List Of Sitcoms Known For Negative Reception
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The following is a list of
situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
series that have been ranked among some of the worst series in television history. With the possible exception of
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
, the sitcom genre constitutes the largest category of poorly received television shows, with a long list of critically unsuccessful productions.


0–9

* ''
1600 Penn ''1600 Penn'' is an American television sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in the White House. The series stars Jenna Elfman, Bill Pullman, and Josh Gad. Gad, along with Jason Winer and Jon Lovett jointly created the central characte ...
'': The 2012
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
sitcom ''1600 Penn'', about a dysfunctional family living in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, was canceled after one season of 13 episodes due to poor ratings. The ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'', the ''
Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami metropolitan area, and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquired ...
'', ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', and the ''
Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...
'' named it among the worst shows of the 2012–13 season. ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' wrote in its review, "Family comedies have become classics and thrived based on similarly simple ideas ... like
blended families A stepfamily (sometimes called a bonus family) is a family where at least one parent has children who are not biologically related to their spouse. Either parent, or both, may have children from previous relationships or marriages. Two known cl ...
and differing socioeconomic backgrounds, but at least those shows were funny. ''1600 Penn'' is not." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' commented that the show's "uneven execution should leave viewers feeling as divided as the country." Tim Surette of TV.com wrote that show co-creator and star
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...
's performance "is so grating that he should be used in the War on Terror to flush out evildoers." ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'', in 2016, named it the worst TV show about politics, and
Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' deemed it the "worst of all the nightmarishly bad shows set in the White House" the same year. ''
The Wrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'' included ''1600 Penn'' among their "31 Worst Sitcoms of All Time" in 2018.


A

* ''
AfterMASH ''AfterMASH'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off and continuation of ''M*A*S*H'' that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983, to May 31, 1985. It was developed as the sequel series as it takes place immediately followi ...
'': ''AfterMASH'' premiered in the fall of 1983 in the same Monday night 9:00 P.M. EST time slot as its predecessor ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
''. It finished 10th out of all network shows for the 1983–1984 season according to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. For its second season
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
moved the show to Tuesday nights at 8:00 EST, opposite NBC's top 10 hit ''
The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
'', and launched a marketing campaign featuring illustrations by Sanford Kossin of
Maxwell Klinger This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise created by Richard Hooker, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' (1968) and its sequels '' M*A*S*H Goes to Main ...
in a nurse's uniform, shaving off
Mr. T Laurence T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952), known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A ...
's signature
mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...
, theorizing that ''AfterMASH'' would take a large portion of ''The A-Team''s audience. The opposite occurred as ''AfterMASH's'' ratings plummeted and the show was canceled nine episodes into its second season. In 2002, ''TV Guide'' listed the show as the seventh-worst TV series ever. The series was nonetheless nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Direction In A Comedy Series for the episode "Fall Out". * '' All That Glitters'': ''All That Glitters'' debuted the week of April 18, 1977 on about 40 stations in late-night syndication. It was poorly received by critics, with one reviewer going so far as to call the show's theme song "
blasphemous Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...
" for suggesting that
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
was female and created
Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
first. ''Time'' magazine sharply criticized the series, calling it "embarrassingly amateurish", with "flaccid" and "wearying" jokes, flat writing, "mediocre" acting and "aimless" direction. The ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' concurred, writing that while the series' role-reversal premise may have been adequate for a play or film, it was too limiting to serve as the basis for a continuing series. These limitations showed up most clearly, the ''Journal'' says, in the lead performances. Although praising the performers themselves as talented, they are cited for being "unable to infuse much life into their roles". The ''Journal'' pegs the fundamental problem with ''All That Glitters'' as that "its characters are not people at all, merely composites of the least attractive characteristics of each sex. The satire focuses not on the way real, recognizable people behave, but on stereotypes and cliches about masculine and feminine attitudes. Even when stood on their heads, they still remain stereotypes and cliches." ''
New Times Magazine ''New Times'' was an American glossy bi-weekly national newspaper published from 1973 to 1979 by George A. Hirsch. History Hirsch had been publisher of ''New York (magazine), New York'' magazine, but resigned after conflicts with Clay Felker, ...
'' was much more receptive to the series. Although labeling it "unquestionably the weirdest
how How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidman ...
that
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
has ever produced", ''New Times'' found that the series was not "a satire of mannerisms but of attitudes". ''All That Glitters'' required that viewers watch closely to pick up on the subtleties and nuances, "not so much for what the show says, but for the way that it's said". ''All That Glitters'', after initially capturing 20% of viewers in major markets in its opening weeks, had lost about half of that audience midway through its run. The series was cancelled after 13 weeks, last airing on July 15, 1977. Although the show was panned, it and Lear, along with ''
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera broadcast on weeknights from January 1976 to July 1977. The syndicated series follows the eponymous Mary Hartman, a small-town Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bi ...
'', are credited with expanding the subject matter that television producers were able to explore with lessened fear of antagonizing sponsors or viewers. In the years since the series, it has garnered something of a positive reputation, with one critic listing it and other Lear efforts as "imaginative shows that contained some of the most striking satires of television and American society ever broadcast".


B

* ''
Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...
'': This ITV sitcom starring
Karl Howman Karl Howman (born 13 December 1953) is an English writer, actor and director. Howman's first book, ''Secret Spitfires'', co-written with Ethem Cetintas and Gavin Clarke, went to paperback from hardback in 2022; he also co-directed and produced ...
and Denise van Outen ran for two series from 1998 until 1999 and garnered largely negative reviews. Stuart Heritage from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' named it one of the worst ITV shows, and ''Digital Spy'' named it one of the five worst UK sitcoms. * '' Baby Bob'': This
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
series, based on a talking baby originally featured on a series of television commercials for Internet service provider FreeInternet.com, was panned by critics, but premiered to strong ratings and placed 15th in its first week, although ratings quickly declined. In 2002 (the same year it premiered), ''TV Guide'' ranked ''Baby Bob'' number 14 on its '50 Worst TV Shows of All Time' list. * ''
Baby Talk Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parente ...
'': An early 1990s American sitcom that also featured a talking baby (voiced by
Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
). In 1991, the Electronic Media Critics' Poll voted it the worst series on television. When ABC renewed the show for a second season, lead actress
Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American actress. From 1983 to 1990, she played Stephanie Vanderkellen in the TV series ''Newhart''. The role garnered her critical acclaim, including seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations ...
was released from her contract; she was replaced by
Mary Page Keller Mary Page Keller (born March 3, 1961) is an American actress known for roles on television. She began her career on the daytime soap operas '' Ryan's Hope'' (1982–83) and '' Another World'' (1983–1985) and later starred in a number of televis ...
.
Scott Baio Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...
, who had watched the first season, agreed with some of the critics' views, but justified his joining the show by comparing it to ''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'', on which he starred as a teenager. "I did a show for 11 years (''Happy Days'') that never ever got a good review," said Baio. "So we hope you guys will love it, but we're just going to do the best we can, and it's what the people like that's going to stay on." The series was canceled in the spring of 1992. * '' Baddiel's Syndrome'': This Sky production which ran from January–April 2001, saw
David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and later for his comedy partnership w ...
playing a fictionalised version of himself and attending weekly therapy sessions. It was widely panned in the press with critics and viewers struggling to find anything funny about it.
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
newspaper stated that " 's about middle-class people in their thirties, mostly idiots, who sit around talking rubbish." Reviews from comedy website ''Some of the Corpses are Amusing'' were equally scathing with one reviewer describing it thus: "Set in a Camden flat with token foreigners. He reuses ancient jokes and picks dull plotlines that are tied together nicely with a few long words." The show ran for 13 episodes and was not renewed by Sky. * '' Big Top'': This 2009
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
sitcom starring
Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
as a circus ring mistress received largely negative reviews. In a review of the opening episode, Michael Deacon in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' described it as "unfunny and outdated", writing that "the cast weren't so much playing characters as reading aloud from a dog-eared joke book for half an hour." Tom Sutcliffe in ''The Independent'' wrote that it was "one of those programmes that get you wondering about the commissioning process." Sam Wollaston of ''The Guardian'' commented that the jokes were so obvious that he invented a game, whereby he would pause the show after the set-up and ask his girlfriend to guess the punchline. The sitcom was named the worst new sitcom of 2009 by the visitors to the
British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a Great Britain, British website covering British comedy, British comedies. BCG publishes guides to TV and radio situation comedy, sketch shows, comedy dramas, satire, va ...
. ''Daily Mirror'' TV critic Jim Shelley included the series on his list of the ''Top 20 TV flops'', describing it as "Mind-blowingly awful". The harsh criticism that the sitcom received and the likelihood that it would be axed after one series led to its being used as a cipher on
Richard Bacon Richard Bacon may refer to: People * Sir Richard Bacon, 7th Baronet (Redgrave), 8th Baronet (Mildenhall) (1695–1773), see Bacon baronets * Sir Richard Bacon, 3rd Baronet (c. 1663–1685), see Bacon baronets * Richard Bacon (politician) (born ...
's
BBC 6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
show during 2009–10. To circumvent instructions given to
6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
presenters that they should not discuss on-air the planned closure of the station, Bacon frequently voiced his strong objection to "the BBC's plans to cancel ''Big Top''" and encouraged listeners to do the same. The series was not recommissioned for a second series and was formally cancelled by the BBC in February 2010. In 2013, when Adam Postans of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' reviewed the first episode of ''
The Wright Way ''The Wright Way'' is a British television sitcom written by Ben Elton which aired on BBC One from 23 April to 28 May 2013. It concerns a health and safety manager, his staff and his family. Widely panned by critics, it was cancelled after one ...
'', he wrote that it had surpassed ''Big Top'' for the title of the worst sitcom ever. * '' Bottle Boys'': Produced by
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
for ITV, this series gained a reputation as one of the worst British sitcoms ever produced.
Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.
, writing in the ''Radio Times Guide to Comedy'' observed that "ITV sitcoms had often plumbed the depths, but this was the limit", and noted that ''Bottle Boys'' was reputedly despised by comedy executives at ITV. He went on to pick ''Bottle Boys'' as the "worst ever" British sitcom. Writer
Vince Powell Vincent Joseph Powell (6 August 1928 – 13 July 2009) was a British television scriptwriter. He collaborated with a writing partner, Harry Driver, until 1973. Early life Powell was born as Vincent Joseph Smith to Roman Catholic parents in ...
was no stranger to working on controversial shows, having created two of the most controversial comedy shows of the 1970s, ''
Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...
'' and ''
Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' was a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979, and it was briefly ...
''. The programme made number 97 in Channel Four's ''100 Greatest TV Moments from Hell'' list show, a retrospective of television's low points of the last fifty years. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked it #1 in its list of the 10 worst British sitcoms ever made. * ''
The Brighton Belles ''The Brighton Belles'' is a short-lived British sitcom, based on the hit American sitcom ''The Golden Girls''. The programme consisted of 11 episodes, which were broadcast from 9 March 1993 until 28 December 1994, being pulled halfway through ...
'': Produced by
Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
for ITV, this 1993 British adaptation of the popular American series ''
The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
'' was both a critical and popular failure in the UK, lasting only six episodes out of ten that were recorded (the remaining four were shown over a year later). It is included in Jeff Evans's list of the twenty worst TV series of all time. The BBC comedy guide wrote about the series' failure: "Why did it fail? Several explanations apply, but the simplest has to be that ''The Golden Girls'' itself was already familiar to most British TV watchers ..., and people felt no reason to tune into a UK adaptation delivering the same lines. When an original piece is already nigh-on perfect, and has sated its public, why try to sell a replica? Most transatlantic sitcom adaptations air without the original series having been seen in that territory. To pitch to viewers a carbon copy of an already successful series seems pointless – in hindsight, at least." * '' Buddies'': Comedians
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...
and
Jim Breuer James Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film ''Half Baked'' (1998). Career Breuer was a member of the cast of ''Saturda ...
attracted the attention of TV network executives with their guest appearance in the March 14, 1995 episode of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
's highly rated sitcom ''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
''. The storyline had Chappelle and Breuer play a duo of friends who appear on ''
Tool Time ''Home Improvement'' is an American sitcom television series starring Tim Allen originally airing on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 17, 1991 to May 25, 1999 with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The se ...
'' to ask Tim Taylor advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing on the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give Chappelle and Breuer their own half-hour sitcom. After subsequent rehearsals,
Jim Breuer James Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film ''Half Baked'' (1998). Career Breuer was a member of the cast of ''Saturda ...
was replaced with
Christopher Gartin Christopher Gartin is an American actor and producer, known for ''Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Withi ...
as Dave Chappelle's "buddy". The unique comic timing and chemistry that Chappelle had with Breuer, his real-life friend, was not present with Gartin, and Breuer's abrupt firing exacerbated ill will. This prevented Chappelle and Gartin from developing the rapport and comedic chemistry necessary for the characters' believability and likeability. ''Buddies'' premiered on Tuesday, March 5, 1996, garnering disappointing ratings. When a move to Wednesday night failed to improve its performance, ''Buddies'' was off the air on April 3 after a broadcast history of only five episodes out of the 13 that were produced. Dave Chappelle himself was not proud of his involvement with ''Buddies'' in retrospect: "It was a bad show. It was bad. I mean when we were doing it, I could tell this was not gonna work." However, the full series was released on DVD in 2005 as a Best Buy exclusive.


