One Day At A Time was originally to be called Three To Get Ready

Blue Bloods was Reagan's Law.
The Knights of Prosperity was Let's Rob Mick Jagger.

Good Christian Bitches and then to Good Christian Belles before officially launching as GCB.

You Can't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 was You Can't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 (The word was spelled out but I'm afraid to do it on here.)

Friends had a few pre Friends titles, including

Insomnia Cafe, Six of One, and Friends Like Us

Diff'rent Strokes was 45 Minutes From Harlem
Married... With Children was Not the Cosbys
Simon & Simon was Pirate's Key

The Dick Van Dyke Show started as Head Of The Family.

Married... With Children was Not the Cosbys


Wouldn’t that have caused trouble down in the legal department?

Kevin (Probably) Saves the World was originally The Gospel According to Kevin.

Titles originally considered for what became Petticoat Junction:

Ozark Widow
Whistle Stop

This is Us was going to be called 36 (their ages).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was going to be called Slayer.

Living Single was originally going to be My Girls (in fact, the name change to "Living Single" was announced a mere three weeks before its premiere).

Webster was originally going to be called Another Ballgame or Then Came You. Another Ballgame is the title of the pilot episode. Then Came You is the name of the theme song.

Johnny Carson called it The Websters when he interviewed Emmanuel Lewis on May 5, 1983. This was the day ABC picked up the show. I guess they hadn't settled on the name Webster yet.

Didn't Realize that the Sitcom "Webster," First Premiered Under A Different Title?! (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=265397)

Emmanuel Lewis is Hilarious in This Classic First Appearance on Carson Tonight Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMTTtm4RMjU)

kMTTtm4RMjU

Related thread:

Rejected Titles: What 8 Classic TV Shows Were Almost Called (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=243555)

The Big Bang Theory was going to be called Lenny, Penny, and Kenny.

Lost was almost called Nowhere.

The Flintstones unaired pilot was "The Flagstones" ...!

Wouldn’t that have caused trouble down in the legal department?

Maybe that's why it got changed.

Justice for all was the original name for All in the family

Related thread:

Rejected Titles: What 8 Classic TV Shows Were Almost Called (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=243555)

Not "related", identical. But I show zero remorse in overlooking a 15 year old thread.

McHale's Navy started out as a drama entitled Seven Against the Sea.

New daytime soap Beyond the Gates was originally The Gates.

I remember reading shortly after it was announced that “Cheers” would be ending that a spinoff pilot for a show called “Dr. Frasier Crane” was about to be filmed.

CBS' "Y: Marshals" became "Marshals" before it launches March 2026.

Another "Yellowstone" spin-off to change titles before airing was "The Madison", which launches March 2026.

It was originally titled "2024", to go along with the previous spin-offs w/ year titles "1883" and "1923", before officially becoming "The Madison".

Samuel L. Jackson's upcoming "Tulsa King" spin-off, originally titled "NOLA King", is now "Frisco King" after a creative overhaul.

The 1970s series “Search” was to be called “Probe.”

cd

To Tell the Truth was originally to be called Nothing but the Truth (unaired pilot, hosted by Mike Wallace)

Also in game shows, “Shoot for the Stars” had a pilot called “Shoot the Works.”

cd