List of television shows notable for negative reception#Animated shows

{{main|Social effects of television}}

Factors that can reflect poorly on a television series include inherently poor quality, the lack of a budget, rapid cancellation, very low viewership, offensive content, and negative impact on other series on the same channel. Multiple outlets have produced lists ranking the worst television series, including TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly and Mail Online. TV Guide published lists in 2002 and 2010, each of which had contemporary shows near the top of the list.

The following is a list of television series notable for negative reception — some of which are considered the worst of all time by critics, network executives, and viewers (with extremely low viewership despite high promotion). Situation comedy shows make up a large percentage, so they are listed in a separate page.

This list also includes non-fictional programs (as in the case of sporting events, news broadcasts and talk shows).

;The Brothers Grunt: Created by future Ed, Edd n Eddy creator Danny Antonucci, The Brothers Grunt premiered on MTV in August 1994 in the network's attempt to capitalize on their earlier success of Beavis and Butt-Head, but the show was canceled after seven months and derided by critics and viewers for its gross-out content.Hofstede (2004), p. 85-87{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/170877390/|title=No Grown-Ups!|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=October 2, 1994|access-date=February 12, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/77348772/|title=Teen Thursday|first=Brandon|last=Copeland|work=Herald & Review|date=December 22, 1994|access-date=February 12, 2018}} Kenneth R. Clark of the Chicago Tribune wrote that MTV "created the most repulsive creatures ever to show up on a television screen".{{cite web|author=Kenneth R. Clark|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/08/15/mtvs-brothers-grunt-pushes-cartoon-envelope/|title=Mtv's 'Brothers Grunt' Pushes Cartoon Envelope – Orlando Sentinel|publisher=Orlando Sentinel|date=August 15, 1994|access-date=August 1, 2013}} Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times deemed it a "sophomoric half-hour that leaves the viewer longing for the refined good taste of Alice Cooper".{{cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|title='Brothers Grunt' a Reason to Say 'Ugh'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-15-ca-27371-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 15, 1994}} The Boston Globe called the show "moronic",{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112586814/|title=Competitors pick up on MTV's beat|first=Renee|last=Graham|work=The Boston Globe|date=September 25, 1994|access-date=February 12, 2018}} while Steve Hall of The Indianapolis Star commented: "Compared to this ... Beavis and Butt-Head looks like a masterpiece of social satire".{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/107427816/|title=MTV hits a new low with animated 'Brothers Grunt'|first=Steve|last=Hall|work=The Indianapolis Star|date=August 14, 1994|access-date=February 12, 2018}} Jean Prescott of The Pantagraph, in 1999, cited The Brothers Grunt as an "animation disaster".{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/75437987/|title=MTV attempts to bring real life to animated series|first=Jean|last=Prescott|work=Knight Ridder|publisher=The Pantagraph|date=July 31, 1999|access-date=February 14, 2018}} Authors William Beard and Jerry White called the series a "failure".{{cite book|title=North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980|first1=William|last1=Beard|first2=Jerry|last2=White|publisher=University of Alberta Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00bear/page/63 63]|date=2002|isbn=088864390X|url=https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00bear|url-access=registration}} Writer David Hofstede included the show among his selection of "The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History" in 2004: "Given the ... grotesque appearance of the characters, it's not surprising that the series didn't last".

;Bucky and Pepito: The 1959 syndicated series Bucky and Pepito has been criticized for its poor production quality and racial stereotyping.{{cite book|title=Icons of Latino America: Latino Contributions to American Culture, Vol. 1|first=Roger|last=Bruns|publisher=Greenwood Icons|date=2008|page=247|isbn=978-0313340871|quote=In addition to the Frito Bandito, other [Latino] caricatures such as Bucky & Pepito, an animated cartoon series that appeared in the late 1950s, came under fire.}}{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.)|first=Vincent|last=Terrace|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2012|page=143|isbn=978-0786464777}} It was produced by Sam Singer, who is referred to as "the Ed Wood of animation"[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/sam-singer-and-hanna-barberas-sinbad-jr-on-records/ Sam Singer and Hanna-Barbera's "Sinbad Jr." on Records|Cartoon Research] by Jerry Beck{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tools/courageous-cat-66446.html|first=Jerry|last=Beck|author-link=Jerry Beck|title=Courageous Cat Returns!|publisher=Cartoon Brew|date=July 14, 2012|access-date=March 20, 2015|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006013916/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tools/courageous-cat-66446.html|url-status=live}} for his low-budget and generally ill-reviewed style.{{cite web|url=http://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2015/01/hes-not-sam-tastic.html|title=He's Not Sam-tastic|work=tralfaz.blogspot.com|date=January 10, 2015|access-date=February 17, 2018}} The show was described by Fast Company technology editor Harry McCracken as setting "a standard for awfulness that no contemporary TV cartoon has managed to surpass".{{cite web|title=Bucky & Pepito take a Cartoon Dump|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewfilms/bucky-pepito-take-a-cartoon-dump-4231.html|first=Jerry|last=Beck|author-link=Jerry Beck|work=Cartoon Brew|date=September 27, 2007|access-date=October 19, 2008}} Author Alvin H. Marill wrote that the show "managed to set TV animation back to the early crude days", and castigated Pepito—who was voiced by white actor Dallas McKennon — as "pure Mexican stereotype—from the huge sombrero that covered his eyes to [his] slow, lazy ways ... mentioned in the show's theme song".{{cite book|title=Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders|url=https://archive.org/details/televisionwester00mari|url-access=limited|first=Alvin H.|last=Marill|year=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/televisionwester00mari/page/n160 148]|isbn=978-0810881327}} Writer David Perlmutter described Bucky and Pepito as being "racially troubling" and having "poor animation and cliché-ridden writing".{{cite book|title=America Toons In: A History of Television Animation|first=David|last=Perlmutter|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2014|page=111|isbn=978-0786476503}} Media historian Hal Erickson called Pepito "non-politically correct [and] stereotyped" and the show's animation "arguably the worst of any TV cartoon of the 1950s".{{cite book|title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 The Shows A-L|first=Hal|last=Erickson|author-link=Hal Erickson (author)|publisher=McFarland & Company|date=2005|isbn=0786422556}} One episode was featured on Beck's Cartoon Brew webseries Cartoon Dump in 2007.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S56YQMY0kbk Ask the Universe For What - cartoondump on YouTube]

