12 sitcoms from the 1990s that made the Top 40, but were quickly canceled.

[TMC]

https://www.metv.com/lists/these-12-...-lasted-a-year

The volume of television shows increased dramatically in the Nineties. Upstart networks The WB and UPN joined the big three and the blossoming Fox — and that's not even mentioning the proliferation of cable. The TV biz became much more of a dog-eat-dog world. Plugs were pulled with far more haste.

The top sitcoms of the era — your Seinfields, Full Houses, Roseannes and whatnot — anchored hit programming blocks like ABC's TGIF and NBC's Must-See TV Thursdays.

However, there was always that one slot in those blocks that seemed jinxed. Many of these short-lived series sat in those choice, but highly pressurized time slots. Critics loved some and loathed others. Regardless, they all brought in viewers, for a time, and quickly vanished.

Do you watch any of these shows?

1. Grand

1990

The cast was enviable, with Bonnie Hunt, Michael McKean and Joel Murray onboard, and the concept was proven. Grand was same sort of soap opera parody that Soap had perfected a decade earlier. That was perhaps its biggest hurdle, as well. Sandwiched between Cheers and L.A. Law, it climbed to No. 25 in the ratings. That was not enough to make it one of the rare television programs to run for two shortened seasons within the same calendar year.

2. Carol & Company

1990–91

With a troupe of talents that included Jeremy Piven, Richard Kind and Peter Krause, Carol Burnett made a comeback with this anthology series for NBC. Unlike her sketch-filled Carol Burnett Show, Carol & Company crafted a stand-alone 30-minute spoof sitcom each week. For example, one episode parodied Doogie Howser, M.D., with guest star Neil Patrick Harris playing "Hoogie Dowser." They can't all be "Went with the Wind," folks. Betty White and Tim Conway made cameos, helping the show claw its way into the Top 40, but the series only lasted 33 episodes and a little over a year.

3. Baby Talk

1991–92

Critical praise typically has little relevance on sitcom longevity. Take Big Bang Theory, for example. Or Happy Days, for that matter. Speaking of Chachi, Scott Baio appeared with George Clooney (yes, Clooney and Baio once worked together) in this loose adaptation of the Look Who's Talking movies. Only this time, Tony Danza was the voice of the baby, not Bruce Willis. A 1991 critical poll named Baby Talk the Worst Series on Television. Nobody but Baio seemed to want to be a part of it. Star Julia Duffy, the second actress cast as the mother of the talking baby, begged to leave and was released after the first season. "We're just going to do the best we can," Baio stated, "And [if that's] what the people like, that's going to stay on." Shoved between Who's the Boss? and Roseanne on ABC, Baby Talk broke into the Top 30. However, it only ran for 14 months.

4. Room for Two

1992–93

A lead-in is everything. This Patricia Heaton and Linda Lavin mother-daughter comedy sailed to No. 12 in the spring of 1992, as it rode in the wake of Roseanne. However, a jump from Tuesday to Thursday — going head-to-head with Wings — lost its audience. Heaton would certainly do well for herself in later sitcoms.

5. The Jackie Thomas Show

1992-93

Speaking of Roseanne, a great deal of off-screen drama swirled around this comedy vehicle for her then-husband Tom Arnold. The concept was heavily indebted to The Dick Van Dyke show. Roseanne Barr and Arnold pressured ABC into slotting the sitcom after Roseanne, then the No. 2 show in TV. It worked, for a time. The Jackie Thomas Show premiered with the highest ratings of any network series debut since Twin Peaks, and it held onto 90% of Roseanne viewers. At the end of the season, it ranked at No. 16. Barr publicly threatened to leave the network if Jackie Thomas was not renewed. Spoiler: It was not renewed. Arnold switched networks. Barr stayed at ABC — and the couple divorced.

