10 TV Shows That Weren't Worth The Controversy

It's simply part and parcel of modern day pop-culture that any sufficiently big TV show is going to generate a ton of discourse online, for better and very often for worse.

It feels like few high-profile series can come and go without enduring some sort of controversy, ranging from behind-the-scenes arguments to creative decisions protested by fans, and of course, idiots who just can't stop talking about how much they hate diversity.

Whether these controversies were ultimately "justified" or not, by the time each show was finished it was tough not to just feel like the end result really wasn't worth all the hot air and energy that so many had expended on it.

That isn't to de-legitimise some of the genuine controversies these shows may have stirred up, yet some of these series had such a fleeting time in the limelight before fading into obscurity that they probably weren't worth getting red in the face about at all.

Indeed, there's certainly an element of "touch grass" to many of these controversies, because of course, nobody hates a franchise quite like its most pathologically passionate fans - if we can even call them that...

HBO's drama series The Idol arrived less on a tidal wave of buzz than an avalanche of controversies. 

In April 2022, it was reported that Sam Levinson and The Weeknd's series about a female pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) falling prey to an abusive nightclub promoter (The Weeknd) was undergoing a major creative overhaul.

Original director Amy Seimetz left the show due to creative differences mid-production - apparently due to The Weeknd's feeling that it "lean[ed] too much into a female perspective" - leaving Levinson to reshoot most of the series himself.

Naturally this sparked plenty of ire online, that this apparently feminist drama series had been morphed into another edgy skin parade from Levinson, by literally nudging out the female creative hired to do the gig.

Crew members spoke anonymously about Levinson's revised version of The Idol being more exploitative in tone, and so few were surprised when the show eventually debuted to critical scorn across the board, before being cancelled after a single season.

And while The Idol was a can't-look-away car crash of a TV event for a few weeks last summer, the most shocking outcome is how swiftly it's been forgotten. 

For all of the pre-release hype about the show crossing lines and broaching TV taboos, it's only concerned with sex and nudity in the most conventional, arbitrary fashion.