As much as some may strive towards it, not every show is going to be as popular as Game of Thrones. Rifling through critic reviews of 45 shows, we’re sure we’ve stumbled onto what can be considered the worst ones out there. Our apologies for any of your personal favorites that have made way onto our list, but at the end of the day, the critics (and ratings) have the final say here.
Critics Agree These Are The 45 Worst TV Shows Of All Time
1. Ghost Whisperer
Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Melinda Gordon, a newly married woman who owns an antique store. Did we forget to mention that she speaks to dead people? Her mission and the central link in the series, is to assist earthbound ghosts to wrap up any commitments they may have left from their sudden deaths. Not a bad storyline, but fairly standard for a sci-fi program.
Ghost Whisperer
Audiences wanted to keep the show on the air, so it lasted five seasons, but critics were quick to make their first impression heard. Due to the fact the show was a fan favorite, we’ll skip over some of the more mean spirited comments, but the Philadelphia Inquirer hit the nail on the head when referring to Ghost Whisperer as “dim-bulb junk”. There you have it!
2. My Mother the Car
You may not have heard of the 1965 comedy series, My Mother The Car, but it’s safe to say you can assume what you want about the plot based on the title alone. In a nutshell, an attorney (and family man) buys a car that ends up being his recently deceased, now reincarnated mother. “Mom” ends up talking to him through the car stereo and what results is comedy catering to acquired tastes.
My Mother The Car
Midway through, the show creators decided it would be a good idea to get rid of the laugh-track, which left a lot of fans confused. While it tried to take on a bit more of a serious tone, certain lines that did intend to be funny fell flat on the ground. This helped to land it at the second-highest spot on”TV Guide’s list of the Worst TV Shows”.
3. Cop Rock
With aplenty crime shows on the airwaves these days, you don’t have to look very far to find something catering to your particular field of interest. One thing this genre most certainly didn’t ask for, was a cop show incorporating show tunes. This quickly became evident when Cop Rock debuted, only to be canceled shortly after.
Cop Rock
In a memorable song and dance number, which was supposed to compliment the serious tone of the series, a woman battling substance abuse sang about her attempts to sell a baby for a couple of hundred dollars. When asked what he took away from doing the show, creator Steven Bocho echoed that it didn’t make sense to have music in a cop show. We wholeheartedly agree.
4. AfterMASH
M*A*S*H was nothing short of massive, and the correct move, once it went off the air, would have been to focus on syndication, rather than creating a not-so-fresh sequel in the form of AfterMASH. Set in a hospital for veterans, the series only managed to convince three of the original cast members to get on board for the idea.
AfterMASH
Some of the central themes in the show mimicked its predecessor, which some deemed unnecessary. M*A*S*H has undoubtedly been considered by many as one of the best TV series of all time, but AfterMASH managed to secure the honor in reverse, being dubbed by Time Magazine as one of the “100 Worst Ideas of the Century”. It’s a good idea to leave the show out of our memories as a collective, leaving the M*A*S*H legacy unblemished.
5. The Flying Nun
There isn’t enough time to unpack this disastrous series, so we’re not even sure how to start. With multiple Academy Award-winner, Sally Field, at the helm, the series was about, well, a flying nun. Sister Bertrille had “wings” on the side, which usually resulted in a gust of wind lifting her petite frame and leaving her moving swiftly out of frame.
The Flying Nun
If you could get past disbelief in the physics, the series was trying to get viewers to buy into the humor, but it didn’t help win over any important critics. When the lead actress expressed her embarrassment of being a part of a show, in conjunction with a lot of negative reviews, it made sense that people have steered clear of this one.
6. Hello, Larry
The world has never stopped loving the iconic M*A*S*H, which led some to believe that anyone involved in the show may be appreciated in any future role regardless. This wasn’t quite what happened when McLean Stevenson, who played Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, signed on for a lead role in Hello, Larry.