C

* ''
Cavemen The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin Boul ...
'': Joe Lawson, who set the show in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, adapted it from the
GEICO Cavemen The GEICO Cavemen are trademarked characters of the auto insurance company GEICO, used in a series of television advertisements that aired beginning in 2004. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson and Noel Ritter while working at The Martin Agenc ...
commercials, which were also written by Lawson. The 2007 show was described by the network as a "unique buddy comedy that offers a clever twist on
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s and turns
race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...
on its head". In terms of reception from the media the show was "critically savaged". The ''Chicago Tribune'' listed it as one of the 25 worst TV shows ever, and Adam Buckman of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' declared the show "extinct on arrival."
Ginia Bellafante Ginia Bellafante (born March 31, 1965) is an American critic and columnist for ''The New York Times''. Career Bellafante worked as a TV and cultural critic at ''Time'' until 1999. She then joined ''The New York Times'' as a fashion critic, an ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote "I laughed. But I laughed through my pain. Cavemen'',' set in some version of San Diego where people speak with
Southern accents ''Southern Accents'' is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, " Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked ...
, doesn't have moments as much as microseconds suspended from any attempt at narrative." * ''
Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
'': A pilot for a
live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...
TV series based on the 1994
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...
indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
was produced in 1995. It was produced by
Touchstone Television The second incarnation of Touchstone Television, formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios, was an American television production company and a subsidiary of the Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of the Disney Media Networks business s ...
. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, and did not feature Silent Bob. The character of Jay was featured, prompting Smith to point out that he owned the character rights to both
Jay and Silent Bob Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by American actors Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively. They appear in the View Askewniverse, a fictional universe used in most of the films, comics, and television programs written and ...
(for the purposes of featuring them in separate films). The producers' solution was to change the character's name to Ray. Kevin Smith was unaware of the production of the series until casting was underway. Smith had been in production with ''
Mallrats ''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Priscilla Barnes and Michael Rooker. It is the second film in the View Askewnive ...
'' at the time and attempted to become involved in the series but became disheartened quickly as an episode he had written for the series was shot down. He later used the script for an episode of '' Clerks: The Animated Series'' (which fared better critically).
Brian O'Halloran Brian Christopher O'Halloran (born December 20, 1969) is an American actor, producer and podcaster best known for playing Dante Hicks in Kevin Smith's debut 1994 film ''Clerks'' and its 2006 and 2022 sequels ''Clerks II'' and ''Clerks III''. H ...
and
Jeff Anderson Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970) is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in ''Clerks,'' ''Clerks II,'' and ''Clerks III''. In between, he has appeared in other Kevi ...
both auditioned for the role of
Dante Hicks This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse. ''Clerks'' (1994) Dante Hicks Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in ''Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works at ...
(as Anderson's part of
Randal Graves This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse. ''Clerks'' (1994) Dante Hicks Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in '' Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works a ...
from the film had been filled by future '' SNL'' performer
Jim Breuer James Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film ''Half Baked'' (1998). Career Breuer was a member of the cast of ''Saturda ...
). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part. * '' Co-Ed Fever'': ''Co-Ed Fever'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture ''
National Lampoon's Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulce, and ...
''. It was the third of three " frat house" comedy series to air in early 1979 (the others were NBC's '' Brothers and Sisters'' and ABC's ''
Delta House ''Delta House'' is an American sitcom that was adapted from the 1978 film '' National Lampoon's Animal House.'' The series aired from January 18 to April 21, 1979 on ABC. Casting Cast members reprising their roles from ''Animal House'' include ...
'', the latter of which was an authorized spin-off of ''Animal House''). CBS cancelled ''Co-Ed Fever'' after only one episode, and all three series were off the air by the end of April 1979. The series was so low-rated it never made it to its regular time slot, Monday night, airing instead as a 'special preview' the night before.(11 February 1979)
"Co-Ed Fever" Expires
''Bonham Daily Favorite'' (UPI story)
In 2002, ''Co-Ed Fever'' ranked number 32 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Worst Shows of All Time list. * '' Come Back Mrs. Noah'': A BBC television sitcom that aired on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
from 1977 to 1978, joke banter was recycled from other series, and outrageously strange props were used. ''Come Back Mrs. Noah'' was not a success, with some regarding it as one of the worst British sitcoms ever made. ''The Telegraph'' ranked it #2 in its list of the ten worst British sitcoms ever made. * ''
Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
'': A
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
programme written by Tim Dawson (who had worked on the similar comedy ''
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' is a British television sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011. First broadcast on BBC Two, it originally starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn D ...
),'' ''Coming of Age'' revolved about the lives of six teenagers in
Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The Historic counties of England, historic county town of Berksh ...
, England. ''Coming of Age'' was criticised for excessive vulgarity and lack of humour. Writing about the first episode, ''The Daily Telegraph''s ''Culture'' magazine was negative: "Crudeness abounds... but neither wit nor charm has tagged along for the ride.". Harry Venning in ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'' stated that most of the show's humour "was unremittingly dire" and stated " I sat through ''Coming Of Age'' with the will to live seeping from my every pore, leaving me drenched in a puddle of despair. Apparently writer Tim Dawson was 19 when he wrote it, which is about six years older than I would have guessed." Meanwhile, ''The Scotsman'' wrote simply: "''Coming of Age'' may be the worst BBC sitcom yet. It is supposedly aimed at teenagers, but I refuse to believe that even the easiest-to-please teenager is happy to accept something so horribly written, horribly acted and horribly vulgar in lieu of actual humour."Last night's TV review: Dawn Porter: Free Lover, Channel 4 – Coming Of Age, BBC3
/ref> * ''
Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mo ...
'' (US): This American adaptation of the British sitcom of the same name drew objections over its extensive
sexual content In media discourse, sexual content is material depicting Human sexual activity, sexual behavior. The sexual behavior involved may be Pornography, explicit, implicit sexual behavior such as flirting, or include sexual language and euphemisms. Sexu ...
, prompting at least two stations (both owned by religious organizations) to not carry the show, and it was pulled from the NBC schedule within two months despite a barrage of publicity. It was also immediately panned as a poor imitation of the original UK series by viewers and critics.
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...
even ran commercials noting that they would play the original British versions on their station just after the American equivalent episodes on NBC aired, so that viewers could see instantly just how superior the original was. Miscasting and stilted delivery of a nearly identical script were believed to be the reasons for the failure though creator
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
claims the level of network interference was the sole reason. It ranked #7 on ''Entertainment Weekly''s list of TV's 50 Biggest Bombs and Blunders.


