10 Recent TV Shows That Failed Hard (But Should Have Been Great)

A while ago, it felt like Cameron Crowe could do little wrong as a writer/director. He arguably hit his peak with the fantastic Almost Famous (2000), a heartfelt piece charting the behind-the-scenes of the 70s music scene, and his own rollercoaster journey as an underaged journalist for Rolling Stones magazine.

After that, his films were accused of being saccharine, indulgently self-aware, or just plain missing the mark. Showtime's Roadies was a chance to get things back on track, with him returning to the same wheelhouse of that less shiny (yet more fascinating) side of that industry, as it followed a gang of roadies on tour in present-day USA.

Unfortunately, the long-format only helped draw out the director's flaws as a storyteller; the excessive sincerity fell apart due to feeling like a shallow Crowe roadmap, the barrage of conflicted love scenarios were exhausting, and most importantly, its musing on the integrity of 'the music' felt painfully outdated.

And therein lay the sad truth: Crowe just didn’t have that much more left to say about the subject.

It was a shame since it held a strong and likeable cast with plenty of potentials, yet the shows biggest selling point - Crowe’s involvement - managed to topple it into cancellation.