23 Godawful TV Shows That Started As Great Movies

Couldn’t squeeze any TV juice out of these franchises
23 Godawful TV Shows That Started As Great Movies
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A movie’s success gets all kinds of corporate mouths watering. The sequel gets in the works right away, and execs salivate over the merch possibilities. Making a TV show out of it is usually in the mix too, even though its success is pretty rare. We loved the movie, but if the actors and original creators aren’t on board, it’s clearly a whole different (usually lower budget) thing. 

Here’s a solid batch of those movie-to-TV adaptations that failed to make fat wallets even fatter…

Serpico

SERPICO GRACKED.COM Al Pacino earned an Oscar nomination for his 1973 role as real-life whistleblower, Frank Serpico. The TV series aired on NBC in 1976, with critics saying, it lacked the raw, suspenseful elements of the film and was ultimately canceled after 14 episodes.

Working Girl

WORKING GIRL CRACKED.COM The 1988 film was nominated for Best Picture and its lead, Melanie Griffith was nominated for Best Actress. The 1990 series did give Sandra Bullock her first taste of the spotlight, but critics say the messy pilot was just the 2 hour movie condensed to 23 minutes, and only 8 of its 12 produced episodes made it to air.

My Big Fat Greek Life

MY BIG FAT BE GREEK LIFE VISIT THI CRACKED.COM My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a massive hit, making over $350 mill on a $5 mill budget. CBS jumped at the chance for a series, but the fresh feel and genuine humor of the movie was replaced by a formulaic sitcom. After just 7 episodes, it was never heard from again.

Dumb and Dumber

DUMB & BE DUMBER CRACKED.COM Dumb and Dumber was a huge hit in 1994, so ABC rushed a cartoon to piggyback off of that success. The cartoon was aimed at children (who were too young to go see the movie), featured a talking beaver named Kitty, and only lasted 3 months before cancellation.

Police Academy

POLICE ACADEMY BE CRACKED.COM Because seven 'Police Academy' films weren't enough, producer Paul Maslansky brought it to TV in 1997. The one returning cast member, human sound machine Michael Winslow, wasn't enough to keep it going, and the show was cancelled after one season.

Animal House

ANIMAL HOUSE CRACKED.COM 1979's 'Delta House' had a ton of the original cast, Ivan Reitman as the executive producer, and John Hughes as a writer. Unfortunately, the lack of Jim Belushi, and strict FCC censorship watered down the raunch Animal House was known for, but the show's one season did give the world Michelle Pfeiffer.

Conan the Barbarian

CONAN THE BE BARBARIAN CRACKED COM With hit 90s fantasies like 'Hercules' and 'Xena,' producers decided to reach back to the 1982 movie for a 1997 TV show 'Conan the Adventurer.' A 1992 animated series with the same name lasted 2 seasons, but 97's live action show was a flop and cancelled after 22 episodes.

10 Things I Hate About You

10 THINGS I HATE BE ABOUT YOU CRACKED.COM All you late 20-somethings want a TV show of that movie you liked as a teen? The 1999 movie had some great moments and a breakout performance from Heath Ledger, but the 2009 TV remake was one of many forgettable high school shows of the time, and it was cancelled after a single season.

RoboCop

ROBOCOP BE CRACKED COM Three up, three down. Both the 1988 animated show and 1994 live-action series had less violence and gritty realism than the 1987 film, and the live-action series struggled to match the special effects. Neither of these 'RoboCop'TV programs lasted more than one season. A slightly better animated attempt had 40 episodes in 1998, but suffered the same fate.

Rush Hour

RUSH HOUR CRACKED.COM Rush Hour worked because of the surprising chemistry between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Justin Hires and Jon Foo weren't bad in the 2016 TV show, but they're simply not Tucker and Chan. Formulaic plots, uninspired comedy, and mediocre action led to the show's one-season/13 episode demise.

