10 Resurrected TV Shows That Should’ve Stayed Dead
4. Scrubs
Premiering in 2001, Scrubs doesn't get enough credit for launching the wave of single-camera, no laugh track sitcoms that have taken over television over the last decade or so. Creator Bill Lawrence assembled an incredibly talented cast of young actors for a very funny show about young doctors. He took what was a stale concept for dramas (hospital shows) and made a very fresh comedy out of it. While it had an iffy few seasons in the middle, it recovered in its last couple seasons, being as funny as ever and rejuvenated by a move from NBC to ABC. Lawrence got the time to craft a proper finale and the show got a great, emotional farewell. Or did it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzWQBcJ3Nz8 Lawrence wanted to do a spin-off, Scrubs: Med School. Some existing characters would stick around for a new show built around them teaching a number of new doctors in a medical school setting instead of the hospital. That was all well and good until ABC demanded that the show be branded as the ninth season of Scrubs, though it was still titled "Scrubs: Med School" in the graphics during the opening credits. I think you can guess what happened next: The show was cancelled after a season of the new format. Would it have done better if it was explicitly pushed as a new show? Maybe, maybe not. But the way it was handled was a bad idea.
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
Premiering in 2001, Scrubs doesn't get enough credit for launching the wave of single-camera, no laugh track sitcoms that have taken over television over the last decade or so. Creator Bill Lawrence assembled an incredibly talented cast of young actors for a very funny show about young doctors. He took what was a stale concept for dramas (hospital shows) and made a very fresh comedy out of it. While it had an iffy few seasons in the middle, it recovered in its last couple seasons, being as funny as ever and rejuvenated by a move from NBC to ABC. Lawrence got the time to craft a proper finale and the show got a great, emotional farewell. Or did it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzWQBcJ3Nz8 Lawrence wanted to do a spin-off, Scrubs: Med School. Some existing characters would stick around for a new show built around them teaching a number of new doctors in a medical school setting instead of the hospital. That was all well and good until ABC demanded that the show be branded as the ninth season of Scrubs, though it was still titled "Scrubs: Med School" in the graphics during the opening credits. I think you can guess what happened next: The show was cancelled after a season of the new format. Would it have done better if it was explicitly pushed as a new show? Maybe, maybe not. But the way it was handled was a bad idea.