;Caillou: This Canadian children's series aired from 1997 to 2010 and then in the United States on PBS from 2000 to 2021. Although Caillou initially received positive reviews during its original run,{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/08/01/caillou/|title=Caillou|last=EW Staff|date=August 1, 2012|website=EW.com|language=EN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415075610/https://ew.com/article/2012/08/01/caillou/|archive-date=April 15, 2020|access-date=March 17, 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/tv/for-young-viewers-sharing-the-small-stuff.html|title=FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Sharing the Small Stuff|date=October 7, 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 17, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415081456/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/tv/for-young-viewers-sharing-the-small-stuff.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-04-ca-15135-story.html|title=Kids' Series Give Gentle Life Lessons Television Review|last=Heffley|first=Lynne|date=September 4, 2000|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322041601/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-04-ca-15135-story.html|archive-date=March 22, 2020|access-date=March 22, 2020}} it has drawn heavy viewer criticism since its cancellation,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/caillou-canceled-pbs-parents-happier-1234665631/|title='Caillou' Canceled By PBS & Parents Couldn't Be Happier|first=Denise|last=Petski|work=Deadline|date=January 6, 2021|access-date=November 23, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/caillou-cancelled-pbs-kids-show-us-b1783742.html|title=Caillou: Controversial kid's show taken off air in US to delight of parents|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy|work=The Independent|date=January 7, 2021|access-date=November 23, 2023}} notably for the title character's negative behavior starting in the first and second seasons that resulted in four episodes of the show being banned by PBS Kids.{{cite web|url=https://www.freep.com/story/life/family/2015/08/21/kids-watch-tv/32143669/|title=Beware the friends your kids meet on TV|first=Sara|last=Smith|work=Detroit Free Press|publisher=USA Today|date=August 22, 2015|access-date=November 23, 2023}} Tristin Hopper of National Post, in 2017, called the show "quite possibly the world's most universally reviled children's program".{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/analysis-caillou-is-an-aggressively-bad-show-ruining-the-worlds-children-and-its-all-canadas-fault|title= Caillou is an aggressively bad show ruining the world's children ... and it's all Canada's fault|first=Tristan|last=Hopper|work=National Post|date=May 1, 2017|access-date=November 23, 2023}} Caroline Bologna of the Huffington Post published a 2017 feature of viewer responses titled "This is How Much People Hate Caillou".{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-how-much-people-hate-caillou_n_58d05f98e4b0be71dcf766a9|title=This Is How Much People Hate 'Caillou'|first=Caroline|last=Bologna|date=April 3, 2017|work=Huffington Post|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106072429/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-how-much-people-hate-caillou_n_58d05f98e4b0be71dcf766a9|url-status=live}} Comic Book Resources called the show "the Nickelback of cartoons",{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/caillou-death-history-nickelback-hate/|title=Caillou: The Rise, Fall, Death and HATE for the Nickelback of Cartoons|first=Tori|last=Carlo|work=Comic Book Resources|date=January 19, 2021|access-date=November 23, 2023}} and the Detroit Free Press deemed the character "the worst role model to come out of Canada since Justin Bieber". Distractify remarked in 2020, "If you've managed to go your entire life without watching an episode of Caillou, you're one of the lucky ones".{{cite web|url= https://www.distractify.com/p/why-do-people-hate-caillou|title=If You Don't Hate 'Caillou', You've Probably Never Seen the Show|first=Abi|last=Travis|work=Distractify|date=July 31, 2020|access-date=November 23, 2023}} The Arizona Republic and The A.V. Club rated Caillou among the worst children's shows.{{cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2019/08/09/worst-kids-shows-ever-sat-through/1960319001/|title='Caillou', 'Dog With a Blog' and more: The worst kids shows ever made (and how to watch)|first=Bill|last=Goodykoontz|work=The Arizona Republic|date=August 9, 2019|access-date=November 23, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/life-beyond-barney-8-kids-shows-to-avoid-at-all-costs-1798279713|title=Life beyond Barney: 8 kids' shows to avoid at all costs|first=Gwen|last=Ihnat|work=The A.V. Club|date=May 13, 2015|access-date=November 23, 2023}}

;Father of the Pride: Father of the Pride was a 2004 primetime computer-animated{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/father-pride-review/|title=Father of the Pride - TV Show Review|first=William|last=Thomas|work=Empire|date=April 19, 2006|access-date=February 5, 2022}} series that centered around a family of white lions whose titular patriarch stars in a Siegfried & Roy show in Las Vegas,{{cite news|last=Rammairone|first=Nerina|title=Siegfried and Roy's Troubled Toon|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/katzenberg-pride-siegfried-38420.aspx|access-date=September 9, 2013|newspaper=TV Guide|date=August 31, 2004}} but pre-release publicity was affected by Roy Horn being attacked by a tiger during a 2003 performance while the show was in production.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2004/08/26/father-pride/|title=Father of the Pride|first=Ken|last=Tucker|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=August 26, 2004|access-date=February 9, 2018}} Despite studio DreamWorks Animation marketing the show to younger audiences, NBC was forced to return $50,000 in funding to the Family Friendly Programming Forum after airing a series of promos during the 2004 Summer Olympics that showed characters making sexual references,{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/news/nbc-s-father-pride-loses-family-friendly-backing/41013|title='Father of Pride' Loses Family Backing|first=Claire|last=Atkinson|work=Advertising Age|date=September 6, 2004|access-date=February 9, 2018}} and the program itself was panned by critics for its crude adult-oriented humor.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-08-31-0408310037-story.html|title='Father of the Pride' too risque for kids, too dumb for adults|first=Sid|last=Smith|work=Chicago Tribune|date=August 31, 2004|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/2004/8/31/19847953/father-of-pride-is-back-of-pack|title='Father of Pride' is back of pack|first=Scott D.|last=Pierce|work=The Deseret News|date=August 31, 2004|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Let-s-hope-Father-of-the-Pride-is-on-the-road-2697563.php|title=Let's hope 'Father of the Pride' is on the road to extinction|first=Tim|last=Goodman|work=SFGate|date=August 31, 2004|access-date=February 9, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/pride-humiliation-crude-gags-litter-show-article-1.611041|title='PRIDE'? TRY 'HUMILIATION' Crude gags litter this show|first=David|last=Bianculli|work=New York Daily News|date=August 30, 2004|access-date=February 9, 2018}} The Las Vegas Sun commented: "Father of the Pride isn't suitable for children. Unless, of course, you consider references to sex acts and bestiality OK for younger ears".{{cite web|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/aug/30/animated-approach-adult-content-a-hot-topic-as-fat/|title=Animated approach: Adult content a hot topic as 'Father of the Pride' premieres|first=Kirk|last=Baird|work=Las Vegas Sun|date=August 30, 2004|access-date=February 9, 2018}} The combination of pre-release issues, negative reviews and poor ratings led to the show's cancellation after only thirteen episodes.{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2004/11/03/news/fortune500/nbc_pride/|title=NBC said pulling 'Father of the Pride'|author=|publisher=CNN Money|date=November 3, 2004|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite news|last=Adalian|first=Josef|title=NBC swallows its toon 'Pride'|url=https://variety.com/2004/scene/news/nbc-swallows-its-toon-pride-1117912854/|access-date=September 9, 2013|newspaper=Variety|date=November 1, 2004}}{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/father-of-the-pride-complete-dvd-2496227449.html|title=Father of the Pride: The Complete Series|first=Will|last=Harris|work=PopMatters|date=August 11, 2005|access-date=February 3, 2020}} Newsday named Father of the Pride one of the "worst shows of the 21st century",{{cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/worst-shows-21st-century-1.9638437|title=TV turkeys: The worst shows of the 21st century|first=Verne|last=Gay|work=Newsday|date=November 18, 2017|access-date=February 9, 2018}} and The Daily Beast rated it among NBC's "most embarrassing flops of the last decade".{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/zuckers-flops|title=Zucker's Flops|first=Kim|last=Masters|work=The Daily Beast|date=January 13, 2010|access-date=February 9, 2018}} Chris Longridge of Digital Spy said in 2017, "[It] didn't help that Roy Horn was attacked by one of his own tigers before the show got to air. File under catastrophic misjudgment".{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/feature/a813592/most-expensive-tv-flops/|title=14 of the most expensive flops in TV history|first=Chris|last=Longbridge|work=Digital Spy|date=October 1, 2017|access-date=February 9, 2018}}

;The Problem Solverz: This series was created for Cartoon Network by Ben Jones and received largely negative reviews, with writers of entertainment-related publications criticizing the visual style and writing. Rob Owen writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the style reminiscent of Atari 5200 video games and wrote that viewers could "thank" or "blame" Jones for his creation.{{Cite web

| last=Owen

| first=Rob

| date=April 3, 2011

| url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2011/04/03/Cartoon-Network-s-Problem-Solverz-has-Pittsburgh-roots/stories/201104030228

| title=Cartoon Network's Problem Solverz Has Pittsburgh Roots

| work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

| publisher=Block Communications

| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808080755/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2011/04/03/Cartoon-Network-s-Problem-Solverz-has-Pittsburgh-roots/stories/201104030228