D

* '' Daddy's Girls'': This CBS series followed Dudley Walker (
Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-perf ...
), the owner of a New York fashion house who loses his wife and his business partner when, after a years-long secret affair, they run off together leaving him as the primary caretaker to his three daughters. The series is notable as the first in which a
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
principal character was played by an openly gay actor.
Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He gained notice for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'', winning both the Tony Award for Best ...
played Dennis Sinclair, a high-strung designer at Walker's firm. Although Fierstein earned praise for his performance, ''Daddy's Girls'' was hated by critics. ''New York'' magazine called the series "Despised, reviled." ''Entertainment Weekly'' found Moore to be "wan and confused." ''The
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' could only say that "''Daddy's Girls'' isn't horrendously bad" but predicted that it would not last until Christmas. The series was placed "on hiatus" after only three episodes aired and never returned. Moore never returned to television; he was later diagnosed with
progressive supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain, linked to 4-repeat tau pathology. The condition leads to symptoms including Balance di ...
, which Moore later cited as the cause of his difficulties on the set of the show. * '' Dads'': This 2013
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
multicamera sitcom from
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...
received scathing reviews from critics, receiving a score of 15 out of 100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
and 0% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
. The network used extracts of the negative reviews ("offensive", "reprehensible", "morally wrong") to promote the show. On May 7, 2014, Fox cancelled it after only one season. * ''
Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...
'': The series was
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
's first prime-time sitcom, but it generally received poor reviews and negative audience reception. It was cancelled after a single 13-episode season in an era when Canadian content requirements made canceling Canadian programs after so few episodes a rarity. ''Delilah'' was one of several CBC flops during the early 1970s, including '' Corwin'' and '' McQueen'', the product of inferior creativity. However, CBC's next sitcom, ''
King of Kensington ''King of Kensington'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.Mary Jane Miller, ''Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama since 1952''. UBC Press, 2011. . pp. 134-144. Synopsis Al Waxman starred as Larry ...
'', fared much better and became a multi-year success. ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' television critic Jim Bawden declared the series as the "Worst Canadian Sitcom", declaring the script writing to be "appalling" and discovered an absence of laughter from the audience when he attended a taping of an episode. * ''
Don't Call Me Charlie! ''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1962-1963 television season on Friday nights from 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Time. Created by Don McGuire, the 18-episode series starred Josh Peine, Linda Lawson, ...
'': Debuting in a US fall 1962 season among a number of sitcoms with wildly unrealistic fantasy premises (the
animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...
''
The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produc ...
'' and ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
'' would be the only two new sitcoms of that year to have any sort of pop cultural afterlife), the sitcom featuring a rural veterinarian mistakenly drafted into the armed forces received a scathing review from Rick Du Brow at the time, who chided those responsible for calling the show a comedy, noted that the star of the series was a poor actor, and publicly questioned setting the series in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, despite having nothing to do with that city (noting that the show eliminated most traces to France after
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
returned to the Presidency). The show was pulled from air partway through its lone season with eight episodes left unaired.


E

* '' Emily's Reasons Why Not'': The show drew fire from pro-
abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...
groups for its inability to properly portray an abstinent person and relying on stereotypes of homosexuality to portray an intentional virgin. It was reported that ABC committed to the show before seeing a script. Despite heavy promotion by both
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
and ABC, the show was pulled after the first episode due to drawing only 6.2 million viewers. Production was stopped after filming six episodes. ABC was said to have spent millions on promotion, including airtime, billboards and radio ads, and considered ''Emily'' to be the 'linchpin' of the network's post-football Monday-night schedule. The promotion was so heavy and the cancellation so abrupt that some magazines found themselves carrying cover stories about a canceled show. After viewing it, ABC's entertainment president suggested that they considered the show lackluster and unlikely to improve. ''The New York Times'' attributed the cancellation in part to the extremely unappealing nature of the main character and the portrayal by
Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...
. * ''
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! ''Extra! Extra! Read All About It!'' is an Irish television sitcom that aired on RTÉ One, RTÉ 1 for one season of eight episodes in 1993. The show was written by Frank Sheerin, and the stand-up comedian, Morgan Jones, was a cast member. The ...
'' (also known as ''Extra! Extra!''): An Irish sitcom on
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
set in a newspaper office. It was poorly received, with critics stating that the scripts lacked any humour and that the direction was poor. Reviewing the programme for the '' Sunday Independent'' writer Colm Tóibín called it "probably the worst programme RTÉ has ever shown". The ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' Brendan Glacken was equally scathing: "Speaking of ''Extra! Extra!'', as I am afraid we still must, even seasoned RTÉ observers seem unable to answer the question why a series so pathetically weak should have been allowed to reach the screen at all". Writing in the '' Connacht Sentinel'', journalist Declan Tierney also gave the programme a harsh review: "to say that this is a pathetic attempt at comedy is being kind to "Extra! Extra! Read All About It!"" and stated "the only indication that it ''is'' a comedy comes from the canned laughter, which is over-done and often goes on for so long that it is impossible to hear the start of the next sentence". The ''Irish Independent'' later listed it as one of the worst Irish TV shows ever.


F

* ''
Ferris Bueller ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Cindy P ...
'': The show (based on the hit 1986
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
film ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...
'' starring
Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...
) received mostly negative reviews from critics. John J. O'Connor of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the version of Bueller portrayed by the "smirking"
Charlie Schlatter Charlie Schlatter is an American actor who has appeared in several films and television series. He is best known for his role as Dr. Jesse Travis, the resident student of Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van Dyke) on the CBS series '' Diagnosis: ...
"is likely to leave most viewers reaching instinctively for their wallets." Some critics considered ''Ferris Bueller'' one of the worst shows of the year. The show also had comparison to a show with a similar concept that debuted on Fox the same month, ''
Parker Lewis Can't Lose ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose'' (rebranded simply as ''Parker Lewis'' for the third and final season) is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on Fox from September 1990 to June 1993. It was produced by Clyde Phillips Productions, in asso ...
''. ''Parker Lewis'' proved to be more successful, lasting three seasons. * ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'': This ABC sitcom about a
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...
(
Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...
) who is able to fly originally ran from September 7, 1967, to September 18, 1970, and today is considered a typical example of a 1960s sitcom based on a strange, cartoony premise, similar in style to ''
Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...
'' and ''
My Mother the Car ''My Mother the Car'' is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965, and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The series is about a man whose deceased mother ...
.'' To avoid any controversy, the producers delayed the release of the series by a year in order to obtain an approval from the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
(which it did not object to after privately viewing the show first). Despite poor critical reception, it was quite popular with the audience and lasted for three seasons with a total of 82 episodes produced. Pilot Viruet of ''
Flavorwire ''Flavorwire'' was a New York City-based online culture magazine. The site includes original feature articles, interviews, reviews, as well as content recycled from other sources. ''Flavorwire'' describes themselves as "a network of culturally ...
'' wrote: "The title reads like a throwaway joke from an episode of
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
... ''The Flying Nun'' isn't a punchline, though. It was a very real show, and even a somewhat successful one ..." ''MediaPost'' called it "one of the most unreal sitcoms of that period". However, while it was largely panned in its time, most of today's critics are more forgiving and praise the show for, despite its strange premise and plots, having a certain charm to it, with most praise going towards the performance and charm of Sally Field. ''Skooldays.com'' commented: "Even with all the wackiness going on, the lead actress's charm and multiple talents (she frequently sang on the show) kept the show grounded (except the Flying Nun herself, of course), and everything would be tied up with an uplifting moral by the show's end. ... The show's combination of unusual comedy and Field's charm kept viewers hooked. No matter which way the winds blow, ''The Flying Nun'' will always have a place in television history for managing to transform an offbeat premise into a successful and charming hit." * '' Fred: The Show'': One of the first
primetime television Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...
series adapted from an
internet personality An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...
ran from January to August 2012 over the course of 24 episodes. The series is a direct adaptation of the
Fred Figglehorn Frederick "Fred" Figglehorn is a fictional character who appears in the YouTube web series ''Fred'' (stylized as "FЯED") created by American Internet personality Lucas Cruikshank from 2006 to 2015 and revived from 2020 to 2021. The characters' ...
character by
Lucas Cruikshank Lucas Alan Cruikshank (born August 29, 1993) is an American YouTuber and actor who created the character Fred Figglehorn and the associated ''Fred'' series for his channel on the video-hosting website YouTube in late 2006. These videos are cent ...
, who at the time was one of the most subscribed and popular users on the online video sharing platform,
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. The show was universally panned by both critics and casual viewers for the same reasons as the original videos on YouTube have been criticised for previously such as the character Fred himself due to his annoying and infantile actions, lowbrow humour, unrealistic scenarios, and dialogue. Emily Ashby of
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
gave the series 1 out 5 stars, the lowest possible rating on their platform for reasons such as its immature and low humour, unrealistic scenarios, and the possibility of Fred's behaviour in the show having negative effects on younger viewers. As of 2025, the series is one of the lowest rated entries on
IMDB IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
with a 2.2 user score.


