5 Popular American TV Shows You Won’t Believe Were Almost Canceled

We laugh with them, we cry with them and their adventures become ours and the relationship grows stronger every week and just like that a TV show achieves a cult status. Some of the most iconic moments in the history of entertainment can be credited to these.

However, what contributes to the popularity of the show is a tricky business and channel producers have a hard time choosing which show to air. While some decisions are spot on, sometimes they overlook gems in the process. There have been a few cases when the channel has had reservations about a show that went on to create nothing short of television history.

Here are 5 most popular and cult favorite shows that almost got canceled.

Game of Thrones

What can I say in praise of GoT that has not been set before? The HBO magnum opus is perhaps has broken every possible record in terms of popularity. But there was a huge possibility of the show never getting made. The channel did not like the pilot episode as they found it ‘disjointed’. Finally, the makers of the changed some of the cast re-shot the whole pilot and it was only the HBO honchos decided to give it a try.

The Big Bang Theory

Can you imagine life without Sheldon’s quirks and Penny’s hilarious comebacks? Neither can we. But that was an actually extremely possible. The channel thought it will never be popular with the audiences when the pilot was shown to them. Somehow the makers persisted and the show aired and the rest, as they, is history

Friends

Ask 10 people what is their favorite sitcom ever, and about 8 of them is probably going to say ‘Friends’. The fans of this show still adore it after 13 years of the last episode being aired and still connect to the characters. However, when the pilot episode was shown on the channel and a small sample audience, most of them found the characters not very likable or their friendship genuine.

Breaking Bad

This deadly punch of science, crime and drama have millions of fan who swears by the show. However the first channel it was pitched to rejected the show as they already had too many anti-hero leads. Finally, AMC saw its potential and decided to go through with it.

Desperate Housewives

This immensely popular show almost got canceled as HBO wanted to give more time to Sex and The City. In fact, a number of channels rejected the show before sense prevailed and ABC decided to air it.