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}} For the magazine Variety, Brian Lowry disregarded the series as uninteresting and challenging to watch, the visuals and sounds weird for weirdness' sake.[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940472.html?categoryid=32&cs=1 Lowry, Brian. "The Othersiders/Survive This."] Variety. June 15, 2009. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media defined the series as misguided, its stories as undeveloped, and its visual style as unappealing.{{Cite web

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| url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-problem-solverz

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| archivedate=August 28, 2013

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}} The Weekly Alibi{{'}}s Devin D. O'Leary acknowledged the style as Paper Rad's own and found the writing more solid than that of Adult Swim's programming for which it could be mistaken. The jokes were not instantly funny according to O'Leary, but the visual style combined with the writing would provide amusement for Paper Rad's existing fans.{{Cite journal

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| first=Devin D.

| date=April 14–20, 2011

| url=http://alibi.com/film/36778/The-Colors-The-Colors.html

| title=The Colors! The Colors!

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| publisher=NuCity Publications

| volume=20

| issue=15

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| archivedate=April 24, 2011

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}}

;Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon": The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi rebooted his original 1991 series for the relaunch of The National Network as Spike TV, as part of its new adult animation block.[https://www.nathanrabin.com/happy-place/2019/2/20/my-world-of-flops-child-ruining-case-file-111my-year-of-flops-ii-8-ren-amp-stimpy-adult-party-cartoon Exploiting the Archives: This Look Terrible! Ren & Stimpy 'Adult Party Cartoon' — Nathan Rabin's Happy Place][https://www.nathanrabin.com/happy-place/2020/8/12/the-ren-amp-stimpy-reboot-john-k-and-the-poisonous-cult-of-the-creator The Ren & Stimpy Reboot, John K and the Poisonous Cult of the Creator – Nathan Rabin's Happy Place] Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" premiered in June 2003 and contained significantly more vulgar content than its predecessor, which resulted in only three of six ordered episodes being aired by the network.{{cite book|title=TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas|first=Vincent|last=LoBrutto|publisher=Greenwood Publishing|page=102|date=2018|isbn=978-1440829727}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/11303spike.html|title=Spike Retooling Its Toon Strategy|last=Hibberd|first=James|date=November 2003|access-date=December 21, 2010|work=Television Week|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603133953/http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/11303spike.html|archive-date=June 3, 2004|url-status=dead}} Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described it as "just plain gross. ... They don't pay me enough to watch cartoon characters eating snot".{{cite web|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/TV/20030620owen0622p2.asp|title=Cartoons for guys premiere on Spike TV|first=Rob|last=Owen|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=June 22, 2003|access-date=February 19, 2018}} Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times criticized the show as "'adult' only in the sense that you wouldn't want kids watching them".{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/191075148/|title='Toons not fit for an adult|first=Charles|last=Solomon|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 26, 2003|access-date=February 19, 2018}} Tucson Weekly and Exclaim! both labeled it "disastrous".{{cite web|url=https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/now-showing-at-home/Content?oid=1080788|title=Now Showing at Home|first=Bob|last=Grimm|work=Tucson Weekly|date=June 30, 2005|access-date=February 19, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/film/article/ren_and_stimpy_movie_pitch_rejected_at_paramount|title='Ren & Stimpy' Movie Rejected at Paramount|first=Josiah|last=Hughes|work=Exclaim!|publisher=1059434 Ontario Inc.|date=March 21, 2017|access-date=February 19, 2018}} DVD Talk praised the show's animation, "but the weak stories epitomize empty, heavy-handed shock value".{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/22769/ren-stimpy-the-lost-episodes/|title=Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes|first=Randy|last=Miller|work=DVD Talk|date=July 17, 2006|access-date=May 8, 2016}} Matt Schimkowitz of Splitsider opined that the show's intended audience was "the 16-year-olds who grew up on the [original] show and are ready to handle such hilarious topics as spousal abuse and eating boogers".{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2013/06/no-sir-i-dont-like-it-the-misfire-that-was-ren-and-stimpys-adult-party-cartoon/|title=No, Sir, I Don't Like It: The Misfire That Was 'Ren and Stimpy's Adult Party Cartoon'|first=Matt|last=Schimkowitz|work=Splitsider|date=June 3, 2013|access-date=February 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220151823/http://splitsider.com/2013/06/no-sir-i-dont-like-it-the-misfire-that-was-ren-and-stimpys-adult-party-cartoon/|archive-date=February 20, 2018|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Comic Book Resources, in 2018, called it "perhaps the most hated animated reboot ever".{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/cartoon-reboots-loved-and-hated/|title=Cartoon Reboots Fans Loved and Hated|first=Evan|last=Hopkins|work=Comic Book Resources|date=January 8, 2018|access-date=February 19, 2018}} The negative reaction to the show tainted Kricfalusi's reputation{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/tv-stars-left-shows-ended|title=20 Actors Who Completely Disappeared After Their Shows Flopped|first=Jason|last=Wojnar|work=Screen Rant|publisher=Valnet Inc.|date=February 19, 2018|access-date=February 19, 2018}} and resulted in a 2016 pitch for a Ren & Stimpy feature film being rejected by Paramount Pictures. Billy West, who voiced Stimpy in the original series, had turned down Kricfalusi's offer to reprise the part in Adult Party Cartoon: "It would have damaged my career. It was one of the worst things I ever saw".{{cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/84389/11-stupefying-facts-about-ren-stimpy-show|title=11 Stupefying Facts About The Ren & Stimpy Show|first=Jay|last=Serafino|work=Mental Floss|date=August 11, 2016|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