H

* '' Hank'': The show has been critically panned, scoring a 36/100 in Metacritic. The ''Los Angeles Times'' has noted "There's nothing here you couldn't imagine from the premise, but there's also nothing wrong with what's here:
Melinda McGraw Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has appeared in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), ''Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and '' Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men ...
is a good foil for
Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...
, and Grammer is good at what he does." The ''New York Post'' panned the show: "''Hank'' is one of the worst new (or old) comedies of this or many other seasons." It was cancelled after five episodes. * ''
Hardwicke House ''Hardwicke House'' is a seven-episode sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. It was originally produced in the beginning of 1987. It was so negatively received that only the first two episodes were transmitted ...
'': Produced by
Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...
for the
ITV network ITV, legally known as Channel 3, is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is b ...
, this 1987 seven-episode sitcom set in a
comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
, and featuring (in one episode only)
Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (; 7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Adrian Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University, and was a pioneer of alternative come ...
and
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...
, became notorious for having such negative reception that it was cancelled after only two episodes were aired on two consecutive days. The remaining five episodes had never been aired on television or released in any other form until they were uploaded on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in 2019. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked it #9 on their list of the ten worst British sitcoms ever made. * ''
The Hathaways The Hathaways may refer to: * ''The Hathaways'' (TV series), a 1961–1962 American sitcom * ''The Hathaways'' series, a historical romance novel series by Lisa Kleypas See also *'' The Haunted Hathaways'', a 2013–2015 American television si ...
'': This 1961–62 series followed the antics of a group of performing chimps and their agent. Latter-day television critics Castleman and Podrazik (1982) have called ''The Hathaways'' "possibly the worst series ever to air on network TV", criticizing the production, scripts, acting, the "utterly degrading" premise, and the overall "total worthlessness" of the program. * ''
Ein Haus voller Töchter Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology * Ein function, in mathematics * Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining * Equivalent input noise, of a microphone * European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...
'' ''("A house full of daughters")'': A 2010 sitcom produced by the small
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
channel
Das Vierte Das Vierte (English: The Fourth) was a German entertainment channel replaced in January 2014 by Disney Channel. History Das Vierte was launched by NBC Universal Global Networks (NUGN) in 2005 as an all-drama programming channel. The channel rea ...
as their first (and only) own fictional production. A very close adaptation of the popular Russian series ''Папины дочки'' (''
Daddy's Daughters ''Daddy's Daughters'' () is a Russian TV series that aired for 20 seasons from September 3, 2007 to April 30, 2013. Made by "Kinokonstanta" (episodes 1 to 60), "Kostafilm" (episodes 61 to 370) and "Yellow, Black and White" (since episode 371) film ...
''), the show told the everyday life of a family therapist who has to care for his five daughters after being left by his wife. It was panned for its poor and clichéd writing, poor acting, poor timing and overuse of canned laughter. Jan Schlüter of Quotenmeter.de panned the show and concluded that "television could hardly get worse". It also received very poor ratings and was cancelled after only 35 of 48 episodes were broadcast. * ''
Heil Honey I'm Home! ''Heil Honey I'm Home!'' is a British sitcom, written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990, which was List of television series canceled after one episode, cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next d ...
'': This 1990 UK sitcom broadcast by the short-lived
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
depicted fictionalised versions of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and
Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich in 1929 (aged 17) when she was an assistant and model ...
living next to a stereotypical Jewish couple. The show was criticised for being unfunny and distasteful, and was cancelled after a single episode aired. One TV historian has described ''Heil Honey I'm Home!'' as "perhaps the world's most tasteless situation comedy". ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'' named it the 8th worst British sitcom ever made. * ''
Hello, Larry ''Hello, Larry'' is an American sitcom television series created by Dick Bensfield and Perry Grant, starring McLean Stevenson. It aired on NBC from January 26, 1979, to April 30, 1980. Its broadcast run consisted of 38 episodes over two seasons. ...
'': ''Hello, Larry'' had the misfortune of appearing on NBC at a time when that network was at its nadir in the ratings (despite its poor quality, it lasted two seasons and 35 episodes). The show was greeted by viewers who had high expectations based on
McLean Stevenson Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in the television series '' M*A*S*H'', which earned him a Golden Globe Awa ...
's ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
'' association, but quickly gained an extremely bad reputation as a weakly written, unfunny sitcom, and it was not helped by frequent ridicule from
Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
in his monologues on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
''. It was used as a frequent punchline whenever a reference to a bad decision by an actor to leave a successful TV show was needed. In one example,
Arianna Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (; , ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''HuffPost'', the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books. She ha ...
said that "
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
's return to the United States Senate will be the chilliest reception for a war hero since McLean Stevenson tried to talk his way back onto ''M*A*S*H'' after ''Hello Larry'' tanked." ''TV Guide'' ranked the series number 12 on TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All Time list in 2002. * ''
The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...
'': The premiere of ''The Help'' was the most watched program in the Friday 9:30–10:00 time slot on
The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
in the 2003–04 season. Despite the premiere being the best performance in the time slot of the season on The WB, the critics had nothing positive to say.
Virginia Heffernan Virginia Heffernan (born August 8, 1969) is an American journalist and cultural critic. Since 2015, she has been a political columnist at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and a cultural columnist at ''Wired''. From 2003 to 2011, she worked as a staff w ...
of ''The New York Times'' wrote the show "comes off like a school play, clumsily blocked, loudly acted and nearly shouted down by obligatory laughter and applause." Robert Bianco of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' pointed out that "this is the kind of show that opens with a doggie-doo joke and still finds a way to go downhill." Perhaps the most harsh was Matthew Gilbert of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'': "The WB's claim that "The Help" is a "biting satire" is only half true. No, it's not a satire, but yes, it does indeed bite. And it will be biting the dust before long, unless it can find a new cast, new writers, new producers, a new set, and an entirely new premise." In her review of the 2003–04 season Kay McFadden, television critic for ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'', classified ''The Help'' as "Never should have aired". * '' Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt ("Help, my family is crazy")'': This German adaptation of '' Married... with Children'' first aired on
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
on 4 March 1993''.'' Its scripts and sets were almost exact copies of the original American ones, lacking any cultural changes necessary to properly adapt it into
German culture The culture of Germany has been shaped by its central position in Europe and a history spanning over a millennium. Characterized by significant contributions to art, music, philosophy, science, and technology, German culture is both diverse and ...
. Even the looks, facial expressions and gestures of the actors had to be exactly like those in the original US series. Further contributing to the series' failure was the fact that ''Married... with Children'' had already premiered in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
a year before and was broadcast daily in the afternoon while ''Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt'' was broadcast once a week in the evening and on the same station. German newspaper ''
Die Tageszeitung ''Die Tageszeitung'' (, "The Daily Newspaper"), stylized as ''die tageszeitung'' and commonly referred to as ''taz'', is a German daily newspaper. It is run as a cooperative – it is administered by its employees and a co-operative of sharehol ...
'' called it "very boring", while 20 years later in a retrospective article on the show, ''Der Spiegel'' wrote that it "couldn't work". Christian Richter of Quotenmeter.de called it "probably the most colourless comedy series on German television". Moviepilot.de ranked it #1 on a list of ''"Top 7 German comedy series crimes"'', commenting: "That 26 episodes of such garbage were made only shows that in German television not everything was always better in the past." The series received very poor ratings and was cancelled after the 26 episodes of the first season were broadcast. * ''
Hitz ''Hitz'' is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26 until November 11, 1997. The series follows two record industry executives (Rick Gomez and Claude Brooks) and their boss (Andrew Dice Clay) at Hitower Records in Los Angeles. Cast ...
'':
Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the f ...
came off the mis-step of '' Bless This House'', only to find no success a season later with this UPN music industry-set sitcom.
Caryn James Caryn James is an American film critic, journalist, university lecturer, and writer. Biography She grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and obtained her doctorate in English literature at Brown University. She began working as a freelance jour ...
of ''The New York Times'' called the series "relentlessly unfunny".
Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and nonfiction book author. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...
of ''Entertainment Weekly'' rated the series as one of the worst of the year. * ''
Homeboys in Outer Space ''Homeboys in Outer Space'' is an American science fiction/fantasy sitcom that aired on UPN from August 27, 1996 to May 13, 1997. The series stars comedian Flex Alexander and Darryl Bell. Plot The plot centered around two astronauts, Tyberius ...
'': The series was panned by critics and was on ''TV Guide''s List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. ''Homeboys in Outer Space'' was cancelled in 1997 after 21 episodes.


