10 TV Shows Probably Made Out Of Spite
1. Helstrom
In May 2019, Hulu commissioned a series based on the Marvel Comics characters Daimon and Satana Hellstrom, but in the middle of filming Helstrom, Marvel Television was absorbed into Marvel Studios, resulting in showrunner Paul Zbyszewski's contract with Marvel being terminated.
Though Zbyszewski continued to work on the series' post-production, by July 2020 Disney had removed the Marvel moniker and renamed the show simply "Helstrom," in order to distance its horrific tone from the more family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe vibe.
While originally intended to be a tentative part of the MCU - in much the same way that Netflix's Marvel shows were - Disney and Marvel Studios made every effort possible to downplay this, and beyond a few MCU Easter eggs, it's largely standalone.
In what felt like nothing more than a perfunctory obligation by Disney, Helstrom was released last October, and promptly cancelled by Hulu two months later. Predominantly negative reviews from critics likely didn't help its case for survival.
This marked the end of Marvel Television's live-action Marvel series, with Marvel Studios now overseeing production themselves.
While there's no doubt that Zbyszewski wanted to make a quality show, those at the top of Disney clearly just wanted to pull the plug, but per contractual commitments to Marvel Television, begrudgingly pushed ahead with the completion of Helstrom's production and low-key release.