;Velma: An adult-oriented spin-off of the popular Scooby-Doo franchise, with the title character voiced by comedian Mindy Kaling, this HBO Max cartoon received overwhelmingly negative reviews from its audiences,{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2023/01/velma-mindy-kaling-hbo-max-review.html|title=HBO's Wokeified Scooby-Doo Reboot Achieves the Impossible|last=Goffe|first=Nadira|date=January 18, 2023|access-date=January 19, 2023|language=en-US|work=Slate|archive-date=January 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119001037/https://slate.com/culture/2023/01/velma-mindy-kaling-hbo-max-review.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|issn = 0307-1235|last = Power|first = Ed|title = How Velma became the most hated TV show on TV|work = The Telegraph|access-date = January 19, 2023|date = January 18, 2023|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/velma-how-mindy-kalings-scooby-doo-update-became-hated-show/|archive-date = January 18, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230118175432/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/velma-how-mindy-kalings-scooby-doo-update-became-hated-show/|url-status = live}}{{cite web|last1=Li|first1=Shirley|title=The Line That Velma Crossed|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/01/hbo-max-velma-review-mindy-kaling-backlash/672796/|website=The Atlantic|access-date=January 24, 2023|date=January 20, 2023|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123232455/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2023/01/hbo-max-velma-review-mindy-kaling-backlash/672796/|url-status=live}} and later became one of the lowest-rated television shows on IMDb,{{cite web|last1=Kaur|first1=Brahmjot|title=Amid 'Velma' pushback, Mindy Kaling is a 'lightning rod' held to an impossible standard, some critics say|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/velma-pushback-mindy-kaling-lightning-rod-held-impossible-standard-cri-rcna66532|website=NBC News|access-date=31 January 2023|date=January 21, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131104558/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/velma-pushback-mindy-kaling-lightning-rod-held-impossible-standard-cri-rcna66532|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Velma Becomes IMDB's Worst-Rated Animated TV Series Ever|url=https://www.pride.com/gay-tv/velma-worst-show-imdb-rating|access-date=January 23, 2023|website=Pride.com|language=en|author=Henderson, Taylor|date=January 20, 2023|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123045645/https://www.pride.com/gay-tv/velma-worst-show-imdb-rating|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Francis|first1=Katie|title=Scooby-Doo spin-off Velma sparks huge backlash following show's debut|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a42618583/scooby-doo-velma-imdb-worst-rated-animation/|website=Digital Spy|access-date=January 24, 2023|date=January 23, 2023|archive-date=January 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123231850/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a42618583/scooby-doo-velma-imdb-worst-rated-animation/|url-status=live}} receiving similar low scores from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and Google.{{cite magazine|last1=Losciale|first1=Marisa|title=HBO's Velma Series Slammed by Fans Following Season Premiere|url=https://parade.com/tv/hbo-velma-series-premiere-slammed-by-fans|magazine=Parade|access-date=January 29, 2023|date=January 15, 2023|archive-date=January 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129024231/https://parade.com/tv/hbo-velma-series-premiere-slammed-by-fans|url-status=live}} Asyia Iftikhar of PinkNews noted in her reflection of audience reception that the show had been "accused of perpetuating stereotypes against South Asian women, criticised for poor attempts at self-aware comedy and slammed for losing the essence of what people love about the Scooby Doo gang".{{Cite web|last=Iftikhar|first=Asyia|date=January 17, 2023|title=Mindy Kaling's Velma series breaks records despite intense backlash|url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/17/velma-mindy-kaling-hbo-records-backlash/|access-date=January 19, 2023|website=PinkNews|language=en-US|archive-date=January 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119055722/https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/17/velma-mindy-kaling-hbo-records-backlash/|url-status=live}} Wired{{'}}s Amos Barshad wrote that while there were likely still reactions of a racist and homophobic nature targeting the show, the main complaints were for it addressing diversity issues in a "flat, one-note manner", and that the portrayal of Velma's sexuality had divided fans.{{cite magazine|last1=Barshad|first1=Amos|title=Why Velma Is the Internet's New Punching Bag|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/velma-hbo-max-internet-backlash|magazine=Wired (magazine)|access-date=31 January 2023|date=January 28, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131135015/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/velma-hbo-max-internet-backlash|url-status=live}} It has also received mixed reviews from television critics. Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a C, describing it as a "self-aware slog" and "so extra it's minus".{{cite magazine|url= https://ew.com/tv/tv-reviews/velma-review-scooby-doo-hbo-max/|title= Velma review: A promising reinvention is wasted on lame jokes, prequilitis, and bad meta|last= Franich|first= Darren|date= January 5, 2023|magazine= Entertainment Weekly|access-date= January 10, 2023|archive-date= January 7, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230107221647/https://ew.com/tv/tv-reviews/velma-review-scooby-doo-hbo-max/|url-status= live}} Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it two out of four stars and stated that "at times the humor is smart and spot-on, but it quickly becomes exhausting. It's as if a team of very clever scribes gathered in a writers' room and recorded everything they said – and then shoehorned all of it into the series".{{cite web|url= https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2023/1/11/23546722/velma-review-hbo-max-mindy-kaling-scooby-doo|title= Mindy Kaling's 'Velma' buries its mysteries under a barrage of pop-culture quips|last= Roeper|first= Richard|date= January 11, 2023|website= Chicago Sun-Times|access-date= January 12, 2023|archive-date= January 11, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230111210406/https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2023/1/11/23546722/velma-review-hbo-max-mindy-kaling-scooby-doo|url-status= live}} Joshua Alston of Variety wrote the show is "irreverent to a fault", extolling most of the humor but stating it could belong to any other comedy series. He felt the Mystery Inc. gang was "really unpleasant".{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/velma-review-hbo-max-queer-scooby-doo-mindy-kaling-1235486171/|title= HBO Max's 'Velma' Can't Scare Up a Reason to Exist: TV Review|last= Alston|first= Joshua|date= January 11, 2023|website= Variety|access-date= January 11, 2023|archive-date= January 11, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230111203948/https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/velma-review-hbo-max-queer-scooby-doo-mindy-kaling-1235486171/|url-status= live}}

;Barney & Friends: Ranking 50th on the TV Guide 2002 list of worst television shows in American history, Barney & Friends has been subject to a barrage of vicious and often dark anti-Barney humor and vitriol since its debut in 1992 (as was the 1988 direct-to-video Barney and the Backyard Gang). Barney, and the intense backlash it drew, were the subject of the 2022 documentary miniseries I Love You, You Hate Me, a name partially taken from a schoolyard mockery of Barney's signature song.{{cite press release|title=Peacock Launches First-Ever Virtual "DocFest" with Original Documentaries to Premiere Weekly|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/08/26/peacock-launches-first-ever-virtual-docfest-with-original-documentaries-to-premiere-weekly-525412/20220826peacock01/|publisher=Peacock|via=The Futon Critic|date=August 26, 2022|access-date=August 26, 2022}} Media theorist W. J. T. Mitchell said in his book, The Last Dinosaur Book, that "Barney is on the receiving end of more hostility than just about any other popular cultural icon I can think of".{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/532046.html|first=W.J.T.|last=Mitchell|author-link=W. J. T. Mitchell|title=The Last Dinosaur Book: The Life and Times of a Cultural Icon|chapter=Chapter 37: Why Children Hate Dinosaurs|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1998|isbn=0-226-53204-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lastdinosaurbook00mitc}}

;Minipops: This 1983 Channel 4 show featured children between the ages of eight and twelve singing contemporary pop songs, often dressed and made up to resemble the original artists. The programme made many adult viewers uncomfortable when some of the juvenile singers imitated the provocative styles of adult performers.{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a806529/7-outrageous-tv-shows-that-definitely-wouldnt-get-made-today/|title=7 outrageously shocking TV shows that definitely wouldn't get made today

|first=Tom|last=Eames|work=Digital Spy|date=September 2, 2016|access-date=June 9, 2020}} One performance by eight-year-old performer Joanna Fisher sparked outrage when, while performing the Sheena Easton song "9 to 5", she sang the lyrics "Night time is the right time/We make love".{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8324146/Gay-teletubby-to-Rastamouse-top-five-childrens-TV-controversies.html|title=Gay teletubby to Rastamouse: top five children's TV controversies|work=The Daily Telegraph|author=|date=15 February 2011|access-date=9 June 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219001943/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8324146/Gay-teletubby-to-Rastamouse-top-five-childrens-TV-controversies.html|archive-date=19 February 2011}} Despite the show's popularity, the resulting controversy caused Minipops to be cancelled after only six episodes.Whatever Happened to the Minipops? Documentary, 2005. John Naughton of The Radio Times named Minipops the second-worst UK television show in history in 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2006/aug/21/the50worsteveruktvshows|first=Jason|last=Deans|title=The 50 worst ever UK television shows?|work=The Guardian|date=21 August 2006|access-date=9 June 2020}} The Daily Telegraph, in 2019, called Minipops an "all-round televisual travesty".{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2019/12/30/noughties-last-golden-age-truly-terrible-television/|title=Why the Noughties were the last golden age of truly terrible television|first=Michael|last=Hogan|work=The Telegraph|date=30 December 2019|access-date=9 June 2020}}