I

* '' Das iTeam – Die Jungs an der Maus'' ('The iTeam - The Guys at the Mouse'): This German adaptation of the British programme ''
The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British television sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, created, written, and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in th ...
'' was produced in June 2007, starring
Sky du Mont Cayetano Neven du Mont (; born 20 May 1947), known professionally as Sky du Mont (, ), is a German-Argentine actor. Early life Sky du Mont's family, who are related to the famous publishers DuMont Schauberg, fled the Nazis in the 1930s to Sou ...
, Sebastian Münster, Stefan Puntigam and Britta Horn. The scripts were almost exact copies of the original British ones of the first season. The first episode was aired on 4 January 2008 on
Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...
and received a mainly negative reception. It was criticized for the poor translation of the original stories and jokes, poor direction, poor timing and the poor performance of the actors, mainly Stefan Puntigam as Gabriel (the German version of
Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
). Manuel Weis of Quotenmeter.de heavily panned the show, commenting: "It could indeed be possible that the boys of the class 10a from the secondary school of Brunsbüttel made the series. In short: In this form '''Das iTeam should never have come onto the screen. The look is strongly reminiscent of cheap crime documentaries in the afternoon and the actors are reminiscent of lousy Daytime formats. The climax of these catastrophes is ... Stefan Puntigam, who embodies the role of the computer geek Gabriel. ... his role seems artificial, exaggerated and in any case badly acted." ''The IT Crowd'' creator
Graham Linehan Graham George Linehan (; born May 1968) is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), '' Black Books'' (2000–2004), and ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), and has wri ...
noted in his blog that the first gag already does not work due to being wrongly executed. The show was cancelled after only two episodes due to low ratings. All episodes were later screened on Sat.1 Comedy.


J

* ''
Joanie Loves Chachi ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from March 23, 1982, to May 24, 1983. It stars Erin Moran and Scott Baio as the characters Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola, ...
'': This spin-off of the popular series ''
Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' was a romantic musical comedy that has been negatively received by critics since its 17-episode run ended in 1983. Originally rated highly, network research suggested it was not rated well because of its own merits but was instead being propped up by its lead-in; the show's cast also cited a wholesale replacement in the writing staff with inferior, often drug-addicted writers who were unfamiliar with the show between its first and second seasons as another reason for the ratings plunge.Will Harris, "Scott Baio talks Chachi, Bob Loblaw, and Howard Cosell", ''AV Club'' 3 April 2014
accessed 7 April 2014
It ranked #17 on ''TV Guide''s list of Biggest TV Blunders. * '' Ein Job fürs Leben'' ("''A Job for Life''"): This German remake of ''
Who's the Boss? ''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...
'' premiered on
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
on 4 March 1993, together with the also unsuccessful and critically panned '' Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt,'' and garnered largely negative reviews for the poor adaptation of the original US series. Even RTL CEO Marc Conrad was quoted saying: "That just does not seem funny." Christian Richter of ''Quotenemter.de'' called it a bland copy of the US original. ''Moviepilot.de'' ranked it #2 in its list of "Top 7 German comedy series crimes" only behind ''Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt'', calling it "awkward, unfunny and unnecessary as a goiter". The series fared poorly in the ratings and was cancelled after one season.


K

* ''Kath & Kim'' (2008): An American remake of the Australian series of the same name, the show generated criticism from fans and television critics, especially in the casting, adjusting of the tone of the show and even the show's costume design, which led to
Selma Blair Selma Blair (born Selma Blair Beitner; June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in '' Cruel Intentions'', '' Legally Blonde'', '' The Sweetest Thing'', and the ''Hellboy'' franchise. Blair, born in Southfield, Michigan ...
firing back over the claims that it ruins the creativity of the original. Early reviews of the pilot were poor, with the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' calling it "''a contender for worst remake ever.''" * ''
Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire ''Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'' is a British-American comedic sword and sorcery series created by Peter A. Knight, co-produced by Hat Trick Productions and Media Rights Capital for Comedy Central and BBC Two, which premiered on ...
'': This 2009 British-American
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
co-production that was supposed to parody the
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...
genre garnered largely negative reviews. Daniel Carlson of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote: "Comedy Central's ''Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'' is exactly as bad as you would fear. ... Instead of humor, creator Peter A. Knight settles for a horribly broad and purportedly 'wacky' level of high jinks that stopped being funny when you turned 15 and realized that the guy who keeps quoting ''
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film based on the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) and ...
'' is not the guy you want to be." Tim Dowling of ''The Guardian'' wrote: "As an attempt to parody the sword-and-sorcery genre, ''Kröd Mändoon'' has some fundamental problems. First, it fails to demonstrate even a grudging respect for the thing it's taking the piss out of, which means it has all the internal logic, dramatic conviction and narrative thrust of a three-minute sketch. Secondly, it relies heavily on a single comic conceit, namely that the hopeless band of resistance fighters led by Kröd Mändoon spend most of their time bickering like office colleagues on an away-day team-building exercise. But the biggest problem is that ''Kröd Mändoon'' isn't very funny."


L

* '' Land of Hope and Gloria'': This short-lived 1992 ITV sitcom starring
Sheila Ferguson Sheila Diana Ferguson (born October 8, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and author, who has worked primarily in the United Kingdom. Between 1966 and 1986, she was a member of the American female soul music group The Three Degree ...
was critically panned and is considered one of the worst British sitcoms ever made.


M

* ''
Mad About Alice ''Mad About Alice'' is a British sitcom that ran during 2004 for six episodes. It centres on the lives of a divorced couple and their young son. Despite no longer living together, Doug (Jamie Theakston) and Alice (Amanda Holden) remain in close c ...
'': This 2004 BBC sitcom starring
Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
and
Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...
as a divorced couple with a young son received largely negative reviews and lasted for only one series. ''Digital Spy'' named it one of the five worst UK sitcoms and ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'' discussed it in the first episode of its "ShitComs" series, a series on the worst sitcoms that lasted for only one series. * ''
Man Up! ''Man Up!'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 18 to December 6, 2011. On December 8, ABC announced the series had been cancelled due to low ratings. Only 8 episodes were aired on television, though all 13 episodes were availa ...
'': This ABC series received negative reviews, based on Metacritic's overall index, which placed the series at 36 out of 100. ''The Hollywood Reporter''s Tim Goodman noted that the actors are "just saddled in this sitcom world of limited potential", adding "How long can they play this joke?" and concluded that "Isn't it really time to let go of stereotypes and clichés and maybe write a sitcom that has more to joke about than one thing over and over again?" ''
JAM! Jam! was a Canadian website which covered entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outl ...
'' gave the series a "Thumbs Down", noting that "...if you're pining for the next great male sitcom, this isn't it." ''Variety''s Brian Lowry noted that "...it'll take more than sociology to pump up this stale sitcom." ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
''s Kristi Turnquist called the show "Unfunny" in her short review. ''Fantriad''s Matt Peterson found that among a mixed gender group of 25- to 34-year-olds, this show ranked among the top 5 of weekly watched television series. This group described this show as "a fresh take on comedy" and "laugh out loud funny", during online polls and questionnaires. * '' Marvin Marvin'': This short-lived 2012
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
sitcom about an alien living with a human family on Earth was critically panned for similar reasons as
Lucas Cruikshank Lucas Alan Cruikshank (born August 29, 1993) is an American YouTuber and actor who created the character Fred Figglehorn and the associated ''Fred'' series for his channel on the video-hosting website YouTube in late 2006. These videos are cent ...
's previous show on Nickelodeon, '' Fred: The Show''. Brian Lowrey of
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
described the series as "a teeth-gnashing affair, determined to test the appeal of Lucas Cruikshank." The now defunct online magazine,
Media Life Magazine ''Media Life Magazine'' was an online publication that was started in May 1999 by Gene Ely. The publication covered all aspects of the media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver ...
stated that "''Marvin Marvin'' is simply bland, bland." The show was cancelled only after 19 episodes due to low viewership and Lucas Cruikshank's contract with Nickelodeon expiring. * ''
Melody Rules ''Melody Rules'' was a New Zealand sitcom created by Geoff Houtman and Mihera Paterson for TV3. It featured former ''Nightline'' host Belinda Todd as Melody, a hard-working sibling guardian surrounded by a gaggle of eccentric friends and family. ...
'': Critically and commercially unsuccessful, this
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
show has become part of the lexicon within the New Zealand television industry to describe an unsuccessful sitcom; for example: "That show will be the next ''Melody Rules''." The series has been frequently labelled as "cringeworthy", and "atrocious" by ''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
'', one of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
television's "disasters" by Scoop, and "awful" by the ''
Waikato Times The ''Waikato Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Hamilton, New Zealand, and owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It has a circulation to the greater Waikato region and became a tabloid paper in 2018. The newspaper has won the title of N ...
''. Series co-stars Alan Brough and Belinda Todd both regret starring in the series; Todd described working on the series "... like
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
. I think that if you have to say 'Melody Rules'' you have to go around–you'd have to go outside and spin around because it's bad luck, don't you?" and labelled the series as "absolutely ghastly",
Nightline 20th Anniversary Special
'' (2010). Graham, Mark (executive producer).
MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...
and
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
.
while Brough described working on the series as "such a horrendous experience", adding "... I was so embarrassed by it, I had to go overseas." Both Brough and Todd claim the series was substantial in convincing them to leave New Zealand and move to Australia and the United States, respectively. The series has developed a cult following due to its poor quality. In 2019,
Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...
produced an eight-episode podcast titled "The Worst Sitcom Ever Made" about the series and its failure, featuring interviews with the series' cast and crew. * '' The Melting Pot'': This ill-fated BBC sitcom was written by and starred
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
, who played the character of Mr. Van Gogh, one of two Asian
illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
shown as landing on a beach in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, and making it to a district of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
known as "the melting pot". It was supposed to be a series of six episodes, but was cancelled after the screening of the first episode and the remaining five have never been broadcast. * '' Mitten im 8en'' ("In the Middle of the 8th"): This Austrian comedy drama soap produced by the
ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...
ran from 10 May to 29 June 2007. The "8th" in the title refers to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
's
Josefstadt Josefstadt (; ; "Joseph-Town") is the eighth district of Vienna (). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and resi ...
, the 8th district of Vienna. Repeatedly announced to be a core feature of the renewed programming by the ORF's new management and heavily promoted, the show received extremely bad ratings and devastating critical reception from the start, and was thus cancelled in the middle of its first season. After ratings dropped to often under 100,000 viewers, the show was cancelled after only about two months. ''
Kronen Zeitung The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic. History The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, ...
'' named it "one of the most infamous chapters in ORF TV history". * '' Mrs. Brown's Boys'': Despite being a ratings success on the BBC in the UK and on RTÉ in Ireland, winning multiple awards, this British-Irish co-production has received almost entirely negative reviews from critics. It has been dubbed "The Worst Comedy Ever Made", and a review in the ''Irish Independent'' stated that ''Mrs Brown's Boys'' was the type of TV programme "that makes you vaguely embarrassed to be Irish" among other criticism from media in both countries. * ''
Mulaney ''Mulaney'' is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from October 5, 2014, to February 15, 2015. Stand-up comedian and former ''Saturday Night Live'' writer John Mulaney created the show and starred as a fictionalized version of himself. At th ...
'': This short-lived sitcom was panned by critics with most comparing it unfavorably to
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
. It has a 17% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with critic's consensus saying "John Mulaney, we know Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld was funny." ''TIME'' Magazine wrote "seems like something a dutiful student might have produced for his final project in his 'Tropes and Themes in the 1990s Sitcom' class." It was labeled as the 4th worst show of 2014 by
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
. John Mulaney said himself "I look back on making the show really fondly. It's my noble failure. I tried, and I wanted to do it this way. Some people liked it just not enough." * ''
My Mother the Car ''My Mother the Car'' is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965, and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The series is about a man whose deceased mother ...
'': Critics and adult viewers generally panned the show, often savagely. In 2002, ''TV Guide'' proclaimed it to be the second-worst of all time, just behind ''
The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jerry Springer. The show ran for twenty-seven seasons from September 30, 1991, to July 26, 2018, in which it broadcast 3,891 episodes. It was taped at the NB ...
''. ''My Mother the Car'' belonged to the genre of TV sitcoms popular at the time that featured supernatural characters and cartoonish situations, such as ''
Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...
'', ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'' and ''
My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...
'', but it failed and for many years afterward was widely ridiculed as the quintessential "worst show of all time", though many competitors have vied for that title since then.


