couple of episodes,
11:50resulting in Kings' swift cancellation.
11:54Don't go!
11:55Stop or all of them!
11:55Get your hands off!
11:56Talk about a short reign.
11:58It's treason what you've done.
12:00Number 9.
12:01Battlestar Galactica.
12:03Before getting a new and enduring lease on life in the 2000s,
12:06the Battlestar Galactica franchise kicked off with a TV series in the late 1970s
12:11that rode the sci-fi popularity wave of the first Star Wars film.
12:16Right here, you creeps.
12:17And like most convincing science fiction,
12:24it wasn't cheap to produce.
12:26Each episode cost about $1 million to produce,
12:29or just under $4 million in today's dollars.
12:31And while Battlestar Galactica initially saw success,
12:35it quickly sunk in the ratings when CBS moved its hit show,
12:38All in the Family, to the same time slot.
12:40ABC canceled the show after one season,
12:42leading to protests and, unfortunately, the death of one fan.
12:46No, frack!
12:51Number 8.
12:52Cop Rock.
12:53Mom always told me,
12:56be nice to strangers.
12:59Cop shows were big business in the 80s and 90s.
13:01Series like Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue
13:04both garnered critical acclaim and devoted audiences.
13:08Cop Rock, a musical cop drama,
13:10yep, you heard that right,
13:11unfortunately didn't fare as well.
13:14It's often considered one of the worst dramas of all time,
13:16and it, unsurprisingly, didn't garner much of an audience.
13:19What kind of world do we live in?
13:25What kind of world?
13:27I don't know.
13:29Each episode cost almost $2 million to produce,
13:32or just under $4 million today.
13:34But despite its lavish production values,
13:36its bizarre concept was just too much to handle.
13:39ABC canceled the show after just 11 episodes,
13:42and Cop Rock was deemed one of the biggest TV failures of the decade.
13:47Number 7.
13:48The Get Down.
13:49Sorry, Netflix.
13:50They can't all be winners.
13:51The Get Down was a massive production from Baz Luhrmann,
13:54the artistic visionary behind gorgeous productions like Romeo and Juliet,
13:58Moulin Rouge, and The Great Gatsby.
14:00On the lips.
14:05Netflix originally planned for the show to cost $11 million per episode,
14:09or about $120 million for the season.
14:12But the budget ended up ballooning as high as $16 million an episode.
14:16The final budget was estimated to be somewhere between $180 and $200 million,
14:21about as much as a Marvel production.
14:23Unfortunately, the gamble didn't pay off,
14:26and Netflix was forced to cancel the show after one season
14:29due to its low viewership and exorbitant costs.
14:33Number 6.
14:34Viva Laughlin.
14:35Viva Laughlin was an ambitious project from CBS.
14:39Please allow me to introduce myself.
14:43Hugh Jackman starred and served as executive producer,
14:47and the pilot episode alone cost nearly $7 million to produce.
14:51However, the show was absolutely roasted by critics,
14:53with one writer from the New York Times questioning whether it could possibly be a contender
14:58for the worst show of all time.
15:00That's rough.
15:01The viewers seemed to agree,
15:03as the show was quickly cancelled.
15:05And we mean quickly.
15:07The show received the axe after just two episodes,
15:10leaving five produced episodes unaired.
15:12Now that's what we call a bomb.
15:15Don't ever call me again.
15:16The Bionic Woman was a hit in the 70s,
15:23so naturally it was bound to get the remake treatment.
15:26The reboot debuted on NBC in 2007,
15:29but the critics absolutely despised it.
15:32And despite respectable viewership numbers,
15:34the writer's strike of 2007 put an end to the show's production
15:37after just eight episodes.
15:39This spelled disaster for NBC,
15:41as each episode of the show reportedly cost around $6 million to produce,
15:45and the network spent $15 million on marketing.
15:49Judging by those numbers,
15:51NBC spent around $60 million on a show
15:53that was cancelled after just eight episodes.
15:56Not exactly a good return on investment.
15:58Do you really have x-ray vision?
16:01Yeah.
16:02Yeah, I do.
16:03Number 4.
16:04Camelot.
16:05Camelot was another star's attempt at a sword and sandal drama
16:08after Spartacus proved to be a big hit.
16:11Spartacus, this was not.
16:13Shut up.
16:14Please, just shut up.
16:15The show was run by Torchwood and the Tudor's alums,
16:18Chris Chibnall and Michael Hurst, respectively.
16:20And it starred Joseph Fiennes and Ava Green.
16:23If you think this sounds expensive,
16:25it was.
16:26Each episode cost around $7 million to produce,
16:29and with 10 aired episodes,
16:31it's assumed that Starz pumped about $70 million into Camelot.
16:34We'll be here when they find him.
16:37He won't live to be king.
16:39However, the show was criticized for being dull and silly,
16:41and despite the premiere being the highest-rated pilot in Starz history,
16:45it was cancelled after 10 episodes due to scheduling conflicts with the cast.
16:49What do we do now?
16:52Number three, Super Train.
16:59Super Train is known for being one of the biggest laughs in television history,
17:03and unfortunately, it wasn't a comedy.
17:06Engine room?
17:07Super Train is ready to depart.
17:10It's often ranked in worst TV show lists,
17:13and it was a massive commercial failure,
17:15the likes of which had never yet been seen.
17:17You're sure about that, huh?
17:19While exact numbers are hard to come by,
17:21Super Train is considered the most expensive American show ever produced at the time,
17:25and NBC put a massive amount of money behind its marketing.
17:32However, the show's poor quality resulted in low viewership,
17:35and it was cancelled after just three months and nine episodes.
17:38NBC wasn't able to recover its enormous losses,
17:42and the network nearly went bankrupt.
17:44I thought we were giving assurances that that window was indestructible.
17:50Number two, Terra Nova.
17:53Science fiction is always tricky to produce.
17:55It costs a lot of money to make convincingly,
17:57and many sci-fi shows end up with a niche audience at best.
18:01Terra Nova received great initial reviews,
18:03with many critics praising its ambition and dazzling special effects.
18:07I hate Carnotaurus.
18:13While the quality tended to vary,
18:15it was a relatively solid season of television.
18:18However, these ambitions came with a price.
18:20The pilot ended up costing the network around $14 million,
18:23with each subsequent episode tallying around $4 million.
18:27And while the show averaged around 7 million viewers an episode,
18:30this wasn't enough for Fox,
18:31who ended the series after just 13 episodes.
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18:53Number 1. Marco Polo
18:58Marco Polo served as a huge shock to Netflix subscribers.
19:02The network was known for its relatively small-scale dramas,
19:05including House of Cards and Orange is the New Black,
19:08yet here was a massive production on par with HBO.
19:11In fact, Netflix picked up the series for $90 million,
19:14making it the world's second most expensive show at the time,
19:17behind Game of Thrones.
19:18You should be tutored in the Mongolian ways of the horse.
19:23However, the show received scathing reviews,
19:26and failed to catch on,
19:27despite Netflix's admirable attempts to revitalize it.
19:30They canceled the show after just two seasons,
19:33making it one of Netflix's and TV's biggest bombs,
19:36to the estimated tune of a $200 million loss.
19:39Did these shows deserve to flop?
19:47Let us know in the comments below.
19:48The line appears,
19:50the order wanes,
19:50the family falls,
19:51and chaos reigns.
19:52The five commandments.
19:53The ten commandments.
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