;Tomorrow's Pioneers: Flavorwire called the Hamas-produced series, which first aired in 2007, "an abomination of modern cinematic technology".[https://www.flavorwire.com/208663/the-worlds-creepiest-kids-tv-shows The World's Creepiest Kids' TV Shows - Flavorwire] The Walt Disney Company condemned the show's contents including its use of Mickey in the form of the character Farfour: "It's not just [about] Mickey, it's [about] indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil. The world loves children, and this is just going against the grain of humanity".[http://itn.co.uk/news/dcc3bb053d9e55037f16c8311d0e5193.html "Disney condemns Hamas Mickey Mouse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012955/http://itn.co.uk/news/dcc3bb053d9e55037f16c8311d0e5193.html|date=2007-09-30}}, ITN.com, 2007-05-09[https://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/10/mideast.mouse/ Hamas kids TV show with militant mouse to air Friday - CNN.com] Film Threat called the series "a non-stop assault on good taste and intelligence", criticizing the cheap production values and anti-Semitism from the characters.[https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/the-bootleg-files-tomorrows-pioneers/ THE BOOTLEG FILES: TOMORROW'S PIONEERS - Film Threat] It had also been under fire for its anti-American sentiments.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/kill-all-jews-urges-hamas-tv-host/ Kill 'all' Jews, Hamas TV host urges kids|The Times of Israel][https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/analysis-hamas-mickey-mouse-farfur-is-not-funny Analysis: Hamas' Mickey Mouse 'Farfur' is not funny - The Jerusalem Post]

;African Queens (Queen Cleopatra): This 2023 docudrama produced for Netflix is about the lives of historical female monarchs from Africa. While the first season about Nzinga, Queen of Ndongo and Matamba (now present day Angola) was received well by audiences and critics, the second season about Cleopatra, Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, was universally panned, particularly by Egyptian audiences. Anita Singh of the British newspaper The Telegraph gave the season 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "It's too soapy for serious history fans, and not enough of a soap for viewers who like juicy historical dramas".{{Cite news|last=Singh|first=Anita|date=2023-05-03|title=Netflix's controversial Queen Cleopatra will end up pleasing nobody|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/05/03/telegraphcoukqueencleopatranetflixreview/|access-date=2024-11-12|work=The Telegraph|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}} The biggest critics of the docudrama came from the Egyptian government, Egyptologists, and historians due to the casting choice of Adele James, an actress of English and Jamaican descent, as Cleopatra. Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities stated that the series represented a "falsification of Egyptian history"{{Cite web|date=2023-04-19|title=Egyptians complain over Netflix depiction of Cleopatra as black - BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65322821|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419171234/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65322821|url-status=dead|archive-date=2023-04-19|access-date=2024-11-12}} and Monica Hanna expressed her discontent with the series stating that "it is pushing an Afrocentric agenda ... imposing the identity politics of the 21st century and appropriating the ancient Egyptian past, just as the Eurocentrists and the far-right in Europe are doing".{{Cite web|last=Shawkat|first=Ahmed|last2=Reals|first2=Tucker|date=2023-05-09|title=Why some Egyptians are fuming over Netflix's Black Cleopatra - CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netflix-cleopatra-black-egypt-controversy-ancient-queen/|access-date=2024-11-12|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en-US}} She further added that ancient Egypt "was more of a culture than it was a race".{{Cite web|date=2023-05-11|title=After backlash to Netflix's Black 'Queen Cleopatra', Egypt plans counterprogramming|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-05-10/queen-cleopatra-black-egypt-state-media-netflix-african-queens|access-date=2024-11-12|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} Egyptian historian Sara Khorsid criticised the season for showing a Western and Orientalist depiction of Egypt.{{Cite web|last=Khorshid|first=Sara|date=2024-11-15|title=Why Netflix's 'Queen Cleopatra' Has Egypt up in Arms|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/05/14/egypt-netflix-queen-cleopatra-race-history-heritage-imperialism-afrocentrism/|access-date=2024-11-12|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}

;The Colbys: The 1985 premiere episode of the Dynasty spin-off garnered high ratings and won a 1986 People's Choice Award for New Dramatic TV Program,{{cite web|url=http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/index.jsp?year=1986|title=People's Choice Award Winners: 1986|publisher=PCAvote.com|access-date=September 30, 2010}} but the first season finished in 35th place while Dynasty finished in seventh the same year. After The Colbys dropped to 76th in its second season, the show was canceled after 49 episodes. The Los Angeles Times called it "a clone" of Dynasty,{{cite news|title=From The Serene to the Ridiculous|author=Lee Margulies|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-20-ca-8073-story.html|newspaper=L.A. Times|date=November 20, 1985|access-date=February 3, 2012}} and television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh believed the series failed because it was "too close a copy" of Dynasty.Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle. The Directory To Prime Time TV Shows – 8th Edition, Ballantine Books, 2003. Barbara Holsopple of Pittsburgh Press likened the scripts to Dick and Jane.{{cite news|title=Dynasty II: Another Big Soap That Just Doesn't Wash|author=Barbara Holsopple|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xt0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=7061,4456841&dq=the+colbys&hl=en|newspaper=Pittsburgh Press|date=November 21, 1985|access-date=February 3, 2012}} Barbara Stanwyck left the series after its first season and told co-creator Esther Shapiro, "This is the biggest pile of garbage I ever did ... It's one thing to know you're making a lot of money off vulgarity, but when you don't know it's vulgar – it's plain stupid".{{cite book|last=Madsen|first=Axel|title=Stanwyck|url=https://archive.org/details/stanwyck00mads|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York City, USA|isbn=0-595-19398-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/stanwyck00mads/page/357 357–359]}}

;Cop Rock: This musical police procedural, which aired on ABC in 1990, has been cited as one of the worst television series ever[https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/cop-rock Cop Rock|Television Academy Interviews] as it ranked No. 8 on TV Guide{{'}}s 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-worst-tv-shows-ever/|title=The Worst TV Shows Ever|date=2002-07-12|publisher=CBS News|access-date=2008-08-28}} The show was a critical and commercial failure from the beginning and was canceled by the network after 11 episodes.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DA1E3BF930A25752C1A966958260|title=ABC Cancels 'Cop Rock'|date=1990-11-30|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2008-08-28}} Owing to the combination of its bizarre nature and its high-powered production talent (including an Emmy win for composer Randy Newman),[https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1991/outstanding-original-music-and-lyrics Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics Nominees/Winners 1991 Emmy Awards|Television Academy] it became infamous as one of the biggest television failures of the 1990s.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3D61338F935A35752C1A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=A Series Makes the Starting Gate|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|date=1991-11-06|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2008-08-28}}{{cite news|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2004/06/04/flops-101-lessons-biz|title=Flops 101: Lessons From The Biz|last=Tucker|first=Ken|date=2004-06-04|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2008-08-28}}

;Eldorado: This BBC soap opera from 1992 was, despite heavy advertising, a notorious flop. Many of the cast were inexperienced actors whose limitations were clearly exposed on such a new and ambitious project; the acting was derided as amateurish, while the attempt to appear more 'European' by having people speaking other languages without subtitles or bizarre/unconvincing accents was met by viewers with incomprehension and ridicule.{{cite news|title=The BBC's Stiff Upper Lip Quivers|newspaper=LA Times|date=1992-09-22|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-22-ca-1145-story.html|access-date=2010-08-29|first=Jeff|last=Kaye}} Eldorado is remembered as an embarrassing failure for the BBC, and is sometimes used as a byword for any unsuccessful, poorly received or overhyped television programme.Trouble At The Top: Fool's Gold – a retrospective of the Eldorado fiasco broadcast on BBC2 in 2002

