10 TV Shows With Massive Budgets That Failed
The high-profile shows that had the money, but ended up being huge flops.
Streaming services have become arguably the go-to way of consuming visual media for most of us, with platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu offering a wealth of content for relatively fair prices, all in the comfort of your home.
The days of campy sitcoms with bad props, questionable writing, and a weird aspect ratio are long behind us, as we are deep into a new golden age of television, only this time it's in 4K. Even the world's most renowned names from the film industry are switching over to streaming because they recognise that there is much more freedom to explore their subjects in a 10-episode long story arc than in a 90-minute feature. You are now as likely to see an original Martin Scorsese film or the latest adventure flick starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, on your laptop as you are in the local cinema.
However, history has proven time and time again that no matter how much money you pour into a production, or how many famous names you attach to it, you are still not guaranteed that it will be a hit. Sometimes, the whole ends up being smaller than the sum of its parts.
With that in mind, let's take a look at ten TV series that had massive financial backing but, for one reason or another, failed to capture an audience.
10. Hemlock Grove
Hemlock Grove came early in Netflix's foray into original content, and they definitely did not hit the ground running.
This was the streaming giant's only second original title ever. The initial success of House of Cards was encouraging, but it did not carry over in the same way to Hemlock Grove. Based on Brian McGreevy's novel of the same name, the series explored strange events in the titular Pennsylvania town. McGreevy himself was the showrunner and the cast was led by Famke Janssen, Bill Skarsgård, and Landon Liboiron.
The critics' reviews after the release of the first season were mostly negative, and the show never really managed to create an audience of its own, but despite that, Netflix went ahead and ordered further two seasons.
The further it went on, the more the ratings decreased and the plug was eventually pulled. With an estimated budget of $4 million per episode, Hemlock Grove ended up costing Netflix around $130 million in total.