CBR.com: 10 Sitcoms We're Glad Got Canceled

[TMC]

https://www.cbr.com/10-sitcoms-were-glad-got-canceled/

Most sitcoms are loved, but some cancelations were welcomed by TV fans.

Sitcoms have historically been hits with television viewers for generations. But not all sitcoms have been beloved by TV audiences, and viewers were happy to hear they were canceled, whether in the middle of the season or after an entire season aired.

Every network has faced negative responses to sitcoms regardless of their intended audiences. Shows like Fred: The Show was targeted at kids but didn't make waves, while 1600 Penn was supposed to appeal to the whole family but didn't catch the audience's attention. For every wildly popular sitcom, there has been at least one that fans were glad to see leave their screens.

10
Cavemen

Most characters created for commercials aren't fleshed out enough to make a show around. This was the case with Cavemen. The show was supposed to focus on the Geico cavemen, who were created to demonstrate how easy it was to get insurance. Cavemen was pitched as a comedy that would put a twist on the buddy comedy and talk about serious social issues.

However, Cavemen wasn't a hit, and many viewers were confused by the premise and how it related to the characters from the commercials. Viewers were also confused about whether the show was supposed to be more serious or a comedy about cavemen living in the modern world. After 13 episodes, Cavemen was canceled, and tv audiences haven't missed it.

9
Dads

Dads in sitcoms are often one of the funniest characters in their shows, but as a series, Dads didn't land with audiences. The concept of the series follows two video game developers, Eli and Warner, and the situations they get into when their fathers move in with them.

While it seemed the generational differences would be the basis for the jokes in the show, Dads relied on raunchy jokes and racial stereotypes of Asian Americans to get a laugh. Viewers were quick to call out the writing and stopped watching the show resulting in a cancelation after a single season.

8
1600 Penn

1600 Penn was supposed to be a relatable family comedy starring Josh Gad as the President of the United States' son who had a tendency to get himself into trouble. As a political satire, 1600 Penn missed the mark and didn't get the attention of critics.

While it wasn't the worst sitcom to air on NBC, it was hard for viewers to connect to the First Family portrayed in the show as they didn't have many everyday problems to contend with and make light of. The show became repetitive after a few episodes, which caused viewers to get bored. Unfortunately, 1600 Penn wasn't unique or relatable enough for fans to want to see more from the show, and it was canceled after only one season.

7
Rob

Rob was a sitcom that followed a multicultural family, with Rob Schneider playing a man with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder trying to fit in with his wife's Mexican family. The show was quickly called out for relying on stereotypes to represent Mexican culture and not delving deep enough into the cultural differences between the characters.

Rob also relied on overused sitcom tropes that made the show feel like every other sitcom that was on television, heavily focused on a marriage and in-laws that were hard to get along with. Fans and critics agreed that Rob wasn't a good show, and it was canceled after one season.

6
That '80s Show

The success of That '90s Show revived the That '70s Show franchise and further proved why That '80s Show wasn't successful. That '80s Show was disconnected from its 70s-based predecessor and caused audiences to be confused about whether it was a true spin-off or just another period piece.

That '80s Show tried to recreate the same chemistry that the gang from Point Place had but missed the mark with the characters being too different from one another to be believable friends. After one season, the show was canceled with no revival to speak of.

5
Joey

Friends never had a bad season, but the spin-off show Joey that followed the titular character as he moved to LA to become a big-time actor couldn't say the same. Even though Matt LeBlanc's Joey Tribbiani was one of the most lovable characters on Friends, he wasn't as funny without the rest of the cast.

The show's premise didn't connect with Friends fans as Joey was characterized as a staunch New Yorker who would never leave the city. Many jokes in Joey fell flat and seemed recycled from his time in New York. After two seasons, Joey was canceled due to poor ratings and the character not developing.

4
Fred: The Show

Fred, the character, saw great success on YouTube, racking up millions of views with his high-pitched voice and dramatic reactions to life's minor inconveniences. This led to Nickelodeon creating a movie, Fred: The Movie, and a show, Fred: The Show, around the character. While the character was an online hit, Fred didn't translate well to television and annoyed viewers more than it made them laugh.

The gag of Fred having a funny voice became less funny as the show went on, and as the main character aged, it was hard to accept his behavior. Eventually, Nickelodeon pulled Fred: The Show and TV fans were happy they didn't have to see more of his antics.

3
Imaginary Mary

Jenna Elfman starred in Imaginary Mary, which chronicled the struggle of a woman falling in love with a single father but is aided by her imaginary friend, Mary, who she sees when no one else can. The show was a quick flop for ABC, with only nine of the 13 intended episodes airing before the show was pulled due to low ratings.

The concept of Imaginary Mary seemed too juvenile for its intended audiences. Mary couldn't be defined as a helpful guide or a hurtful companion and ultimately didn't make viewers laugh. Even though Imaginary Mary was different from any other sitcom at the time, it was too niche to get a broader audience's attention.

