10 TV Shows Too Big To Fail (That Did It Anyway)

8. Camelot

Why It Was 'Too Big'

There have been a number of big-budget misfires from overeager studios keen to find a true 'epic', from Rome in the mid-00s to Netflix's Marco Polo. Somewhere in between them is Camelot which, even more than the others, seemed to have more going for it to lead to success.

Not only did it have a mammoth production - estimated at around $7m per episode, which is more than Game of Thrones was spending back when both shows launched in 2011 - but it actually received favourable comparisons to Thrones at first. With Chris Chibnall (then best-known for Torchwood) and Michael Hirst (the Oscar-winning Elizabeth and Elizabeth II: The Golden Age) running the show, and a cast led by Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green. Its retelling of Arthurian legend, with extra sex and violence for the cable crowd, only added to its insane amount of potential, and Starz were talking about having several seasons' worth of material on-hand.

Why It Failed Anyway

Despite a strong start - alongside the solid initial reviews, it was also Starz' most-watched premiere at the time - the ratings and reception for the series quickly began to decline. Game of Thrones didn't help, because it became clear Camelot wasn't capable of telling such a compelling, complex storyline alongside its lavish production values.

The official reason given for its cancellation was more mundane though: Starz cited 'significant production challenges', believed to be scheduling conflicts with its, er, stars, including Fiennes, Green, and Jamie Campbell Bower, although the $70m+ price tag for a series not that many people were watching can't have helped.