6 successful TV Shows that were almost canceled

09/02/2023

We might well be addicted to TV shows, it always makes us feel bad to see them canceled before their final conclusion. Fortunately, some channels or platforms have decided to save them to the fans' delight. And these six successful series are proof of it!

Lucifer
Lucifer

Initially broadcast on the American network FOX, the TV show struggled to reach the expected amount of viewers. Because of its low numbers, Lucifer was indeed canceled after the release of season 3...before being saved by Netflix. As a result, after a strong fan mobilization on social media, the platform with the red logo then announced that they were taking back the rights of the series in order to continue the adventures of our favorite devil. A decision that allowed the show starring Tom Ellis to produce three more seasons along with its long-awaited conclusion.

Money Heist
Money Heist

It’s difficult to imagine a series like Money Heist (La Casa de Papel in the original version) to be canceled and yet… Due to a low amount of viewers on the Spanish channel Antena 3, the TV show was almost interrupted after one season. Fortunately, the heist drama had also been put online on Netflix before becoming a real phenomenon. The Spanish channel had therefore decided to produce an additional season, before the Money Heist sequels were exclusively broadcast on the American platform.

YOU
YOU

It’s surprising yes, but the TV show YOU has not always known the success we know today! Moreover, the series starring Penn Badgley is not an original Netflix creation, contrary to what one might think. As a matter of fact, the American fiction was originally broadcast on Lifetime, a channel available across the Atlantic. But as with Lucifer and Money Heist, the amount of viewers for YOU were so catastrophic that the network was about to deprogram the series. But once again, Netflix had the good idea to continue the diffusion because the show had attracted many subscribers on the platform.

Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones

How can you imagine one of the world’s biggest shows to know such a failure? You have to know that the success of Game of Thrones in the 2010s was far from being a foregone conclusion... According to co-creator David Benioff, the pilot episode was so catastrophic that the American premium television network HBO was about to cancel the television adaptation of George R. R. Martin's novels. The reasons: the tone of the episode, the costumes and the particularly poor dialogues. In the end, the showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff worked two more years to rewrite and shoot a new pilot episode. The rest is history!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Brooklyn Nine-Nine

If the series originally aired on FOX, it was indeed stopped after its eighth season by NBC and Brooklyn Nine-Nine was almost not renewed after season 5. Indeed, the American network had decided not to produce a sequel despite its well-written dialogues and its solid cast. Happily, NBC picked it up again for three more seasons even though the network had refused the rights to the show in its early stages. Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, then declared: "Ever since we sold this show to Fox I've regretted letting it get away, and it’s high time it came back to its rightful home. We’re all thrilled that one of the smartest, funniest, and best cast comedies in a long time will take its place in our comedy line-up.”

Friends
Friends

If Friends ended up running on NBC for ten seasons, it doesn’t mean that the hit TV show never risked cancellation. And for good reason, the NBC sitcom almost stopped after season 4! It had nothing to do with declining viewership, but the salaries of the six main actors. The fees of David Schwimmer (Ross) and Jennifer Aniston (Rachel) had seen a more significant increase due to the popularity of the couple. The entire cast then asked for a raise, which didn’t please the producers. Finally, the actors of Ross and Rachel agreed to see their fees decrease so that the six Friends end up with equal wages.

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