Hello, Larry
In the show, Larry played a radio DJ who leaves L.A to move with his family to Portland, Oregon. Despite Stevenson’s acting chops, especially in his role in M*A*S*H, viewers just couldn’t seem to dig their heels into this role. Feedback showed that he just wasn’t a likable character. With just two seasons in the can, Hello Larry bid farewell to TV screens, fast becoming “The great white hope to the butt of jokes”, with thanks to Rolling Stone in particular.
7. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
It seems that network execs will never learn that certain topics, like slavery in pre-war America, don’t work for sitcoms. In The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, the lead character is a nobleman who flees the UK as a result of some gambling debts starting to catch up with him. Somehow, he manages to land a job as a butler to President Lincoln. We can’t make this up.
The Secret Diary Of Desmond Pfeiffer
The core theme of the series becomes all the more ridiculous when the show decided to portray Lincoln with stereotypically gay affectations, as well as showcasing White House employees as drunks who don’t know what they’re doing. The first episode faced protest action, and it wasn’t even a month before it was off the air.
8. The Chevy Chase Show
You would think that The Chevy Chase Show had all the qualities of a show that was destined to be successful, but instead, it has gained infamy as a late-night television failure of epic proportions. Having launched following a renowned stint as a cast member on SNL, comedic gold soon turned to artistic tragedy. But what happened here?
The Chevy Chase Show
Reviews gave an early indication, with Time Magazine referring to Chase as “Nervous and totally at sea. [He] tried everything, succeeded at nothing”. Ouch. If you think that was too harsh, notable TV critics from Entertainment Weekly gave the show a rating of F. Thankfully Chase survived the cancellation and his films have gone on to do well regardless of this show.
9. Homeboys in Outer Space
Get yourself ready because we’re about to head to space with two “homeboy” astronauts named Ty Walker and Morris Clay. In this show, the pair scoured the universe in a spaceship called “Space Hoopty”, which was a mix between a low rid and an 18 wheel truck. Piloted by a talking computer, the show missed the mark completely.
Homeboys In Outer Space
The reviews for Homeboys in Outer Space were anything but out of this world. Some common phrases in the reviews included “ineptitude” and “restlessness”. The writing, acting, and production got called out for being sloppy and indifferent. The show may have reached for the stars, but it never got close to its intergalactic expectations. Even though they fell quickly, the attempt to create something new should never go unappreciated.
10. Cavemen
With a focus on three cavemen going through an ordinary life in San Diego, Cavemen did nothing but leave critics confused and bamboozled. Creators thought that turning a popular 30-second insurance commercial into a 30-minute sitcom could only yield positive results, but they were wrong. As you guess, the reviews were harsh and borderline savage.
Cavemen
The New York Post summed it up nicely, writing that “It became clear to me that Cavemen is extinct on arrival”. Variety likened it to a “bland exercise”, with the Boston Globe describing the series as “Almost the stalest pieces of bread in the load”. We could continue, but you get the picture. These cavemen certainly deserve to stay in the past.
11. Killer Instinct
While many programs strive to go long run like Law & Order: SVU (the longest-running crime series on TV so far), Killer Instinct, unfortunately, didn’t get the chance to get remotely close to a good run. Critics and audiences agreed unanimously. Set in California, the series features cop, Jack Hale, in the relatively boringly titled SFPD Deviant Crime Unit.
Killer Instinct
A couple of early reviews were kinder in their putdowns, labeling the show a “mess”, and it wasn’t long before big guns like The New York Times stepped in to call it “pervasively disappointing”. Following suit was the San Francisco Chronicle, with the memorable line “You won’t see any worse acting across the broadcast spectrum. The writing is atrocious. The series is horrifically bad.” Meow!
12. Woops!
Picture two young children playing with a toy at a parade, when suddenly, they accidentally set off a nuclear missile, which wipes out all of humanity in 60 minutes. Did we forget to mention that six eccentric characters survive the blast? This was the premise behind Woops!, a seemingly short-lived comedy that felt like it was born out of a slow news day. Who said a nuclear apocalypse couldn’t be funny?
