10 TV Shows That REALLY Shouldn't Have Worked

With hindsight Buffy The Vampire Slayer might seem to have been an inevitable smash hit. Given its excellent casting, well written storylines and its creator being Josh Whedon (whose filmography includes co-writing Toy Story and directing multiple Avenger films), Buffy’s success might have seemed natural.

However, the story of a seemingly ordinary girl battling vampires, demons and other creatures of the underworld, whilst also overcoming the greatest monster of them all, adolescence, divided viewers and critics before the shows arrival. The name of the show alone hardly inspired confidence. What kind of name was Buffy anyway?

However, unlike the 1992 film version that preceded the TV series, this Buffy was far from a disappointment. The show was a massive success and has even spawned an entire ‘Buffyverse’. Not to mention a seemingly bizarre area of academia. Surely academic minds could be better used on something other than Sarah Michelle Gellar fighting Vampires.

Buffy changed the way TV and films viewed monsters and demons, bringing a level of artistic merit to the genre. But with a name like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it would have taken quite the premonition to see the success the show had.