Television is a brutal business. Networks spend millions on pilots, writers spend years developing concepts, actors clear their calendars—and sometimes the whole thing dies after a single night.
The reasons vary: terrible ratings, behind-the-scenes chaos, lawsuits, even national tragedies that made a show suddenly unmarketable.
But for TV historians (and rubbernecking fans), these singular broadcasts are fascinating time capsules of what might have been.
Let’s take a tour of some of the most notorious U.S. TV shows that aired exactly one episode, from forgotten sitcoms to big-budget dramas that barely escaped the vault.
1. Heil Honey I’m Home! (U.S. broadcast attempt, 1990)
Technically a British show, but ABC briefly tested a U.S. airing of this jaw-dropping “Hitler sitcom.”
The premise—Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living next door to a Jewish couple in a 1950s-style comedy—was supposed to be a satire of bad taste.
The execution was… exactly as awful as it sounds.
ABC yanked it after a single late-night experiment.
It remains a perfect example of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
2. Lawless (Fox, 1997)
This action drama starred former NFL star Brian Bosworth as a Harley-riding private investigator in Miami.
The pilot pulled in a meager 4.3 rating, and Fox immediately pulled the plug.
Bosworth—whose nickname was “The Boz”—looked the part but couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag, and the network knew it.
3. Emily’s Reasons Why Not (ABC, 2006)
This Heather Graham vehicle was heavily promoted as ABC’s next Sex and the City.
The premiere drew decent numbers, but critical reviews were savage and audience drop-off mid-episode was catastrophic.
ABC executives famously canceled the show the next morning, making it one of the quickest high-profile executions in modern TV history.
4. Co-Ed Fever (CBS, 1979)
CBS green-lit this college sex-comedy to capitalize on Animal House mania.
They aired one “preview” episode before the regular season start.
Viewer complaints, terrible ratings, and nervous advertisers killed it before the second week.
The rest of the produced episodes never saw prime time.
5. Secret Talents of the Stars (CBS, 2008)
A celebrity talent competition where famous people revealed hidden skills.
The debut featured Clint Black doing stand-up comedy and George Takei singing country music.
Ratings were abysmal and CBS announced the cancellation the next morning.
Even reality TV couldn’t save this concept.
6. Turn-On (ABC, 1969)
Perhaps the most legendary single-episode flop of all time.
Created by the producers of Laugh-In, Turn-On was a sketch show designed to be faster, edgier, and more politically charged.
It was so edgy that several affiliate stations actually cut the broadcast mid-episode and switched to emergency programming.
ABC canceled it before the West Coast feed even aired.
7. South of Sunset (CBS, 1993)
A Glenn Frey (of Eagles fame) detective drama set in Los Angeles.
The premiere drew dreadful ratings—thanks in part to being preempted in several markets for wildfire coverage—and CBS pulled it immediately.
VH1 later aired the remaining episodes as a curiosity.
8. Public Morals (CBS, 1996)
A comedy about an NYPD vice squad created by Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue).
Despite Bochco’s pedigree, the pilot was so filled with crude language and tired stereotypes that CBS executives yanked it after one airing.
It remains a cautionary tale that even hitmakers can misfire spectacularly.
9. Who’s Your Daddy? (Fox, 2005)
In this jaw-dropping reality concept, an adopted woman tried to guess which of 25 men was her biological father for a $100,000 prize.
Criticism from adoption advocacy groups was immediate and intense.
Fox canceled it after the first airing, burning off the remaining episodes online.
10. Quarterlife (NBC, 2008)
Originally a web series, Quarterlife was repackaged for network television as a millennial drama.
Despite heavy promotion during the writers’ strike, it drew some of the lowest numbers in NBC history for a scripted show.
It was pulled the next day and quietly shuffled back to the web.
11. The Will (CBS, 2005)
Reality TV again.
Contestants competed to inherit a millionaire’s Kansas ranch.
The premiere ranked dead last in its time slot, prompting CBS to cancel it within 24 hours.
It became a punchline for how quickly reality trends can sour.
12. Osbournes Reloaded (Fox, 2009)
The Osbourne family attempted a chaotic variety show featuring sketches, music, and audience stunts.
Many Fox affiliates refused to air it because of raunchy content.
Those that did received a flood of complaints, and Fox killed the show immediately.
13. Anchorwoman (Fox, 2007)
A hybrid reality/sitcom about a lingerie model trying to become a small-town Texas news anchor.
Critics called it “painfully awkward,” and viewers agreed.
Fox axed it after the debut, though a few unaired episodes eventually surfaced online.
14. MacLean Stevenson’s Shows (Various)
Poor MacLean Stevenson left MASH* at its peak and became a magnet for one-season wonders.
His 1983 series Condo at least lasted a handful of episodes, but his 1980 variety show The MacLean Stevenson Show is remembered for a premiere so dire NBC essentially buried it.
15. You’re in the Picture (CBS, 1961)
Hosted by Jackie Gleason, this game show featured celebrities sticking their heads through cardboard cut-outs to guess the scene.
The premiere was so disastrously unfunny that Gleason devoted the second week’s time slot to apologizing to viewers—a broadcast that ironically drew huge ratings.
CBS canceled the game immediately but kept Gleason for a talk format.
Why These Shows Died So Fast
The common thread isn’t just “bad TV,” though plenty of these were objectively awful.
The one-episode fate usually comes from a perfect storm of factors:
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Network Panic: Early ratings are everything. If the debut numbers are catastrophic, executives may decide it’s cheaper to cut losses immediately.
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Affiliate Revolt: Local stations can refuse to air a show if they fear backlash, as with Turn-On or Osbournes Reloaded.
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Cultural Timing: A national tragedy, changing tastes, or unexpected controversy can make a show instantly toxic.
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Creative Overreach: Some concepts simply collapse under their own ambition (Heil Honey I’m Home! being the poster child).
The Strange Afterlife of One-Episode TV
Ironically, canceling a show after a single episode often grants it immortality in cult circles.
Bootlegs circulate on YouTube.
Obscure DVDs become collector’s items.
Writers and actors dine out for years on “that time we made a show that died in one night.”
In a way, these failures are more interesting than modest successes.
They’re bold swings—proof that television sometimes takes chances, even if the result is a spectacular belly-flop.
Final Encore
For every Friends or Breaking Bad that gets time to find its footing, dozens of would-be hits vanish after a single evening.
They remind us how volatile network TV used to be, when a single Nielsen report could erase months of work.
Today’s streaming world gives shows more breathing room, but the legend of the “one-episode wonder” remains a delicious slice of TV lore.
So next time a new series premieres, spare a thought for Turn-On, Emily’s Reasons Why Not, and all the others that never made it to Episode Two.
Their failure might be their greatest—and funniest—legacy.