;The Idol: The 2023 HBO series starring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) received widespread negative critical reviews,{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-idol-season-1-review-hbo-the-weeknd-sam-levinson/|title= 'The Idol' Is a Bomb for the Ages: The Winners and Losers of HBO's Summer Disaster|first=Carla|last=Meyer|work=TheWrap|date=July 3, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/review-thing-shocking-idol-shockingly-bad/story?id=99907096|title=Review: The only thing shocking about 'The Idol' is how shockingly bad it is|first=Peter|last=Travers|author-link=Peter Travers|work=ABC|date=June 9, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/23762279/the-idol-hbo-review-sex-scenes-lily-rose-depp-boring|title=HBO's The Idol should just be funny|first=Alex|last=Abad-Santos|work=Vox|date=June 18, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}} making it HBO's worst-reviewed program.{{Cite web|last=Tassi|first=Paul|title='The Idol' Is Officially The Worst Reviewed Show In HBO History, By Far|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/07/10/the-idol-is-officially-the-worst-reviewed-show-in-hbo-history-by-far/|access-date=2023-10-08|website=Forbes}} It was deemed "2023's biggest TV disaster" by the BBC, the worst of the year by The Telegraph, and "one of the worst programmes ever made" by The Guardian.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66096183|title=The Idol savaged by critics as 'worst TV show of the year' after finale|first=Ian|last=Youngs|work=BBC|date=July 4, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}} Yahoo! included The Idol among "HBO's worst shows ever" while noting Tesfaye's "hopelessly flat" acting.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hbo-worst-shows-ever-including-212629309.html|title=HBO's Worst Shows Ever — Up to and Including The Idol|first=Dave|last=Nemetz|work=Yahoo!|date=July 11, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}} The Hollywood Reporter commented on the "thin plot and an incoherent narrative", and Laura Martin of the BBC expressed her "confusion" over the show's storyline. "It seemed to be many shows masquerading as one: was it an erotic drama, exploring power dynamics in an S&M relationship? Was it a satire on the absurd nature of the music industry?"{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230703-the-idol-why-the-hbo-show-became-2023s-biggest-tv-disaster|title=This year's biggest TV disaster|first=Laura|last=Martin|work=BBC|date=July 3, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}} The Idol was also noted by critics for its exploitative and misogynistic nature,{{Cite web|title=Review: HBO's 'The Idol' is sexist, gratuitous, exploitative ... and achingly boring|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/06/05/the-idol-hbo-review-sexist-gratuitous-exploitative-and-so-boring/70288266007/|access-date=2023-07-04|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|date=2023-06-27|title=Commentary: 'The Idol' is no 'Euphoria', but it reveals a similar misogyny|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-06-27/the-idol-hbo-euphoria|access-date=2023-07-04|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} and Rolling Stone reported that the show — called a "dark satire of fame" by director Sam Levinson — was described as a "rape fantasy" and contained a toxic work environment,{{Cite magazine|last=Roundtree|first=Cheyenne|date=2023-03-01|title='The Idol': How HBO's Next 'Euphoria' Became Twisted 'Torture Porn'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-idol-hbo-next-euphoria-torture-porn-the-weeknd-sam-levinson-lily-rose-depp-blackpink-jennie-1234688754/|access-date=2023-07-04|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}} including Tesfaye's "egomaniacal" behavior and Levinson's script changes "making [the show] less about a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency, and more of a degrading love story with a hollow message". Despite a Cannes Film Festival premiere (being only the fifth TV series ever to premiere at the festival), The Idol suffered from poor ratings and was canceled after only one season of five episodes.{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/the-idol-is-officially-dead-after-a-single-bank-breaking-season|title=The Idol Is Officially Dead After a Single Bank-Breaking Season|first=Savannah|last=Walsh|work=Vanity Fair|date=August 28, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}} Nardos Haile of Salon wrote, "R.I.P. to The Idol — finally. I feel a beautiful sort of vindication that the utterly despised short-lived, controversy-laden HBO drama will never reign as the prestigious television it strived and failed to masquerade as".{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2023/08/29/he-idol-canceled-yay/|title=Why "The Idol" being canceled is causing so much joy: Sam Levinson and The Weeknd's big blunder|first=Nardos|last=Haile|work=Salon|date=August 29, 2023|access-date=November 28, 2023}}

;Ironside (2013): NBC's remake of Raymond Burr's 1967 crime drama was canceled after only four episodes due to poor ratings, and drew protest beforehand from disabled actors for casting Blair Underwood as the wheelchair-using title character.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hollywoods-disabled-react-ironside-casting-all-we-want-chance-91886/|title=Hollywood's Disabled Actors Protest NBC's 'Ironside' Casting – When Is It Their Turn?|first=Greg|last=Gilman|work=The Wrap|date=May 20, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} NBC responded that an able-bodied actor was needed to perform flashback scenes,{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-tv-fall-preview-blair-underwood-ironside-20130915-story.html|title=Blair Underwood stars in remake of 'Ironside'|first=Yvonne|last=Villarreal|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 13, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} but actor Kurt Yaeger likened it to "having a white guy do blackface". Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times wrote that the show's "plodding writing" and Underwood's performance "makes the title character an unpleasant combination of macho and brusque",{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/arts/television/ironside-the-series-remake-has-its-debut-on-nbc.html|title=Disabled, but Still Dangerous|first=Neil|last=Genzlinger|work=The New York Times|date=October 1, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} and Slant noted Underwood's "oppressive, angry" portrayal as "a protagonist who believes his impairment gives him the authority to act like a total ass".{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/ironside-season-one/|title=TV Review: Ironside: Season One|first=Mike|last=LeChevallier|work=Slant Magazine|date=October 2, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} The show was described by Complex as "an eye-rolling, monotonous, procedural mess",{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/12/worst-tv-shows-2013/ironside|title=The Worst TV Shows of 2013|author=Tara Aquino|display-authors=etal|work=Complex|date=December 21, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} and by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as an "unnecessary remake" that was "too grim and unengaging".{{cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/the-best-and-worst-of-fall-tv/collection_b9a277fe-f826-5747-808c-8efa6d785b4b.html#23|title=The best and worst of fall TV|first=Gail|last=Pennington|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=September 6, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "It's just another detective show. And it's not even a very good one".{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/ironside-tv-review-640255|title=Ironside: TV Review|first=Tim|last=Goodman|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=October 2, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}} The A.V. Club, Rolling Stone, New York Post, and USA Today named Ironside among their worst shows of 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-worst-tv-of-2013-1798242965|title=The worst TV of 2013|author=Genevieve Valentine|display-authors=etal|work=The A.V. Club|date=December 12, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/5-worst-tv-shows-of-2013-38331/ironside-nbc-31758/|title=5 Worst Shows of 2013|author=|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=December 5, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/12/29/tv-best-of-2013/3957727/|title=Year in review: TV channeled the good, 'Bad' and ugly|first=Robert|last=Blanco|work=USA Today|date=December 29, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2020}}

