10 Best TV Shows That Were Never Made

10. L.A. Confidential Almost Happened...Twice

L.A. Confidential was successfully adapted into a feature film by Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland in 1997, excising or condensing the novel's epic scope and whittling it down to its core. Even author James Ellroy, who at that point had seen his work butchered on the big screen, praised the adaptation and shepherded the project in his own creepy, creepy way (he would call star Russell Crowe and leave unusual poems on his answering machine).

Six years after the film's success, a television pilot was ordered starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Vincennes, the role originated by Kevin Spacey. It was never picked up, but the episode is available on the two-disc DVD edition of the film. In fairness to networks who rejected it - the pilot doesn't quite gel, despite offering up more subplots from the novel to delve into.

Two years ago, it had another shot at television when CBS announced it was going to shoot a new pilot with Walton Goggins as Vincennes and character actor Shea Whigham as corrupt cop Dick Stensland.

Despite a promising cast, the network pulled the plug on it before it even began. But it definitely appeared to be moving in the grittier direction more in line with Ellroy's prose. Still, CBS is a bit of a warning sign - a network that exists primarily to continue to run shows only your parents watch.

It seems just as Hanson and Helgeland had condensed the novel's sprawling narrative, the networks had difficulty expanding upon it.