Woops
As it turns out, a lot of things are funnier than this. Woops! Was a flow and a half, getting the axe after thirteen unlucky episodes. Newsday speculated as to why it didn’t work, saying, “It could have been the funniest show in the world, if there was a nuclear war, and this was the only show left”. Smooth.
13. Co-Ed Fever
You may not have heard of Co-Ed Fever, because it technically didn’t make it broadcast. An attempt to capitalize on the popular National Lampoon’s Animal House, this show was a frat house comedy, which audience found only a fraction as funny as the one it got its inspiration from.
Co Ed Fever
In a way to build buzz, creators aired an episode titled “Pepperoni Passion” as a special preview, intending on gaining some exposure before it was set to launch a few weeks later. Immediately after the launch, the show was canceled altogether. Luckily, it wasn’t alone, as three similar comedies, set in a frat house, came out and failed in the 1979 season.
14. The Powers of Matthew Star
You may think that with sci-fi, the sky is the limit when it comes to show concepts. The Powers of Matthew Star proved that this isn’t the case, and may have benefited from a more simplistic concept. The series focuses on Matthew Star, a student who was secretly a superpowered alien prince from a far-away planet called Quadris.
The Powers Of Matthew Star
The show felt too busy as early on as halfway through the only season that ever aired, especially when producers decided that Matthew and his alien guardian would be suited to also becoming secret agents for the US government. Viewers were left stranded and confused, the plotline was widely denounced and cancellation wasn’t far off the books from this moment.
15. Black Scorpion
Darcy, the lead in Black Scorpion, probably would have been better off sticking to her day job. A regular police inspector by trade, although not driving the stereotypical Ford Crown Victoria, she drives a Corvette in the show. Alas, this Corvette is not your ordinary car, and Darcy is no ordinary policewoman. On the edge of your seat yet?
Black Scorpion
We didn’t think so. When it gets dark, Darcy turns into the Black Scorpion, with her beloved car transforming in the ‘Scorpionmobile’. Equipped with fancy (but cheap-looking) gadgets, the show was slated for its lack of depth. Boston Herald chose their words carefully, noting that, “This series looks like a sad refuge for down on their luck actors”. Harsh, but true.
16. Galactica 1980
Sometimes, we forget that we should be careful about what we wish for, as is the case for when fans of Battlestar Galactica rallied together to get ABC to revive the show. The campaign to get the attention of the studio was impressive, and the resulting program, Galactica 1980, answered the call, but offered something completely remote from the original.
Galactica 1980
While it is easy to see it as a revival, the format was different and budgetary cuts were obvious. Set half a decade after the series finale for Battlestar Galactica, the new show didn’t draw in many of the original cast and some were even left off’ the casting sheet, due to cut back on production expenses. Cutting corners led to a shameful show, which bit the dust after only two handfuls of episodes.
17. Flying High
Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats and ensure your seatbelt is fastened, and the tray table is stowed for take-off. We’re taking off with the crew from Flying High today. The show, which followed three stewardesses working for Sun West Airlines in LA, was developed as a quirky concept. The studio definitely made a bad decision hiring actors with no experience, bringing it to a crash landing fast.
Flying High
Flying High was a rating flop, with critics and viewers deciding far from uplifting. The show also faced backlash when it was seen as exploitative, with People Magazine calling it old fashioned and stereotypical. The cancellation wasn’t far off, and the show was shelved after just one season. Thank you for flying with us!
18. Hogan’s Heroes
Unlike fine wine, our next show hasn’t aged very well. Hogan’s Heroes ranks in the Top 5 of TV Guide’s list of the Worst Shows of All Time. Although it won two Emmy Awards during its six seasons on air, it can be easy to forget that the premise of the show was based on a prisoner of war camp during World War II. The tagline reads “If you liked WWII, you’ll love Hogan’s Heroes!”.
