Every year we are bombarded with dozens and dozens of new TV shows, however, only a selected few of them get renewed for a second season — the rest of them get axed. And while some shows such as Grey's Anatomy have longevity, huge fandoms, and are still being aired to this day after so many years, others end up simply fading away into oblivion after only a few episodes.
Today's list takes a look at some of the shortest-lived TV shows that aired on television. From sitcoms and cop shows to celebrity reality shows — keep on scrolling to see just what made the cut!
10 'Turn-On' (1969)
Kicking today's list off is ABC's 1969 sketch comedy show Turn-On, which is often described as one of the worst TV shows of all time. The show was canceled before its first episode even finished airing. Apparently, the first episode was so bad that broadcasters decided to either cut it mid-way or not show it at all.
9 'Public Morals' (1996)
Next on our list is the 1996 cop sitcom Public Morals, which aired on CBS. The sitcom follows a group of detectives and cops in New York's vice squad. The show wasn't received well by the critics, especially for its use of racial stereotypes, and it was canceled after only one episode.
Interestingly enough, in 2015 another cop show also named Public Morals premiered on the TNT network. And even though the 2015 version did better than its predecessor, it still didn't do well — it was canceled after only one season.
8 'Lawless' (1997)
Another show that ended up on our list is Fox's 1997 detective show Lawless, starring former NFL player Brian Bosworth. The ratings were so bad that the show ended up getting canceled after only one episode had aired. "Lawless did not meet our expectations creatively or from a rating perspective," said former president of Fox Entertainment, Peter Roth after canceling Lawless.
7 'Dot Comedy' (2000)
Next on our list is ABC's 2000 sitcom Dot Comedy. This show premiered back in 2000 when the internet was still becoming popular among the masses. It featured funny videos found on the internet which were played for television audiences — you know, pretty much the same format as ABC's America’s Funniest Home Videos. And while for some reason America’s Funniest Home Videos preserved to this day, ABC wasn't that lucky with Dot Comedy — it was axed after only one episode.
6 'Emily's Reasons Why Not' (2006)
Emily's Reasons Why Not is a show about a young successful woman in LA who hasn't had luck with love. After seeing a therapist she decided to fix her love life by following a simple rule that if there are five reasons to break up with a guy, she will. It was released back in 2006 on ABC and it stars Heather Graham. The show was canceled by ABC, due to bad ratings and negative reviews from critics, after airing only the first episode. And not only that but Emily's Reasons Why Not caused some outrage for its use of gay stereotypes
5 'Anchorwoman' (2007)
Next on our list is Fox's comedy-reality series Anchorwoman. Released in August 2007, the series follows former WWE Diva and The Price is Right model, Lauren Jones, as she tries to fulfill her dream of becoming an anchorwoman. Two back-to-back episodes of the show were aired before Fox decided to end it, due to low ratings.
4 'Secret Talents Of The Stars' (2008)
Secret Talents of the Stars was a tournament-like competition show that premiered on CBS back in April 2008. In this game show, the celebrities would go against each other in various areas such as singing and dancing. But judging by how fast CBS axed the show — after only one episode — we can only assume that the stars didn't show much talent.
3 'Osbournes Reloaded' (2009)
Let's move on to Osbournes Reloaded, which is yet another show that ended up on our list of shortest-lived TV shows in history. This variety show, consisting of SNL-like sketches and celebrity cameos, aired back in 2009 on Fox.
The pilot episode received negative reviews from critics, and after some of Fox's affiliates made it clear they would not air the remaining episodes, the show was canceled, after only one episode aired.
2 'The Hasselhoffs' (2010)
While people certainly liked watching him in Baywatch, they weren't really that crazy about his 2010 reality show The Hasselhoffs, which shows us the life of David Hasselhoff and his two daughters, Taylor and Hayley. During its premiere, two episodes of the show were aired back to back. However, the ratings were very low — below a million viewers — so the network decided to cancel it immediately.
1 'Who's Your Daddy?' (2005)
Who's Your Daddy? is a 2005 show created by Fox, where an adult contestant, who was adopted as a baby, tries to guess which of 25 men standing in front of them is actually their biological father. All that for a prize of $100,000. Needless to say, the show drew a lot of outrage, especially from adoption agencies. The show was canceled after only one episode, and even though five more were ready for broadcast, Fox decided not to do it.