6. Laurie Hill

1992

Another victim in the battle between the Arnolds and ABC was this medical sitcom, most notable for featuring Ellen DeGeneres as a ditzy nurse. Despite Ellen's involvement, there was an overwhelming apathy surround the show, from network to cast. The last show premiered by the network that season, Laurie Hill had little promotional enthusiasm from ABC. Five episodes aired and everyone moved on with a collective shrug. Nevertheless, it did chart at a respectable No. 38 in the Nielsen ratings.

7. Phenom

1993–94

Judith Light headlined as the mom in this charming sitcom about a young tennis phenom. A cushy time slot between Full House and Roseanne served this show well, as it ranked in the Top 20. There was even a lovely theme song written and performed by Carly Simon. Major champion Tracy Austin served as a technical consultant on the believably choreographed tennis action. Oddly, ABC ousted the show after one season. Where's John McEnroe to argue a call when you need him?

8. Me and the Boys

1994–95

Steve Harvey stepped into Phenom's vacated slot for his first starring role. This comedy about a widowed father and video rental manager scored enviable ratings, coming in at No. 20 with Nielsen. ABC canceled this one, too, after a single season.

9. Can't Hurry Love

1995–96

Nancy McKeon, best known as Jo on The Facts of Life, starred in what was essentially a watered-down precursor to Sex in the City. Despite having an average household rating of 11.4, tying it for 24th place among all TV shows that year, Can't Hurry Love was rushed off the schedule.

10. Boston Common

1996–97

No time slot of the 1990s was more cherished and cursed than the half-hour between Friends and Seinfeld on NBC's Must See TV. The network plugged countless fleeting "hits" into the spot. Basically "Friends but in Boston," Boston Common was a Top 10 smash as a mid-season replacement. The sitcom relocated to Sunday night — but its viewers did not. The show sunk like tea in the sea, plummeting from 8th to 52nd place.

11. Fired Up

1997–98

NBC quickly learned that Thursday evenings was the only environment with oxygen for fledgling sitcoms. Like Boston Common, this Leah Remini one was the No. 6 show on TV — when it aired immediately after Seinfeld. A move to Monday led to Fired Up being just fired.

12. Stark Raving Mad

1999–2000

The People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy Series. Talented, beloved stars Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris. A clever concept that was The Odd Couple meets Stephen King. Ratings consistently in the Top 20. So what went wrong? Why was this canceled after one season on NBC? That remains a mystery, like the writings of Shalhoub's fictional "Ian Stark."

[king of comedy]

I remembered watching the first 2. They were Grand and Carol and Company. They weren't bad. They should have gotten better chances.

[Chocolate Moose]

do not remember any of them at all

[RetroGuy2000]

I remember quite a few of these. Baby Talk was terrible, and it seemed like the cast members kept changing, but Grand, Phenom, Can't Hurry Love, and Carol and Company were interesting shows that had all been hits.

I don't remember the Jackie Thomas Show being at all good, and Tom and Roseanne Arnold ruffled feathers at ABC, and at one point they had a feud with the cast of Seinfeld over parking spaces, so I can imagine that's what doomed that series.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I remember quite a few of these. Baby Talk was terrible, and it seemed like the cast members kept changing, but Grand, Phenom, Can't Hurry Love, and Carol and Company were interesting shows that had all been hits.

I don't remember the Jackie Thomas Show being at all good, and Tom and Roseanne Arnold ruffled feathers at ABC, and at one point they had a feud with the cast of Seinfeld over parking spaces, so I can imagine that's what doomed that series.

Baby Talk just strikes me as a show that just on its premise alone, wasn't bound to be able to enjoy a long shelf-life. I mean kids inevitably grow up so how exactly were they going to keep the whole baby who thinks in a grown-up's voice gimmick going without it feeling contrived? In the third Look Who's Talking movie, they tried to work around that by giving a group of dogs the talking gimmick.

[KurtfromPitts]

Grand was the only one of the group I watched.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

https://www.metv.com/lists/these-12-...-lasted-a-year

In light of the recent cancelation of B Positive, it's becoming more and more apparent that Linda Lavin has been unable to find a long-lasting post-Alice series for herself. All of the subsequent shows that had her in a main role: Room for Two, Conrad Bloom, Sean Saves the World, 9JKL, and B Positive barely lasted more than a single season.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I remember quite a few of these. Baby Talk was terrible, and it seemed like the cast members kept changing, but Grand, Phenom, Can't Hurry Love, and Carol and Company were interesting shows that had all been hits.