N

* ''
New Monkees ''New Monkees'' is the name of both an American pop rock music group and a 1987 syndicated television show featuring the group. Overview Background The 20th anniversary of ''The Monkees'' TV series in 1986 generated enough interest that ''Ne ...
'': Conceived as an updated version of the 1960s cult hit ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'' with a new cast, ''New Monkees'' was pulled from air after only 13 weeks in first-run syndication. A corresponding tie-in album was also a commercial failure, all while the original Monkees were enjoying a popular resurgence through reruns and a new album. Among the reasons for the failure of ''New Monkees'', both as a band and as a television show, were that attempting to emulate the cutting-edge approach of the 1960s series was not possible in the 1980s, as
Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...
had a starkly different set of values compared to the
Baby Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...
that watched the original show. The humor of ''New Monkees'' was compared unfavorably to other first-run syndicated sitcoms of the era that were also poorly received; in contrast to the original Monkees who were always portrayed as financially struggling, the New Monkees lived the high life in a huge mansion with servants and a talking computer. * ''
Not My Department ''Not My Department'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in 1987.
'': The series premiered on October 2, 1987, on CBC Television's owned-and-operated stations, although some private affiliates aired it in an alternate time slot or failed to carry it at all. Its debut episode attracted 743,000 viewers,"CBC 'pleased' with ratings for TV comedy". ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'', October 28, 1987.
but critical reviews were highly unfavourable and the show almost immediately dropped fully a third of its initial audience, with just 498,000 viewers in the second week. The CBC cancelled the series on November 14, 1987, after just six episodes had aired.


O

* ''
Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade pol ...
'': Produced by
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
for ITV, this 1977 sitcom written by
Vince Powell Vincent Joseph Powell (6 August 1928 – 13 July 2009) was a British television scriptwriter. He collaborated with a writing partner, Harry Driver, until 1973. Early life Powell was born as Vincent Joseph Smith to Roman Catholic parents in ...
was intended as a solo vehicle for ''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...
'' co-star
John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in ''Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and the spin-off series ''Grace and Favour.'' He ...
, but was poorly received and lasted for only one series. ''The Daily Telegraph'' named it the third worst British sitcom ever, and ''Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'' ranked it #16 on their list of the 20 worst British sitcoms ever made. * ''
On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom that was broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Chesney and Wolfe, Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned thr ...
'': Produced by
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
for ITV, this comedy about bus drivers received numerous negative reviews on transmission, and is often cited by British TV historians as one of the weakest of British sitcoms. In its section on situation comedies, ''The Guinness Book of Classic British TV'' describes ''On the Buses'' as ITV's "longest running and most self-consciously unfunny series".
Victor Lewis-Smith Victor Lewis-Smith (12 May 1957 – 10 December 2022) was a British film, television and radio producer, a television and restaurant critic, a satirist and newspaper columnist. He was executive producer of the ITV1 Annual National Food & Drink ...
later criticised
Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wr ...
, the then-head of
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...
, for commissioning what Lewis-Smith called "the wretched ''On the Buses''". Journalist Max Davidson, discussing 1970s British comedy, listed ''On the Buses'' as one of the "unfunny sitcoms of the time". ''The Guardian's'' David Stubbs referred to ''On the Buses'' as "a byword for 70s sitcom mediocrity". * ''
One of the Boys ''One of the Boys'' is the second studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on June 17, 2008, by Capitol Records. She collaborated on the album with producers Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart, Max ...
'': Despite a cast that included
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
,
Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer. Carvey is best known for his seven seasons on ''Saturday Night Live'', from 1986 to 1993, which earned him five consecutive Pri ...
,
Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...
and
Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986) was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's '' The ...
, ''TV Guide'' named it one of the worst on "The 50 Worst Shows Ever" in 2002, ranking at #24. In an article about 1980s sitcoms,
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
described ''One of the Boys'' as a "truly atrocious waste of talent". * '' 'Orrible'': This 2001 BBC sitcom was written by and starred
Johnny Vaughan Jonathan Randal Vaughan (born 16 July 1966) is an English television and radio presenter and a film critic. He was the main presenter of '' Capital Breakfast'' alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011. Vaughan currently ...
as a cheeky chappy taxi-cab driver and wannabe small-time criminal in
Acton, London Acton () is a town in West London, England, within the London Borough of Ealing. It is west of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, its four Wards of the United Kingdom, wards, East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton ...
. Despite the BBC being confident and heavily promoting the series, it was panned by critics for the script and Vaughan's acting ability. It achieved very low viewing figures, only ran for one series and has never been repeated by the BBC. Vaughan wasn't satisfied, later even saying about it: "Ultimately, it was shit". ''Digital Spy'' named it one of the UK's five worst sitcoms ever. * '' Out of This World'': A syndicated TV sitcom about a young girl who discovers she is half-alien, ''Out of This World'' received strongly negative reviews. The book ''Television Without Pity'' contained a review of ''Out of this World'' that described the show as "quite possibly the worst sitcom ever made-it's a complete failure on every level". The review went on to disparage the show's scripts, acting and production, and unfavourably compared ''Out of this World'' to ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appea ...
''. The
Splitsider ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' and ...
website included ''Out of this World'' on a list of "Terrible Syndicated Sitcoms of the Late 1980s", along with '' Small Wonder'', ''
She's the Sheriff ''She's the Sheriff'' is an American television sitcom that aired in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication from September 19, 1987, to April 1, 1989. Produced by Lorimar Television, the series marked the return of Suzanne Somers to telev ...
'', ''
Mama's Family ''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper, Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called "The Family (sketch), The Family" featured on ''T ...
'' and the 1987 adaptation of '' You Can't Take It with You''. It also described ''Out of This World'' as "perhaps the worst sitcom ever, or at least the most '80s sitcom ever".Looking Back at the Terrible Syndicated Sitcoms of the Late 1980s
Brian Boone, ''Splitside'', October 18, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2014.


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* ''
The Paul Reiser Show ''The Paul Reiser Show'' is an American sitcom television series, centered around actor Paul Reiser (as himself), that was originally aired on NBC. In May 2010, NBC announced that it had approved the series for the 2010–11 television season, ...
'': This 2011 NBC single camera sitcom featuring former ''
Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City as they navigate life together. In later seasons, the couple has a daughter. It initially aired on NBC from September 2 ...
'' star
Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 film ''Diner (1982 f ...
was "critically panned", had the lowest-rated in-season premiere for a comedy series in the network's history, and was canceled after two episodes. Metacritic reported a rating of only 38 out of 100. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the show a D+, writing that it was best summarized by the word "complacent" and that "everything about it feels off-putting and weird." She compared it unfavorably to ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
'', calling it a "weird copycat" that "takes most of the trappings of ''Curb'' but misses almost all of the soul.": * '' Public Morals'': The original pilot episode of ''Public Morals'' was scrapped because critics and some CBS affiliates believed the language was too vulgar. However, the episode that did air was also poorly received. Critics argued that the characters were one-dimensional and that some of the humor involved
racial stereotype An ethnic stereotype or racial stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype does the same for a given natio ...
s.