9 to 5

SECOND-RATE STARS WORKED 9 TO 5 2 4 CRACKED.COM 9 to 5 was full of semi-famous relatives: Dolly Parton is replaced by sister Rachel; Jane Curtin's cousin Valerie nabbed Jane Fonda's role, and Rita Moreno took over for Lily Tomlin. The show sucked, relatively speaking.

Bad News Bears

NO BEER FOR THE TV COACH OF THE BAD NEWS BEARS BEANS BEARS BEARS 2 BEARS CRACKED.COM The fun of the original Bad News Bears movie was watching kids curse and fight as they lost baseball games. Take away the bad words and violence and you're left with a bunch of cute-ish kids who stink at Little League.

Bill and Ted

SHRED A TEAR FOR BILL AND TED CRACKED.COM The actors in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures look like the pop-culture knockoffs begging for change in Times Square. Be excellent to each ofther and skip this righteous debacle.

Blade: The Series

THE VAMPIRES REALLY SUCKED ON BLADE: THE SERIES CRACKED.COM Cashing in on one of the first Marvel film hits, Blade: The Series featured more naked ladies than a Cinemax Saturday night. The acting and action, unfortunately, were pay-cable exploitation quality as well.

Uncle Buck

THERE'S NO JOHN CANDY CHARM ON UNCLE BUCK CRACKED.COM 1990 critics clutched their pearls when a young girl yelled You suck! in the very first episode of Uncle Buck. Ironic since it was a perfect two-word review of this short-lived series.

The Outsiders

COPPOLA STAYED FAR FROM THE OUTSIDERS CRACKED.COM When The Outsiders premiered in 1990, it scored the highest rating ever for a Fox drama. (That's Billy Bob Thornton as the owner of Sodapop's service station.) Unfortunately, ratings then plummeted faster than you can lisp S.E. Hinton.

School of Rock

YOU'RE TACKY AND I HATE YOU SCHOOL OF ROCK CRACKED.COM Not only was there a Nickelodeon kid-centric version of School of Rock, it lasted for three freaking seasons. This Dewey Finn is super-into being a teacher -- he's Jack Black with the rough edges sanded off.

Weird Science

USA NETWORK COOKED UP SOME WEIRD SCIENCE CRACKED.COM For five (!) seasons, Gary and Wyatt continued to not get busy with computer- generated dream gal Lisa. She still has the ability to grant wishes, except for the actors' desire to look like real teenagers.

Fast Times

MR. HAND WAS BACK FOR FAST TIMES CRACKED.COM Starring unknowns Patrick Dempsey and Courtney Thorne-Smith, Fast Times was everything you loved about Fast Times at Ridgemont High, minus the sex, drugs, and realistic teen problems.

Dirty Dancing

LOUSY DANCING DIDN'T HELP DIRTY DANCING CRACKED.COM Nobody keeps Jan Levinson-Gould in the corner. Yep, that's Melora Hardin as Baby. She was a serious dancer, on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet at age 13. Unfortunately, costar Patrick Cassidy didn't have much dancing talent, dirty or otherwise.

Clueless

AS IF TV COULD IMPROVE ON CLUELESS CRACKED COM Amy Heckerling originally developed Clueless as a TV pilot before it was turned into a hit movie. Cher Horowitz comes full circle in a sitcom that was quickly cancelled. That was way harsh, Tai.

Heathers

HEATHERS SHOULD'VE JUST STAYED DEAD CRACKED.COM A rash of real-life school shootings made the original's dark comedy downright tasteless in 2018. The remake came off as a repugnant, mean-spirited attempt at satire that uses smug wokeness as a hall pass.

Ferris Bueller

CANCELLATION COMES AT YOU FAST FERRIS BUELLER CRACKED.COM In the pilot, TV Ferris breaks the fourth wall to let viewers know he is the real Ferris. Guess we'll take the fake movie one, thanks. Look for unknown Jennifer Aniston as Ferris' spiteful sister Jeannie.

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