10 Incredible TV Shows That Everyone Thought Would Be Terrible
5. Seinfeld
Two decades after it came to an end, Seinfeld is still regarded as one of the funniest series ever. Even though many shows have tried to imitated its formula, NBC's comedy is still considered the top-tier of sitcoms. When the series hit its stride, Seinfeld became successful in a way never seen before. It was so lucrative, it was making over $4 billion in syndication alone.
That's pretty crazy considering NOBODY thought the show would do well. When the test audience watched the pilot, they perceived George as a "loser" and the titular comedian as "boring". Overall, the opening episode was deemed "underwhelming and weak".
So, if nobody liked it, why did the studio agree to air it? The reason is simple; they didn't have a choice. Although NBC originally pulled the plug on Seinfeld, they changed their mind after another potential series got dropped.
The studio had no faith in the show (nor did anyone else) and only greenlit Seinfeld to fill a slot in their schedule. It was fortunate that NBC made this decision, since Seinfeld went on to become the master of its domain.