;Skins (U.S. remake): MTV's 2011 remake of the 2007 British series generated controversy over its sexual content and raised accusations of child pornography, since many of the actors were under the age of 18.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-mtvs-skins-about-to-break-child-pornography-laws/|title=Is MTV's "Skins" About to Break Child Pornography Laws?|first=Edecio|last=Martinez|work=CBS News|date=January 19, 2011|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/business/media/20mtv.html|title=A Racy Show With Teenagers Steps Back From a Boundary|work=The New York Times|first=Brian|last=Stelter|date=January 19, 2011|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/mtv-show-skins-hot-water-alleged-child-pornography-depictions-teen-drug-article-1.152757|title=MTV show 'Skins' may be in hot water for alleged child pornography, depictions of teen drug use|first=Nina|last=Mandell|date=January 19, 2011|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 3, 2020}} Outcry from the Parents Television Council, along with numerous companies pulling their advertising from the program,{{cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/creativity/mtvs-skins-just-too-much-advertisers-11668/|title=MTV's 'Skins' just too much for advertisers?|first=Tim|last=Nudd|work=Adweek|date=January 24, 2011|access-date=February 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/skins-wrigley-hrblock-1028194.aspx|title=Wrigley, H&R Block Pull Ads from Skins|first=Joyce|last=Eng|work=TV Guide|date=January 22, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/schick-sixth-company-pull-ads-75032|title=Schick is Sixth Company to Pull Ads from 'Skins'|author=|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 24, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703555804576102313425764024|title=MTV's 'Skins' Loses More Advertisers|last=Schuker|first=Lauren A.E.|date=January 25, 2011|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=January 26, 2011}} led to the series being canceled after one season of ten episodes.{{cite magazine|title=MTV cancels controversial 'Skins'|first=James|last=Hibberd|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/06/09/mtv-cancels-skins/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=June 9, 2011}}{{cite web|title='Skins' US axed by MTV after one season|first=Tom|last=Ayres|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s144/skins-us/news/a324131/skins-us-axed-by-mtv-after-one-season.html|work=Digital Spy|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=January 27, 2012}} Foster Kramer of Esquire had called it "a horrifically bad show" while Caitlin Dickson of The Atlantic criticized its acting and shock value.[https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a9421/skins-mtv-controversy-5235797/ Skins MTV Controversy - Skins vs. Actual Teenagers Behavior][https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/01/shield-your-children-mtv-s-skins-is-dangerous/339158/ Shield Your Children--MTV's 'Skins' is Dangerous! - The Atlantic]

;Supertrain: Supertrain was the most expensive series ever aired in the United States at the time.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBMVAzIMl5A TODAY SHOW 1979 - SUPERTRAIN on NBC by MUSICOM PRODUCTIONS on YouTube] The production was beset by problems including a model train that crashed.Hofstede, pp. 162–164 While the series was heavily advertised during the 1978–79 season, it suffered from poor reviews and low ratings. Despite attempts to salvage the show by reworking the cast, it never took off and left the air after only three months. NBC, which had produced the show itself, with help from Dark Shadows producer Dan Curtis, was unable to recoup its losses. Combined with the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics the following season, which cost NBC millions in ad revenue, the series nearly bankrupted the network. For these reasons, Supertrain has been called one of the greatest television flops.{{cite news|url=http://www.businesspundit.com/7-of-the-most-expensive-flops-in-television-history/|title=7 Of The Most Expensive Flops In Television History|author=Will|work=Business Pundit|date=January 31, 2010|access-date=February 1, 2010}}[https://www.core77.com/posts/30641/Americas-Failed-1979-Supertrain# America's Failed 1979 Supertrain - Core77] The A.V. Club noted that Supertrain has a reputation as "one of the worst television series ever made...it was hugely expensive, little watched, and critically derided".{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/no-heroes-9-shows-nbc-should-reboot-one-201626|title=No Heroes|date=February 28, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2014}}

;Triangle: A soap opera about a British ferry that starred Kate O'Mara, Triangle is remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The series is even humorously mentioned in passing in the BBC comedy series The Young Ones - "Even Triangle has better furniture than this!" {{cite web|url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/drama/triangle.htm|title=Little England|last=Kibble-White|first=Graham|website=offthetelly.co.uk|date=May 2001|access-date=December 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305230644/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/drama/triangle.htm|archive-date=March 5, 2009}}

;Viva Laughlin: CBS's 2007 American adaptation of the British series Blackpool lasted only two episodes, one in Australia. Like the aforementioned Cop Rock, the series was an attempt to create a musical TV drama; in this case, the series had a fatal flaw in that the lead actors sang over hit records with the original vocal tracks intact. The opening line of The New York Times review said, "Viva Laughlin on CBS may well be the worst new show of the season, but is it the worst show in the history of television?"{{cite news|author=Alessandro Stanley|title=Singing in the Casino? That's a Gamble|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/arts/television/18stan.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 18, 2007|access-date=October 24, 2007}} Newsday{{'}}s review started with, "The stud is a dud. And that's only the first of a dozen problems with CBS' admirably ambitious but jaw-droppingly wrongheaded new musical/murder mystery/family drama Viva Laughlin. Let us count the ways it bombs..."{{cite news|author=Diane Werts|title=Review: CBS' Viva Laughlin a train wreck|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettell5415699oct18,0,5351094.story|newspaper=Newsday|date=October 18, 2007|access-date=October 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020034800/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettell5415699oct18%2C0%2C5351094.story|archive-date=October 20, 2007|url-status=dead}}

;Galactica 1980: The 1979 cancellation of Battlestar Galactica prompted a letter-writing campaign by fans that convinced ABC to revive the show as Galactica 1980, but with a significantly reduced budget that resulted in the setting being changed to Earth three decades after the events of the original program,{{cite web|url=https://futurism.media/richard-hatch-turned-one-season-of-battlestar-galactica-into-a-lifetime|title=Richard Hatch Turned One Season of 'Battlestar Galactica' into a Lifetime|first=Rich|last=Monetti|work=Futurism|date=May 15, 2017|access-date=February 6, 2019}} while the cast was overhauled save for Lorne Greene and Herbert Jefferson Jr.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/top-2-worst-sci-fi-and-fantasy-shows-ever/|title=Top 25 Worst Sci-Fi And Fantasy TV Shows Ever|first=Dave|last=Golder|work=GamesRadar+|date=October 9, 2012|access-date=February 8, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170323200745/http://www.gamesradar.com/top-2-worst-sci-fi-and-fantasy-shows-ever/|archive-date=2017-03-23|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/richard-hatch-dead-battlestar-galactica-captain-apollo-1201904661/|title=Richard Hatch Dies: 'Battlestar Galactica's Captain Apollo Was 71|first=Erik|last=Pedersen|work=Deadline|date=February 7, 2017|access-date=February 6, 2019}} Galactica 1980 was negatively received as a result and canceled after ten episodes. GamesRadar+ named the show among its "Top 25 Worst Sci-Fi and Fantasy TV Shows Ever" in 2012, lambasting its "cardboard cut-out heroes" and having "more loathsome kids than any other SF show ever". Gordon Jackson of io9 criticized it as "ill-advised" and "lack[ing] any of the zest of the original series".{{cite web|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-most-ill-advised-continuations-of-classic-science-f-1727727338|title=The Most Ill-Advised Continuations of Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy TV Shows|first=Gordon|last=Jackson|work=io9|date=August 31, 2015|access-date=February 8, 2018}} Carol Pinchefsky of Syfy wrote in 2017, "[P]lease, oh please, let’s not think about Galactica 1980",{{cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/richard-hatch-star-both-battlestar-galactica-shows-dead-71|title=Richard Hatch, star of Battlestar Galactica, dies at 71|first=Cynthia|last=Pinchefsky|work=Syfy|date=February 7, 2017|access-date=February 8, 2018}} and The Guardian called the show "woeful".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/jun/26/the-plan-battlestar-galactica|title=The Plan: a Cylon's-eye view on Battlestar Galactica|work=The Guardian|first=Dan|last=Martin|date=June 26, 2009|access-date=February 8, 2018}} Luke Y. Thompson of Nerdist deemed it "extremely difficult to defend", and considered the absence of original series star Richard Hatch a factor in its demise.{{cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/appreciating-richard-hatch-and-the-underrated-battlestar-galactica-78-movie/|title=Appreciating Richard Hatch and the Underrated Battlestar Galactica Movie|first=Luke Y.|last=Thompson|work=Nerdist|date=February 8, 2017|access-date=February 8, 2018}} Hatch had rejected reprising his role as Captain Apollo, as he felt the changes "ruined the story. I just wasn't interested". In 2020, 40 years after the show's broadcast, Medium described Galactica 1980 as "having earned its dubious place in the history of televised science fiction".{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@joe.beaudoin/the-cautionary-tale-of-galactica-1980-a-40-year-retrospective-fbe45569dbed|title=The Cautionary Tale of Galactica 1980: A 40-Year Retrospective|first=Joe|last=Beaudoin Jr.|work=Medium|date=January 26, 2020|access-date=June 9, 2020}}

