10 Flop TV Shows That Made ONE Huge Mistake
5. Having A MASSIVE Budget - Vinyl
A key component of any successful show is managing the scope and budget - that is, ensuring the cost makes sense relative to the show's prospective audience.
And HBO well and truly whiffed that with their 2016 period drama series Vinyl, centered around the music scene in 1970s New York.
Period fare is inherently expensive and series co-creator Martin Scorsese doesn't come cheap either, but even so, the eye-wateringly colossal $100 million budget of Vinyl's single-season placed its cost on par with the most expensive seasons of Game of Thrones.
Obviously the potential audience for a fantasy TV show adapted from beloved source material is far larger than that of a record industry drama, and even Thrones' first-season viewing figures were regularly quadruple those of Vinyl's.
Though HBO initially gave it an early second-season renewal, they ultimately reneged once the season finished airing, and given the enormous resources poured into such meagre returns, it's easy to appreciate why.
With a more budget-conscious approach, though, this quality show could've made it to at least a second season.