I don't remember the Jackie Thomas Show being at all good, and Tom and Roseanne Arnold ruffled feathers at ABC, and at one point they had a feud with the cast of Seinfeld over parking spaces, so I can imagine that's what doomed that series.

Baby Talk was originally supposed to star Connie Sellecca as the baby's mother. She had already filmed at least the pilot before she abruptly dropped out.

[TMC]

I've noticed that several of the shows on this listed here are mentioned in this ScreenRant article on forgotten sitcoms from the '90s.

Worst: Me And The Boys

Me and the Boys is a pretty bleak premise for a sitcom, which is perhaps the reason why the comedy only lasted for a brief 19 episodes before its plug was pulled. In the series, Steve Harvey plays a widowed father who makes a living as the manager of a video rental store and he struggles to raise his three sons.

Me and the Boys doesn’t try to be flashy and it banks on authentic stories and real emotion. It’s a very down to Earth concept. However, it didn't get that much notice from viewers. At the least the sitcom helped put Steve Harvey in the spotlight.

Worst: Boston Common

One of NBC’s biggest problems during the ‘90s was to fine a genuine hit that could survive between their behemoths Friends and Seinfeld. This led to a number of revolving shows in hot timeslots, as the networked hoped that one of the new series would become their next hit.

Boston Common was able to stick around for two seasons and was made by Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnik. However, the show is basically “Friends… but in Boston.” In it, an out-of-towner from Virginia finds himself unexpectedly relocating to Boston and his personality clashes with the local who he’s befriended.

Best: Phenom

Some of the sitcoms on this list are forgotten just because there is so much content out there that they weren’t able to leave a lasting legacy. Phenom is a bit of a different case, however, as the sitcom only lasted for a year on ABC. It came, and then it disappeared forever.

Phenom starred Judith Light and told the story of a young tennis prodigy and her struggles with life, family, and her rise to stardom. It’s an admittedly odd premise that piqued the interest of a few viewers and was actually fairly popular in its timeslot. In spite of this, the show was still short-lived and was never given a chance to grow.

Worst: Laurie Hill

Ellen DeGeneres had a winner on her hands with her late-‘90s sitcom Ellen, but many people have no clue that she also had a failed sitcom that came before it in 1992. Laurie Hill is as bland and mundane as can be. It put DeGeneres in the role of an air-headed nurse who tries to juggle her job and her commitments as a wife and mother.

Laurie Hill received little promotional support from ABC and only lasted five episodes (with five more going unaired). However, obviously things worked out okay for DeGeneres anyway.

Best: Carol & Company

Carol Burnett is a legend in the world of television comedy, but Carol & Company is an unusual blind spot for some of even the biggest Burnett fans. Rather than using a simple approach for the sitcom, Carol & Company combines elements from both sitcoms and sketch comedy to create a bewildering parody of the form.

Each episode would spoof a different famous sitcom and guest stars from the shows who were being parodied would often appear. The show had an exceptional cast, which featured Richard Kind, Peter Krause, and Jeremy Piven, but in spite of its popularity, it only lasted for a year.

Worst: Baby Talk

Shows that feature talking babies are always problematic and ABC’s Baby Talk is one of the more maligned examples of this, even though there’s some decent talent behind the program. Baby Talk was designed as a loose spin-off of the Look Who’s Talking movie series, with Tony Danza now providing the voice for the signature talking baby.

In spite of how Baby Talk was quite low-hanging fruit, the show was still able to get the likes of Scott Baio and George Clooney. Baby Talk was critically panned, and although it got good ratings, it was canceled after 14 months.

[Mr. Television]

Phenom, Me and the Boys and Grand were good shows.

[Dude111]

I have heard of BOSTON COMMONS but I didnt watch any of them.....