20 classic TV shows that almost never saw the light of day

Pilots are important, people. Game of Thrones is one of the most successful TV series of all time, but its pilot was so horrendous that it was nearly scrapped. Production persisted, though, and the series had an incredible run. 

Lots of studios — nearly 20 — rejected the Duffer Brothers when they first pitched Stranger Things. Executives didn’t like the idea. Eventually, though, it found a home at Netflix, and it’s one of the most successful series in the streamer’s history. 

Never underestimate your audience or your writers. ABC passed on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation because the studio believed the content would confuse audiences. When CBS picked up the series, the audience proved to be competent enough to understand the material, and the writers proved to be adept enough to make it understandable.

South Park’s creator has stated in interviews how difficult it was to find a network that would pick up the series, with executives telling him the show would only work with dirty humor and that the show wouldn’t be able to be as dirty as necessary on television. Boy, were those executives wrong. 

The Walking Dead almost didn’t get made for a reason that won’t surprise you at all: Too much violence. Eventually, the amount of violence was accepted, and the show aired for 11 seasons and multiple spin-offs. 

The Bryan Cranston epic Breaking Bad thrilled fans for its entire run and warranted a spin-off series, but it took some effort to get made. The series was brought to HBO and FX, with both studios, among others, rejecting the pitch. 

Preacher , the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg series, was adapted from a comic series of the same name. Rogen and Goldberg were set on making the TV series, but it required an incredible amount of effort as they had to jump through insane licensing hoops. 

Adventure Time is one of Cartoon Network’s biggest hits in studio history. Nickelodeon passed on the series twice. The latter studio can’t feel too good about that decision. 

The show about expert marketers seemed to need some expert marketing itself. The Mad Men creators had a tough time getting it to air, receiving rejections from HBO and Showtime before ultimately landing at AMC. 

The Big Bang Theory didn’t land with a big bang initially. After filming the pilot, CBS was ready to shelve the project. Creator Chuck Lorre knew the pilot didn’t work, and executives agreed to let him work a few things out. And work things out, he did. 

Long before The Big Bang Theory, Friends faced a similar fate. The pilot did not test well among test audiences, and NBC reportedly considered stopping the show from airing. But as everyone knows, the series did air, and the test audience reaction was not the same as the actual audience reaction. 

Thank goodness for Netflix. When traditional TV networks were failing to see the visions of creatives, Netflix stepped in and funded iconic series. Such was the case with Orange Is the New Black. 

Every iconic piece of media has a first draft. The Sopranos, which many people consider to be a perfect television show, was rejected by many studios on its first draft, with executives citing too little violence as one of the reasons for passing. 

Despite being co-created by TV icon Tina Fey, ABC passed on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Luckily for Fey and millions of television lovers, Netflix saw value in the project, and the series was greenlit. 

Getting Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be adapted into a TV series was no easy task. Producers had to convince the film’s screenwriter to join the project, and after that, the series was rejected by multiple major studios. Luckily for the cult classic, the series was picked up by WB. 

Creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Rachel Bloom met with every network possible in an effort to get her series picked up. The star has even cited receiving eight passes in one day during that time. Eventually, USA picked it up, and it went on to achieve critical success. 

The creator of Squid Game tried to get his series picked up for about 10 years. He credits the COVID-19 pandemic with executives finding more of a connection to the series' themes. Netflix aired the show while the pandemic was still happening, and audiences couldn’t get enough of it. 

Ricky and Morty has had a super successful run on television, but multiple networks passed on it when its creators tried to sell it. Eventually, it found its home at Adult Swim, and that was absolutely where it was meant to be.

The creator of The Queen’s Gambit tried for three decades to get the novel of the same name adapted to screen. He rewrote the script nearly 10 times before Netflix finally purchased it. The series turned Anya Taylor-Joy into a household name and racked up lots and lots of views for the streaming service. 

Desperate Housewives was passed on initially because executives didn’t think audiences would want to watch a show about middle-aged women. But the executives were wrong, and when the series landed at ABC, it became a bona fide hit.