Hogan’s Heroes
Considering just how horrifying World War II was for, well, everyone, we’re not so sure anyone could say they liked it, per se. And so, we’re subsequently left wondering how viewers felt about trivializing what was a difficult moment in time history. While comedy can be found in some quirky places, it’s safe to say, and critics agree that a POW camp is not the place for this.
19. The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
Sometimes, getting too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. ABC didn’t ascribe to this, especially when The Brady Bunch started taking off. Its spinoff, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, was set as a show within the show, where the Bradys, themselves, had been chosen to host their own variety show on ABC. Inception, much?
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
With limited skills for singing and dancing, the spinoff continued, and fans seemed to enjoy watching them struggle. In fact, this became part of the brief, to get people to laugh. The long and short of it is that it didn’t bode well, with an original cast member, Eve Plumb (Jan), feeling all the more pleased that she opped out of signing onto the spinoff. Short-lived? Sure, Jan!
20. Hee Haw Honeys
Our list seems to be riddled with spin-offs, partly because so many networks like to milk cash cows for every drop they have. Hee Haw saw a tremendous rise when it was aired, which led producers to start crafting a new concept called Hee Haw Honeys, which featured performances by some prominent country stars. The show just couldn’t gain long term enthusiasm from viewers, which left it out in the cold shortly after it aired.
Hee Haw Honeys
Based in a truckstop, The Honeys, played by Misty Rowe and Kathie Lee Gifford, were diner waitresses by profession. The show had some hillbilly humor moments, except for the fact that critics and viewers didn’t seem to find it as funny as its parent show, in particular, because of the format. One season later, the series was history.
21. Manimal
With a punny show title to boot, Manimal was a show that was destined to fail. Coming up against some of the most popular daytime soaps, viewership dwindled right from the beginning. Promise and witty dialogue aside, the show never really stood a chance.
Manimal
Centered around Dr. Jonathan Chase, a British professor who could transform into any animal at his own free-will, the concept itself was less criticized, whereas the ridiculous plotlines tended to be a bit of a downer. Morphing into an animal and solving the crime was short-lived, and following a butchering by critics, it was bid farewell after 8 episodes.
22. Life With Lucy
While it can be hard to believe, even icons like Lucille Ball made some mistakes in her career. Life With Lucy was pinged by critics for material that was behind the times, with the Washington Post likening reruns of the show to a “well-suited torture device for KGB agents and drug smugglers”. Yikes!
Life With Lucy
That aside, it’s hard to fault a comedic legend for one unfortunate career choice. Was the comedy really as old fashioned as viewers claimed it was? Regardless of the consensus, Lucille deserves nothing but love and adoration because she’ll forever be imprinted in our minds and hearts from the iconic, I Love Lucy.
23. Murphy’s Law
Murphy’s Law states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” This led to us keeping an open mind about a series of the same title, which ended up being a mistake. The show follows Daedalus Patrick Murphy, an insurance fraud investigator with a string of personal issues, none of which were relatable to viewers.
Murphys Law
Newsday didn’t hold back in their review of Murphy’s Law, calling it “Monumentalizing meaningless, pathetically puerile and irredeemably ridiculous.” Harsh, even by our standards, right? One season down, the show waltzed off’ screens after just 13 episodes, never to be heard of again until now.
24. Dirty Dancing
Step away from social media, we don’t need any hate for this. Remember, we’re talking about the television series and not the classic hit movie. For some, the lesson of not messing with a good thing comes when it is far too late. A spin-off is already a gamble for any series, but to do one for a hit movie without any of the original cast, remains a recipe for disaster.
Dirty Dancing
The LA Times certainly didn’t have “the time of their lives” while reviewing this one. The paper iconically wrote that the show “plays like an extended shampoo commercial” which, to the appreciation of viewers from across the country, led to its demise after a measly 11 episodes.
25. Work It
The list of problems on ABC’s Work It is so long that it’s really difficult to find a good place to start. Firstly, the premise itself left everyone confused. Two men dress as women in order to gain employment when the job market dips. Unrealistic, offensive and just plain obnoxious, critics screamed at this in particular.