R

* ''
Real Rob ''Real Rob'' (stylized onscreen as ''REⱯL ROB'') is an American television sitcom created by Rob Schneider. It premiered on December 1, 2015, on Netflix, and follows the everyday life of Schneider, including his real-life wife Patricia and daug ...
'': This sitcom created by and starring
Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider ( ; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He rose to prominence as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (1990–1994), where he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Following ...
premiered on December 1, 2015, on Netflix. The series follows the everyday life of Rob, including his real-life wife Patricia and daughter Miranda. It was met with a largely negative response from critics, holding a score of 36 on Metacritic based on 5 critic reviews, and a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 critic reviews. * '' Rob'': This 2012 CBS sitcom starring
Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider ( ; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He rose to prominence as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (1990–1994), where he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Following ...
as a former lifelong bachelor who marries into a Mexican-American family garnered largely negative reviews for its poor humor and use of stereotypes. Jace Lacob of ''The Daily Beast'' described it as "TV's worst new show" and wrote of the first episode that "there isn't a single Latin name among the writers or producers" and that it "offers a wafer-thin appreciation and awareness of Mexican culture, one that doesn't go beyond guacamole and the occasional use of the Spanish endearment ''mija'' (my daughter)." James Poniewozik of ''Time'' wrote: "''¡Rob!'' is playing at a meta game in which it transmutes lame jokes about Hispanics into clever commentary by putting them in Rob's mouth, but that kind of strategy only works when the sitcom's world outside the lead character is not equally lame." * ''
The Ropers ''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 15, 1980. It is a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''Geo ...
'': A failed spin-off of the highly successful ''
Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the ...
'', this show was ranked number two on ''Time'' magazine's "Top 10 Worst TV Spin-Offs". It also ranked #49 on ''TV Guide''s list of "The 50 Worst Shows Ever" in 2002. * ''
The Royal Bodyguard ''The Royal Bodyguard'' is a British television sitcom, written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, and starring David Jason, Geoffrey Whitehead, Timothy Bentinck and Tim Downie. A series of six episodes began on 26 December 2011, concluding ...
'': Just hours after the broadcast of its first episode, this BBC sitcom was heavily criticised by fans of
David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...
and viewers alike. Jim Shelley wrote "''The Royal Bodyguard'' was, the BBC trumpeted, Sir David Jason's first Beeb comedy since '' Only Fools & Horses'' finished in 2002 – that was nine years ago. This fact alone should have alerted all involved to the fatal flaw at the heart of this debacle – namely that it was relying on the viewer's fondness for Del Boy. It was a classic example of blind faith in the production's star name. The prospect of seeing the 71-year-old star playing a former guardsman who had seen action in Northern Ireland and had now been appointed to the presumably prestigious position of royal bodyguard after saving the Queen's life stretched this fondness to breaking point. After about two minutes. Never mind that the plot's entire premise was stupid – that he was the incompetent former head of security at Buckingham Palace car park. The standard of the comedy was excruciating. It was blatantly designed to cash in on the appeal of characters like
Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...
and
Johnny English ''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy action comedy film directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. It is a British-French venture produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films, and distributed by Unive ...
. But the idea that Jason could play a clown as well as Peter Sellers or Rowan Atkinson was the only funny thing about it."


S

* ''
Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
'': ''Saint George'' is
George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...
's first starring role in a scripted series since his ABC show ''
George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...
''. Upon airing, however, the show was met with very negative reception, citing the show's thin characters and "bad potty-humor jokes". The show was cancelled after one season. * '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'': ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' is a spin-off of the ''
Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United ...
'' series, which ran from September 11, 1993, to January 8, 2000. The series lasted for seven seasons on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC Saturday morning line-up. It was the fourth incarnation of the franchise. The show had the same concept as the original series but featured a new group of students now roaming the halls of the fictional Bayside High School. Mr. Belding, played by
Dennis Haskins Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in '' Saved by the Bell: The New ...
, remained as the school's principal. Many of the stories were recycled plots of its parent series. The first-season cast included Robert Sutherland Telfer, Jonathan Angel, Isaac Lidsky,
Natalia Cigliuti Natalia Cigliuti ( ; born September 6, 1978) is an American Actor, actress, best known for her roles as Lindsay Warner on ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' and as List of All My Children characters#Anita Santos, Anita Santos Warner on ''All M ...
,
Bianca Lawson Bianca Lawson (born March 20, 1979) is an American actress. Lawson is known for her regular roles in the television series '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'', '' Goode Behavior'', ''Pretty Little Liars'', and '' Rogue''. She has also had rec ...
, and Bonnie Russavage. Unlike the original series, which featured very few major cast changes throughout its run, ''The New Class'' regularly changed its core cast with Mr. Belding (and, beginning in the second season, original cast member
Dustin Diamond Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for portraying Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the '' Saved by the Bell'' franchise. Early life and family Diamond was ...
reprising his role as Screech Powers) being the only constant factor. The series was universally panned by critics and most fans of the original series and is one of the worst reviewed teen shows, but had a positive reception to new fans of the franchise at first. Even so, by the end of the series, younger viewers had abandoned it; by its last season, the median age of ''The New Class'' and NBC's other children's programs was 41 years old, indicating the Nielsen Ratings were picking up viewers that had left the TV on after ''
Weekend Today Weekend editions of '' Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC, began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on September 20, 1987. After NBC expanded ''Today'' to seven days a week in the 1990s ...
'' had ended, not people interested in the actual block itself. Unlike the other entries in the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise (which included ''
Good Morning, Miss Bliss ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'', also retroactively known as ''Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years'', is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on the Disney Channel from November 30, 1988, until March 18, 1989 (and later also in syndi ...
'', the flagship series, and '' The College Years'' in one syndication package), ''The New Class'' has never been rerun since ending in 2000, despite having a longer run than the three other shows combined. * ''
She's the Sheriff ''She's the Sheriff'' is an American television sitcom that aired in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication from September 19, 1987, to April 1, 1989. Produced by Lorimar Television, the series marked the return of Suzanne Somers to telev ...
'': In 2002, ''She's the Sheriff'' starring
Suzanne Somers Suzanne Marie Somers (; October 16, 1946 – October 15, 2023) was an American actress, author, and businesswoman. She played the television roles of Chrissy Snow on ''Three's Company'' (1977–1981) and Carol Foster Lambert on '' Step by Step' ...
was ranked #44 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. ''She's the Sheriff'' was also included on the
Splitsider ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' and ...
website's list of "Terrible Syndicated Sitcoms of the Late 1980s". * '' Sir Yellow'': A little-remembered pseudo-medieval comedy, it was axed after just one series following bad reviews. In 2003, TV critic Mark Lewisohn named it as the worst British sitcom of all time in ''The Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy''. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked it #5 in its list of the ten worst British sitcoms ever made. * '' Small Wonder'': In 2002, Robert Bianco, TV critic for ''USA Today'', listed this 1980s first-run syndicated sitcom about a robot being passed off as a human girl as a contender for one of the worst TV shows of all time, and according to the BBC, it "is widely considered one of the worst low-budget sitcoms of all time." In the DVD audio commentary for the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' episode "
Simpsons Already Did It "Simpsons Already Did It" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''South Park'' and the 86th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 26, 20 ...
", co-creator
Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...
lamented that "for some reason, people lump ''South Park'' and ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and any animated program together... which is unfortunate that we have to be compared to one of the best shows on television ever and one of the most popular shows on television ever, we never get compared to '' Sister, Sister'' or ''Small Wonder''."