2
S***, My Dad Says

William Shatner is best known for his choices as a captain on Star Trek, but he also starred in the sitcom S***, My Dad Says, which was based on a book of the same name. Shatner plays a father who is not a people person and disregards social decorum because he is old and doesn't want to change. His son turns his father's rants into material for his writing after they start living together.

Fans found the writing half-hearted, and many of the jokes fell flat. Due to the vulgarity in the title of the show S***, My Dad Says was given a reputation for having language that was too strong for primetime. However, this wasn't the case, the damage was done, and audiences didn't find the series funny resulting in its cancelation.

1
Dr. Ken

Dr. Ken combined the real-life experience of the titular character Ken Jeong before he left his medical practice to be a full-time comedian and actor. While the show's premise was new and fresh, the jokes were not. Dr. Ken's knack for joking with his patients gets him in trouble, and his staff is often put in awkward situations.

Even though the casting for Dr. Ken was great, the writing wasn't, and viewers lost interest in the show quickly in favor of Jeong's other projects that were coming out at the time. After 2 seasons, the good doctor was off the air, and Jeong was back in Hollywood acting in blockbuster movies with much raunchier humor.

[Charles Knox]

Not a spinoff or one year wonder, but I was relieved when Two Broke Girls was finally cancelled. How can a crap show like that get 5 or 6 seasons (Please dont post cheesecake pics of the two leads)?

[Mr. Television]

3 of those shows I actually liked. lol

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Charles Knox

Not a spinoff or one year wonder, but I was relieved when Two Broke Girls was finally cancelled. How can a crap show like that get 5 or 6 seasons (Please dont post cheesecake pics of the two leads)?

2 Broke Girls is the female version of Two and a Half Men, crude and tasteless but still does well. Men has fared a lot better in syndication though.

[icecream]

I liked Rob and watched all six episodes. Gecko probably would have been a better Geico show, with the gecko being surrounded by live action humans. Jenna Elfman can get annoying fast. Dr. Ken was awful, Malibu Country and Cristela were much better Last Man Standing leadouts on ABC Fridays.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by icecream

2 Broke Girls is the female version of Two and a Half Men, crude and tasteless but still does well. Men has fared a lot better in syndication though.

The early seasons of Two and a Half Men were funny. Then it degraded into the same garbage that the Broke Girls purveyed.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

S*** My Dad Says was pretty funny.

[Reinhold_Weege]

Originally Posted by icecream

2 Broke Girls is the female version of Two and a Half Men, crude and tasteless but still does well. Men has fared a lot better in syndication though.

The characters in Two and a Half Men were crude and selfish while the characters in 2 Broke Girls were creepy and skeevy.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by ThisLittlePiggy

S*** My Dad Says was pretty funny.

Television Turmoil: $#*! My Dad Says

Neither the show’s premise nor its tried and true multi-cam production are outliers to the CBS style. What makes the show stand out is how all in it goes on being an “edgy” sitcom. CBS had found success with faux-edgy sitcoms like Two and a Half Men and Two Broke Girls so, why not a third show that didn’t have “two” in the title? Those shows mistook d*** jokes and overt racial humor as “edge” and were rewarded with consistent viewership. It only makes sense that the next logical step is to add an expletive to the title and let fate work out the rest.

It is perhaps a bit too pat to say, but $h*! My Dad Says is well and truly ****. For as boiler-plate as most CBS shows are, there is a baseline of mediocrity that sort of blends all but their worst programming together. This is the rare show so thin in both premise and character that all that stands out are the tasteless and unfunny jokes. Within seconds of his first appearance on screen, Shatner is pointing a shotgun at his son’s genitals and threatening to turn him into a woman. The awfulness of Shatner’s titular dad attempts to be the “hook” that keeps us all coming back, like a repugnant version of Archie Bunker. The problem is that no one on the writing team gives poor Ed a character outside of “racist and mean.”

To be fair, no one is much of a character in this show. The cast exists for the express purpose of delivering jokes, and there is little time for something as trivial as stakes and character development. It probably isn’t much of a surprise that normally game comedic actors like Sasso and Sullivan are essentially sleepwalking through this program. There is nothing much to do here but walk into one of the three sets that are used in an episode, belt out some jokes that went stale in the 90s, and pause long enough for the laugh track to be added in later.

Ultimately, the problems this show faces stem from that wafer thin premise. Perhaps there is a reason that no one else has really attempted to adapt a popular Twitter account into a sitcom since. Even if the people involved carved something manageable from nothing, they would still have to contend with that all time stinker of a title. Why anyone allowed the actual title of the show to include a word that couldn’t be said in advertising or on the network itself is a mystery for the ages. Best I can tell, it was a ploy to attract attention to a show that needed all the help it could get. They got that attention, just not in the way they expected.