Work It
The show didn’t earn favor with LGBTQ activists or the community as a whole either, which led to a resounding roar following its cancellation after just two episodes. As it turns out, male actors pretending to be women in a show about work led to a bunch of cast and crew losing their jobs. The world works in strange ways.
26. Inhumans
Marvel Comics has a long-standing history of making box office hits on the big screen. The same can’t be said for television show adaptations, as was seen by the launch and demise of Inhumans, a short-lived superhero spin-off.
Inhumans
With an approval rating of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, most people want to forget this was ever done in the first place. One critic called it a “complete failure”, while Variety classily stated that “its only superpower is its sheer ineptitude”. Some people can’t believe it even made it to 8 episodes, before getting the boot.
27. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
It’s safe to admit that Criminal Minds was a massive hit with crime lovers from all walks of life. A short while ago, the creators took a creative risk, releasing a spin-off titled Beyond Borders. The new show followed similarly harrowing crimes, but this time shed light on American victims of crime who were abroad at the time of the incident.
Criminal Minds Beyond Borders
Critics were quick to call this one “dead in the water”. The LA Times summed it up nicely: “Imagine the situation reversed – a show in which tourists to America were continually victimized in horrific ways – and you would see the problem.”A few called it bland and somewhat xenophobic, so it wasn’t long before this one disappeared from our screens for good.
28. Happy Hour
You can offer us a world of cheap drinks, but no amount of alcohol will give way to use indulging in the dreary show that is Happy Hour. When fans heard that the creators of That 70’s Show were working on a new project, they were optimistic as to what was to come, only to be let down by what was actually created.
Happy Hour
The series focused on two guys, with one attempting to rebuild his life after some personal turmoil. He didn’t get much of a chance to rebuild after all, as the ratings were so bad, that Fox cut it short after four episodes, leaving nine others in the dust. As the Washington Post put it, watching it was “sheer, excruciating pain”. There’s no coming back from that.
29. Rob
With hit movies like Deuce Bigalow and Hot Chick under his belt, there were high hopes for Rob Schneider’s self-titled series, Rob, when it was first around. Yet again, a glowing film resume doesn’t lead to television success. Rob was centered around a man who marries a Mexican-American woman, adding himself to a family of quirky and eccentric characters.
Rob
While his family got bigger, ratings didn’t. Backlash ensued right from when it premiered, earning the title of “worst new show” from one critic in 2012. Others said it was “wildly stereotypical” and that it emphasizes an unfair portrayal of modern Mexican-Americans. USA Today didn’t mince their words on this one, referring to it as “second rate”.
30. Knight Rider
Who can forget the original Knight Rider, which premiered back in 1982 to a four-year run?! Skip forward to 2008, where a remake made its way to television screens; in particular, one that had a far shorter run than the original. After just six months on screens across the US, the show was axed, with the studio cutting its losses.
Knight Rider
The show brought with itself a lot of unforeseen issues, which became evident after it aired. The lead actor in the 2008 version left little to the imagination, and brought on a new wave of David Hasselhoff’s nostalgia for fans of the original. The Chicago Tribune echoed this, stating that the new version of the show was “almost hilariously cheesy”, dismissing it as a b-grade knockoff of the hit series.
31. October Road
As a nighttime soap opera, not all that common, this particular one held a slot right after ABC’s hit, Grey’s Anatomy. It even features a One Tree Hill actor, so what could go wrong? Soon enough, executives at the network learned that a hell of a lot could go wrong.
October Road
This series followed a young man returning to his hometown after writing a bestselling book about the place itself. The man spent about a year on our TV screens, before getting canceled by the studio. When searching for clues as to why, the Chicago Tribune noted that the dialogue was “leaden, preposterous and pretentious, all at once”.
32. Unan1mous
Unan1mous only put fans through 22 minutes an episode, but for some this felt like a lifetime. Reality TV haters were united in their sentiment that this show should never have been made, with their prayers answered after just a single eight-episode season.
