- Mama’s Family was cancelled due to network interference and moderate ratings, but found success after a studio merge.
- AfterMASH initially had high viewership but lost half of its audience due to a scheduling conflict with The A-Team.
- ALF ended on a cliffhanger after four seasons due to changing regulations and profitability concerns for the studio.
The ’80s ushered in some beloved sitcom hits, along with some serious stars, but not every new show can reach the heights of Seinfeld and Roseanne. Plenty of series don’t find the fame studio executives hoped for, but some shows had their time cut short for a particularly bizarre set of reasons. Read on to see which near-hits and complete misses were axed from the small screen…
Mama’s Family was cancelled because the studio writers didn’t immediately get its hit potential
Mama’s Family
Mama’s Family built on the success of a recurring skit from The Carol Burnett Show, telling the story of the Harper family with Thelma Harper as its lead. Vicki Lawrence donned a wig and starred as the quick-tempered matriarch but heavy interference from network executives and moderate ratings meant the show was soon cancelled after shuffling between time slots.
A year and a half later, following a studio merge, Mama’s Family was revived and found success for four seasons before being cancelled once more as it had reached enough episodes for licensed re-runs to bring in the big bucks for the studio.
AfterMASH had the makings of a hit but couldn’t match the ‘The A-Team’s success
AfterMASH
Given the enduring success of sitcom M*A*S*H, it might be surprising to hear that the subsequent spin-off AfterMASH has gone down in TV as something of a legendary failure. The show followed Potter, Klinger and Mulcahy’s lives at a veterans hospital, but creator Larry Gelbart later admitted none of the characters had the makings of a leading man.
While the show initially pulled in over 40 million viewers for its premiere, the network decided to challenge NBC hit The A-Team with a scheduling conflict… promptly losing half of their viewers.