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* ''
The Tammy Grimes Show ''The Tammy Grimes Show'' is an American sitcom starring Broadway actress Tammy Grimes that aired during the 1966–67 season on the ABC network. ''The Tammy Grimes Show'' was one of the few primetime series of the era canceled after only four ...
'': In 1966, Tammy Grimes starred in her own ABC television series, in which she played a modern-day heiress who loved to spend money. Receiving "unfavorable critical reaction and poor ratings", it ran for only a month, although an additional six episodes had already been made. At the time, cancelling a scripted show before a season was complete was unusual, and after only four episodes almost unprecedented; ''The Tammy Grimes Show'' was one of the shortest-lived series of its era. * ''Tanken – mehr als Super'': This German adaption of the Icelandic sitcom ''Næturvaktin'' premiered on 31 July 2018 on ZDFneo, ZDF Neo and garnered mostly negative reviews. Jana Bärenwaldt of ''Fernsehserien.de'' found the program "more than super-bad", wrote the "import format lacks any originality" and gave it a rating of 0.5 out of 5 stars. David Segler of the ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' described the program as a "joke figure cabaret" and "nasty sitcom dumpling" and wrote "It's quite impressive how long 25 minutes can feel. In the trivial slapstick farce of ''Tanken'' they become an eternity." ''Die Zeit'' wrote: "If ZDF adapts a ten-year-old Icelandic format and sells it as a new comedy offensive, it must be quite desperate. ... Unfortunately, the fictional "Super" gas station on ZDFneo lacks any laconic wit, even though the team ... certainly has potential. The actors remain condemned to work through standard situations with predictable dialogue ..." Julian Miller of ''Quotenmeter.de'' also gave it a largely negative review and wrote '''''Tanken has nothing to offer but the obvious ... The series is told as if there had been no progress in terms of content, no new impulses since the days of ''Ritas Welt, Rita's Welt''. That is not super, at most E10 fuel, E10." * ''Теоретики'' (''The Theorists''): An unlicensed Belarusian copy of ''The Big Bang Theory'' that aired on Belarusian state channel STV in late 2009. The show featured "clones" of the main characters, a similar opening sequence, and what appears to be a very close Russian language, Russian translation of the scripts. Chuck Lorre expressed annoyance and described his inquiry with the Warner Bros. legal department about options. The television production company and station's close relationship with the Politics of Belarus, Belarus government were cited as the reason that any attempt to claim copyright infringement would be in vain because the company copying the episodes is operated by the government. However, no legal action was required to end production of the show: as soon as it became known that the show was unlicensed, the actors quit and the producers canceled it. Dmitriy Tankovich (who plays Leonard Hofstadter, Leonard's counterpart, "Seva") said in an interview "I'm upset. At first, the actors were told all legal issues were resolved. We didn't know it wasn't the case, so when the creators of ''The Big Bang Theory'' started talking about the show, I was embarrassed. I can't understand why our people first do, and then think. I consider this to be the rock bottom of my career. And I don't want to take part in a stolen show". * ''The Trouble with Larry'': Larry (Bronson Pinchot) returns home a decade after he was dragged off by baboons on his honeymoon, in this 1993 sitcom also starring a pre-''Friends'' Courteney Cox. Ken Tucker of ''Entertainment Weekly'' called the show "not just not-funny, but actively depressing". Hal Boedeker, writing for the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, opined that "the moronic sitcom was beyond bad, a disaster that raises doubts about the judgement of CBS executives." David Zurawik of ''The Baltimore Sun'' called the show juvenile, and wondered, "How did this sitcom (using the word in its most expansive sense) ever make it on the CBS fall schedule?" Frazier Moore of The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' wrote that "''The Trouble with Larry'' is a sitcom so feeble yet brazen in its humormongering that it nearly takes the viewer's breath away." The ''Orlando Sentinel''s Greg Dawson praised the show's "first-rate" cast, but attacked the pilot's "dead-in-the-water writing" and "nonstop witlesscisms", and called the finished product "sophomoric dreck ... which tests the self-control of anyone with an IQ over 50 and a sledgehammer or handgun in the house." CBS tried premiering the series a few weeks in advance of the 1993 TV season in order to give the show a ratings boost. After blistering reviews and three weeks of bad ratings, ''The Trouble with Larry'' was canceled before the official TV season of which it was to be a part of had even begun. * ''The Trouble with Tracy'': This Canadian sitcom was hastily assembled in 1970 to comply with upcoming Canadian content requirements and had an extremely limited budget for both time and money. 130 episodes of the series were produced, requiring scripts to be recycled from 1940s radio dramas, line mistakes to be kept in the finished product due to time and money constraints, and virtually the entire series shot from one small living-room set. As a result of the poor-quality end product, the series is often considered one of the worst of all time. * ''
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' is a British television sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011. First broadcast on BBC Two, it originally starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn D ...
'': Despite being successful with viewers and staying on the air for ten years, from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011, with a total of nine series and 80 episodes, the BBC sitcom always received a strongly negative critical response. ''The Guardian'' wrote that it was "universally panned". ''Den of Geek'' called it "the worst show to ever hit TV screens in the last ten years". ''Digital Spy'' named it one of the five worst sitcoms to ever come off the UK. * ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne'': The national premiere received 5.9 million viewers in June 2007—at the time, basic cable's biggest sitcom audience ever. The show remained basic cable's top-rated first run sitcom until TBS's August 2008 premiere of sister series ''Meet the Browns''. For the first quarter of 2011, ''House of Payne'' and ''Meet the Browns (TV series), Meet the Browns'' ranked among television's five highest-rated primetime sitcoms with African-American adults aged 18–34 and 25–49. However, the program has received mostly negative reviews. Paul Katz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote the program had a "bleak premise" and referred to the laugh track as "grating." He also wrote that "(Tyler) Perry should unleash Mabel "Madea" Simmons, Madea on the Payne household. They could use the laugh." Movie Web wrote: "I try not to be cynical about TV shows, particularly sitcoms. I know how hard it is to try to write a funny, relevant and interesting television show. I also know that it takes a perfect storm of talent, writing and zeitgeist to capture these elements for an audience. Sadly, ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' fails to do so." Ginia Bellefante of ''The New York Times'' commented on the sitcom's "narrative aimlessness and languorous pacing", and criticized what she saw as unexplained turns towards topicality. Bellefante did note that ''House of Payne'' had "the effect of affirming the progressiveness of a show like
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...
's ''Good Times''." ''Variety''s Phil Gallo wrote: "In the first episode, ''House of Payne'' rolls through a collection of stereotypes and characters familiar to TV auds. ...It's old-fashioned in structure, sets and characters. Despite having his name in the title, Payne is straitjacketed into a straight-man role; the saving grace is the grumpy father figure Chester as Davis huffs and puffs his way through the unnatural dialogue. As the mother Ella, Cassi Davis is all exaggeration—from the bug eyes to the girth—and she isn't given the material to make her character either outrageously humorous or poignantly comforting. She doesn't seem particularly real." Tom Shales of ''The Washington Post'' wrote: "Three generations of an African American family share—sometimes—what looks like an enormous house in the Atlanta suburbs, and things sort of happen to them. Some things happen repeatedly, such as the patriarch of the family telling everybody to 'get out' or 'go home,' apparently desiring the company of none of them...At times one wishes that, yes, ''House'' were Payne-less...(T)he program has a long way to go before jelling as a believable unit...(T)he acting styles conflict or seem barely to exist." Shales also criticized the program for some of the subject matter, such as Janine's crack addiction, stating that "It's commendable to try to introduce serious and topical material in sitcoms, but the way it's done here is awkward and cringe-inducing."
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
gave it rating of 2 out of 5 stars.


W

* ''We Are Men'': The show had been promoted for over two years as Tony Shalhoub's return to television. When it finally premiered in 2013, Metacritic rated it 33 out of 100, and its Rotten Tomatoes score was 4%. Melissa Maers of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' called it "The male version of ''Sex and the City'' with more shirtless scenes (courtesy of Jerry O'Connell) and way less wit." ''The Hollywood Reporter'' was much more harsh, writing "''We Are Men'' is about four single guys you wouldn't ever want to be around or be related to in any way ... [it] made me feel stupid almost immediately and then bitter that I'd wasted the time." The show failed to catch an audience, and adversely affected other programming, especially ''2 Broke Girls''. The show got the lowest rating of any premiere on CBS, and was canceled after just two episodes. * ''We Got It Made'': The show won its time slot when it premiered in 1983, but negative reviews from critics and the viewing public eroded its viewership soon after. NBC moved the series from Thursday nights to Saturdays in January 1984. It did little to change the ratings, and the show was cancelled in March. NBC revived the show in first-run syndication for the 1987–1988 season as part of NBC's "Prime Time Begins at 7:30" campaign, in which the network's owned-and-operated stations ran first-run sitcoms in the 7:30–8 pm time slot to compete with other stations' game shows, sitcom reruns, and other offerings. Non-NBC stations also picked it up. Once again, critics lambasted the series, and the show lasted one season in syndication. The final original episode was released on March 30, 1988, with reruns airing until the week of September 3, 1988 in most markets. * ''Work It (TV series), Work It'': The 2012 ABC cross-dressing sitcom was panned by critics, receiving a Metacritic rating of 19. The show was cancelled after two episodes. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the pilot 0/10, IGN's first zero rating since 2005. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the pilot an F, calling it "fascinatingly awful, in that way where you wonder how the hell something like this got on TV in the year 2012". Linda Holmes (writer), Linda Holmes of NPR called the show "pointlessly crass, utterly clichéd, sexist toward both men and women, and hopelessly, painfully unfunny from wire to wire". James Poniewozik of ''Time'' described it as "the kind of bad dumb show you will use in years to come as a benchmark for other bad sitcoms". Alan Sepinwall usually won't publish reviews of series he hates, noting via short non-review entries (or on Twitter) how bad they are. For this show, he wrote a lengthy review and assigned it an "F" grade. * ''
The Wright Way ''The Wright Way'' is a British television sitcom written by Ben Elton which aired on BBC One from 23 April to 28 May 2013. It concerns a health and safety manager, his staff and his family. Widely panned by critics, it was cancelled after one ...
'': A 2013 BBC TV sitcom by Ben Elton, starring David Haig as the director of the Occupational safety and health, health and safety department of the fictional Baselricky Council, implied to be in Essex. The first episode received negative reviews from critics. Tom Phillips of the ''New Statesman'' found the second episode even worse than the first. Adam Postans in the ''Daily Mirror'' called it 'the worst sitcom ever'. Oliver Nagel of German blog ''britcoms.de'' included it in an article on "''The Shitcoms of the year''", commenting, "''Worst. Sitcom. Ever.",'' "Gags that can hardly be described as such, dogmatism that speculates on approving laughter, gruesome characters – really everything is wrong here" and "With 'The Wright Way', Ben Elton has reached the very bottom."


Y

* ''Yus, My Dear'': The series, which gained modest ratings,Obituary: Mike Reid
''The Times'', 31 July 2007
has the reputation of being one of the worst ever sitcoms.Martin Wainwrigh
"Bilko named best ever comedy"
''The Guardian'', 30 September 2003
Stuart Heritage from ''The Guardian'' named it one of the worst ITV programmes ever made.


References


External links


The 25 Least Funny Sitcoms Of All Time
{{Worst works Sitcoms Lists of worsts, Sitcoms Lists of television series, Sitcoms