Unan1mous
The concept of this show was that a group of strangers would be locked in a bunker with no access to technology. The “team” would need to unanimously decide who would leave with the grand prize (a lot of money) at the end of the show. If anyone left prematurely, the money got cut in half, and so forth. The Miami Herald called it nothing short of unpleasant in their review, and viewers struggled to remain engaged across the season.
33. $#*! My Dad Says
What do you mean a William Shatner project could turn into something s#*? That happened, thanks to Warner Brother and CBS. “Bleep My Dad Says”, as the marketing material called it, portrayed some promise considering it was created from Justin Halpern’s real-life Twitter feed, where he was sharing real-time hilarious quotes from his father, Sam.
My Dad Says
The Twitter magic was not to be duplicated, and the show was a critic bomb. Slant Mag called it “dismal”, writing that it “harbors the worst qualities of every lame, four-camer, laugh-track sitcom on television”. Lucky for them, it didn’t see the light of day after season one.
34. The Pick Up Artist
VH1 was renowned for its reality shows in the late nineties and early 2000’s, and somehow a man named “Mystery”, known for rocking a top hat and outrageous goggles, was cast as the perfect man to teach others how to bag the woman of their dreams. Yeah, right!
The Pick Up Artist
Although nobody is quite sure how this man landed the job in the first place, we do know that it has landed up on our list of the worst TV shows ever produced. Somehow, it was renewed for a second season, although it didn’t take long for ratings to plummet to an all-time low. Two groups of awkward men learning how to pick up women? We’ll pass on that.
35. For The Love Of Ray J
Putting a group of women in a house to find love isn’t exactly a new idea for television, but neither has it been totally shunned by critics and fans. The Bachelor and all its spin-offs are still going, but others like For The Love of Ray J hasn’t been quite as lucky.
For The Love Of Ray J
With big shows like Flavor of Love, Rock of Love and I Love New York bringing in the big bucks for VH1, they decided to try their hand at mimicking the concept for one-hit-wonder Ray J. Producers did what they could to make him a compelling offering, with winners “Cocktail” Hernandez and “Mz. Berry” Deveaux being left with memories of shame and regret for joining the show.
36. The Phyllis Diller Show
When it comes to putting a popular stand-up comedian and actress on a TV show, you’d think that very little could go wrong. ABC networks launched The Pruitts of Southampton back in 1966 in what was meant to be an I Love Lucy type show. The series was so bad, that soon it had a brand new name altogether.
The Phyllis Diller Show
Low ratings in tow, ABC rebranded the series to more prominently feature their prime rib talent. The now Phyllis Diller Show didn’t do much for ratings, and after just 30 episodes, executives decided that it was time to call it a day.
37. The Ugliest Girl In Town
Where the hell do we start with this? Ok, the plot. The Ugliest Girl in Town was supposed to be an all-American sitcom following the life of a guy called Tim. After a mixup, he is mistaken for a woman, and subsequently lands a job at a modeling agency. We’ve seen how this goes previously.
The Ugliest Girl In Town
Calling him/herself “Timmie”, the lead pretends to be female in order to pay outstanding debt. We can only imagine that “Timmy” was cringing from reading the scripts, and so was ABC. The series didn’t even see its conclusion on the air, being pulled before more complaints came pouring in. Three episodes were never to be seen, with good reason.
38. Baby Bob
Talking babies on television? Yes. Rugrats popularized this for a younger audience, but Baby Bob on CBS, which focused on the lives of two parents who realize their six-month-old baby Bob can talk, didn’t do quite as well.
Baby Bob
What came to be particularly disturbing was that this show used actual babies, rather than using technology to make their mouths move, with pre-recorded voice-overs. It came off very creepy and reviews were left speechless. “Why” and “What Happened?” were central themes in some of the earlier ones.
39. Modern Men
As with many shows, Modern Men didn’t start off with a terrible concept. WB Television greenlit a script that showcased three single men and their longtime friends working with a life coach to help them get back on the right track, based on individual challenges they were facing. The show itself proved to be a challenge, too.
