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10 Best Popular TV Series That Were Initially Rejected

Some fan-favorite TV collection were at first denied. Networks forecasted they would certainly fall short, in spite of the shows achieving success once they got to the air.

Plenty of Hollywood success tales have encountered barriers throughout production. Because networks anticipated they would fail, several successful TV series were initially rejected. Given the substantial recognition and also accolades that each of these series went on to attain, there is no doubt that those who turned down the pitches are kicking themselves for their choice.

The good news is, these once-rejected tv programs were eventually able to discover producers as well as networks that were willing to take a chance on them. Fans nearly didn’t get to see particular preferred television shows.

Squid Game Was Deemed Too Unrealistic

Squid Game is one of Netflix’s most-watched programs of all time, however it faced duplicated denials throughout the development process. The South Korean dramatization series, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, was originally visualized as a feature film. Hwang Dong-hyuk completed a manuscript as well as pitched it to producers in Korea, yet it was considered unrealistic and also as well monstrous to be accepted.

Seeking even more international productions, Netflix saw potential in the script. In 2019, it was introduced that the script would be become a nine-episode series. Squid Game achieved massive success and has been renewed momentarily season.

The Queen’s Gambit Took Nearly 30 Years To Be Approved

A Netflix initial miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit has actually attained significant success, taking home 11 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021, which included Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Yet, the adjustment of Walter Tevis’s 1983 book dealt with substantial beings rejected and also troubles in the advancement procedure.

The Queen’s Gambit was turned down by lots of workshops that thought that a script about chess would certainly be too boring. A movie adjustment starring Heath Ledger, who was exceptionally passionate regarding guide, remained in the jobs prior to Ledger’s fatality in 2008. The adjustment was ultimately approved by Netflix as a miniseries in 2019.

Networks Wanted Less Gore In The Walking Dead

The hit AMC collection The Walking Dead has actually been on the air considering that 2010 as well as has spawned numerous spin-off collection due to its enormous popularity. Nonetheless, the program was denied by both NBC and HBO. The networks demanded a considerable compromise in order to create an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name.

The Walking Dead’s manufacturers were asked to reduce the comic series’ physical violence and also gore, yet they refused. AMC, however, consented to develop the series as the manufacturing group had actually initially planned.

Game Of Thrones’ Pilot Was Poorly Received

The initial pilot of HBO’s Game of Thrones was so poorly-received by networks that it virtually spoiled the program’s chances of premiering in any way. The unaired pilot remains mostly strange to followers, with the show runners maintaining the failed starter under wraps as long as possible.

After checking out the pilot, HBO requested for extensive re-shoots, mentioning significant troubles in the presentation and an unclear plot. The pilot was shot once again with extreme modifications to the script as well as numerous re-castings, consisting of the enhancement of Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen. Though the initial pilot has actually never been released, some scenes from the original shoot were used in the aired episode.

The Sopranos Was Rejected By Several Networks

The police procedural The Sopranos may be taken into consideration among the best television shows of all time, however it was familiar with denial during the advancement process. After first being created as a feature film, The Sopranos was later reworked as a television series.

Fox had an interest in the preliminary pitch yet denied The Sopranos after getting the pilot script. CBS and NBC both declined it too, with one objection identifying Tony going to treatment as a significant defect in the show. The Sopranos inevitably broadcast on HBO for six seasons.

Desperate Housewives Struggled To Convince Network Executives

Desperate Housewives aired for eight seasons on ABC from 2004 to 2012, but it dealt with repeated being rejected when it was first being created. Fox, HBO, Showtime, CBS, NBC, and Lifetime all denied the series. Hopeless Housewives was especially criticized for featuring a cast of primarily middle-aged ladies.

ABC ultimately provided Desperate Housewives a chance, and the show’s popularity quickly expanded, making it a substantial success for the network. The series was the recipient of Emmy, Golden Globe, as well as Screen Actors Guild Awards throughout its run.

HBO Passed On Sons Of Anarchy For Another Biker Pilot

Throughout the growth of Sons of Anarchy, maker Kurt Sutter believed that HBO would be the very best fit for the program due to the visuals nature of its web content. Sadly, HBO made a decision to hand down the program since it was developing an additional collection regarding cyclists at the time.

The show in production was called 1%, but things did not go to plan, as the owner of the Hells Angels cyclist gang took legal action against HBO for cutting him out of the pilot that he helped to establish. Sons of Anarchy was inevitably launched on FX.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Was Declined By Fox And NBC

Joss Whedon’s preliminary concept for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was first created with his movie script for the 1992 movie of the very same name. Unfortunately, the flick did not reverberate well with movie critics or basic audiences.

Nonetheless, Joss Whedon hesitated to surrender on his suggestion as well as decided to revamp it as a tv show. Whedon approached several networks with a pilot, yet he was denied by both Fox and NBC. Luckily, the pilot was gotten by the WB, and also Buffy the Vampire Slayer came to be the network’s first significant success.

HBO Had No Interest In Breaking Bad

Another AMC success, Breaking Bad also dealt with being rejected from multiple networks before locating its house on AMC. The crime drama, which went on to win 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, was declined by Showtime, HBO, TNT, as well as FX.

HBO was so unenthusiastic in the pitch that they really did not even bother to tell Breaking Bad’s designers that they declined. TNT producers liked Breaking Bad’s pitch but feared they would certainly shed their work if they approved a show about a meth-producing educator. FX and Showtime both rejected Breaking Bad as a result of resemblances with other programs on the network. Inevitably, the collection was grabbed by AMC and also earned the Guinness World Record in 2013 as one of the most seriously acclaimed show of perpetuity.

Stranger Things Was Rejected Because Of Its Young Cast

It’s hard to visualize any person handing down the ultra-popular Stranger Things. That’s exactly what occurred when the Duffer Brothers pitched the concept of the program to various networks.

Stranger Things, originally labelled Montauk, was denied by every cable television network that it was first pitched to. Most of the network executives made the decision because of the show’s young cast, as they believed it can not function without being a youngsters’s series. The Duffer Brothers were asked to focus on Hopper if they were not happy to make it a youngsters’s series. Stranger Things was eventually accepted by Netflix in 2015 and has given that been nominated for 31 Emmys, among other elections and victories.

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