Modern Men
Reviews were not kind, with US Today calling this one “yet another terrible sitcom that should have never been made”. The show only managed to scrape through seven episodes, and season one was the last we ever heard of it at Warner Brothers.
40. Baywatch
We can hear you gasp after seeing this one. The truth of the matter is that even though a show is popular, it can still be bad. TV critics agree, and when Baywatch hit screens in 1989, reviews were far from favorable. In fact, the show started off with such poor ratings that NBC decided to give it the axe after season one.
Baywatch
Baywatch subsequently moved to syndication, where it saw better success, lasting ten more seasons. When you think about it, Baywatch was a show about the overly dramatic lives of lifeguards who were most skilled in running in slow motion. The Miami Herald echoed the simplicity of the series, saying it may have been better suited to call it “Sullying Sand ‘n Surf with Silly Stories”.
41. Painkiller Jane
As we’ve seen, movies based on comics books usually show great potential at the box office. The Sci-Fi Channel had to learn that some adaptations won’t work in a hard way, through the release of Painkiller Jane. Premiering in 2007, it got through 22 short episodes before executives pulled the plug for good.
Painkiller Jane
In a nutshell, the series followed DEA Agent Jane, who seemed to go through a lot of peculiar circumstances and events, one including being pushed out of a window and surviving the fall. Jane feels pain, but they are never fatal. Critics dealt a fatal blow for this one, ensuring it was off’ television screens before season two even got into development.
42. Dads
It seems that being a 30-something-year-old isn’t hard enough, so one show decided to create a show where a 30-something-year-old has his dad move into his house to take it up a level. Produced by Fox, this sitcom followed actors Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin and their adventures with their fathers, who move in with them unexpectedly.
Dads
The show was widely criticized by reviewers right from its launch. As you can tell, the criticisms ended up being funnier than the content of the show itself. Penned “aggressively predictable” by one critic, with the Miami Herald comparing the humor to “an elementary school flatulence contest”, it wasn’t a surprise when it joined an elite list of bad shows with a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
43. Rules of Engagement
It’s safe to say that Rules of Engagement initially showed a lot of good signs and a recipe for success. Produced by Happy Madison Productions (Adam Sandler), it did have a fair run on the air but even though it had seven full seasons, critics could never quite understand just why it was popular to begin with, when it wasn’t actually very good.
Rules Of Engagement
Small fan base advises critics were quick to put it down across the board. USA Today kept things interesting by calling it, “One of those sitcoms that makes people who hate sitcoms hate sitcoms.” With predictable jokes leading the charge each week, Salon Magazine called the storylines as “insufferable as the punch lines”. Yikes.
44. The Jerry Springer Show
Once labeled as, “The worst show in the history of television”, by a reviewer, The Jerry Springer Show showed some surprising longevity in the industry. After debuting in 1991, it aired for a whopping 27 seasons, with over 3,800 episodes of dramatic altercations making their way to screens around the world.
The Jerry Springer Show
With some popular episode titles like, “I’m Leaving My Baby Mama”, “A Man Marries a Horse” and “Your Groom is a Cheater”, viewers weren’t exactly expecting hard-hitting investigative journalism from The Jerry Springer Show. Host, Jerry Springer, was famously quoted saying, “I would never watch my own show.” It’s worth taking reviews with a pinch of salt, while simultaneously watching with an air of discretion.
45. The War At Home
Premiering on September 11 in 2005, The War At Home created controversy since the day it hit television screens. The show, which included a pre-Oscar winning Rami Malek, followed a Long Island-based family and the drama surrounding their lives. The only entertaining part of this show was the number of hilarious reviews it got in the week after it was released.
The War At Home
Including some of the most cringe-inducing storylines, many said that the show had “absolutely nothing going for it” (thanks Boston Globe.) Others called it “exceedingly obnoxious”. Chicago Sun-Times went as far as to say that “If this is America, I want out”. Not exactly the kind of review you should be aiming for, right?