;Inhumans: The 2017 eight-episode miniseries—based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name—was canceled by ABC after one season due to low ratings,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/marvels-inhumans-canceled-abc-one-season-1202379716/|title='Marvel's Inhumans' Canceled By ABC After One Season|first=Denise|last=Petski|work=Deadline|date=May 11, 2018|access-date=May 19, 2021}} and is regarded by critics as one of the worst works in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/09/30/marvels-inhumans-is-a-cautionary-tale-that-the-mcu-cant-skimp-on-quality-control/?sh=b1393f082071|title='Marvel's Inhumans' Is A Cautionary Tale That The MCU Can't Skimp On Quality Control|first=Paul|last=Tassi|work=Forbes|date=September 30, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/marvel_s_the_inhumans/s01|title=Marvel's Inhumans: Season 1|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=May 19, 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Liparota|first=Mike|title=Review: Inhumans (Season 1)|url=https://www.destructoid.com/review-inhumans-season-1--472745.phtml|work=Destructoid|date=November 14, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} The IMAX premiere of the first two episodes was poorly received and grossed only $2.6 million in its opening weekend, with Comic Book Resources commenting that "Inhumans is already a disaster" that "sounded a sour note with fans".{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/marvel-inhumans-imax-disaster-problems/|title= Marvel's Inhumans Is Already A Disaster: Here's What Went Wrong|first=Renaldo|last=Matadeen|work=Comic Book Resources|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} The Hollywood Reporter criticized the "poorly developed characters [and] confusing superpowers",{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/marvels-inhumans-reviews-what-critics-are-saying-1044536/|title='Marvel's Inhumans': What the Critics Are Saying|first=Lauren|last=Huff|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 29, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} and Entertainment Weekly noted the "terrible acting". The series was described as "look[ing] like the worst Marvel show out there" by The New York Times,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/arts/television/marvels-inhumans-the-gifted-review.html|title=Review: When It Comes to New Marvel Shows, Skip 'Inhumans' and Try 'The Gifted'|first=Mike|last=Hale|work= The New York Times|date=September 28, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} "a disappointment on every level" by IGN, "a messy, miserable show" by io9,{{Cite web|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/everything-that-happened-in-inhumans-for-those-of-you-1820404960|title=Everything That Happened in Inhumans, for Those of You Who Wisely Stopped Watching After the Premiere|last=Whitbrook|first=James|work=io9|date=November 13, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} and by Vox as "jaw-droppingly awful television. Even worse, it's boring".{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/fall-tv/2017/9/29/16381662/inhumans-review-marvel-abc|title=Marvel's Inhumans is jaw-droppingly awful television. Even worse, it's boring|first=Emily|last=VanDerWerff|work=Vox|publisher=Vox Media|date=September 29, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}} Uproxx opined that Inhumans "has no reason to exist except that Marvel wanted it to, by any means necessary". IndieWire declared that the series was "the worst thing Marvel has done in decades".{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/marvels-inhumans-review-imax-abc-worst-1201873382/|title='Marvel's Inhumans' IMAX Review: The Worst Thing Marvel Has Done In Decades|first=Liz Shannon|last=Miller|work=IndieWire|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2021}}

;Manimal: Manimal was scheduled by NBC opposite CBS's Dallas, and was canceled after eight episodes due to low ratings. It was a part of NBC's 1983 fall line-up, which featured eight other series that were canceled before their first seasons ended (including Jennifer Slept Here and Bay City Blues).Hofstede, pp. 87–90 John Javna's book The Best of Science Fiction TV rated Manimal among its "Worst Science Fiction Shows of All Time".{{cite book|title=The Best of Science Fiction TV: the critics' choice|url=https://archive.org/details/bestofsciencefic00jav_7ai|url-access=registration|author=John Javna|location=New York|publisher=Harmony Books|date=1987|isbn=0517566508|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bestofsciencefic00jav_7ai/page/76 76-77]}} TV Guide ranked Manimal number 15 on their list of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time in 2002. In 2004, readers of the British trade magazine Broadcast voted Manimal as one of the worst television shows ever exported by the US to the UK.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4043211.stm|title=Baywatch dubbed "worst TV import"|work=BBC News|date=November 25, 2004|access-date=October 23, 2017}}

;Beast Games: The 2024 reality competition television series created by and starring Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson received an approval rating of 13% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 critic reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10,{{Cite web|title=Beast Games {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/beast_games|access-date=2024-12-27|website=www.rottentomatoes.com|language=en}} and a Metacritic score of 38 out of 100 based on five critical reviews.{{Cite Metacritic|id=beast-games|type=tv|season=1|access-date=December 23, 2024|publisher_hide=y}} Donaldson was criticized for his loud and shallow performance, and the show for its lack of focus on the contestants.{{Cite web|last=Hutchinson|first=Chase|date=2024-12-19|title=Beast Games Review|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/beast-games-review-mr-beast-prime-video|access-date=2024-12-22|website=IGN|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Power|first=Ed|date=2024-12-20|title=Beast Games, review: $100 million worth of charmless YouTube nonsense|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/12/20/beast-games-amazon-prime-video-review/|access-date=2024-12-22|work=The Daily Telegraph|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite web|last=Dehnart|first=Andy|author-link=Andy Dehnart|date=2024-12-20|title=Beast Games: So much screaming and crying, so little to care about|url=https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2024/12/beast-games-amazon-prime-video-review/|access-date=2024-12-22|website=Reality Blurred|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=Stanton|first=Rich|date=2025-01-15|title=MrBeast's YouTube schtick is somehow even worse with the obscene Amazon money being pumped into Beast Games|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/streaming/mrbeasts-youtube-schtick-is-somehow-even-worse-with-the-obscene-amazon-money-being-pumped-into-beast-games/|access-date=2025-01-16|work=PC Gamer|language=en}} Naomi Fry of The New Yorker wrote that the use of contestants' numbers instead of their names made it difficult to empathize with them, unlike other reality shows.{{Cite news|last=Fry|first=Naomi|date=2025-01-18|title=The Cruel Abstraction of "Beast Games"|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-cruel-abstraction-of-beast-games|access-date=2025-01-21|work=The New Yorker|language=en-US|issn=0028-792X}} IGN, The Guardian, Vox, and PC Gamer criticized the show for closely following the premise of Squid Game while stripping away its dystopian tone.{{Cite news|last=Heritage|first=Stuart|date=2024-12-20|title=Beast Games review – one of the most undignified spectacles ever shown on TV|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/20/beast-games-review-one-of-the-most-undignified-spectacles-ever-shown-on-tv|access-date=2024-12-24|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web|last=Jennings|first=Rebecca|date=2025-01-07|title=I can't stop watching Mr. Beast's new game show and I hate myself|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/393691/beast-games-review-mr-beast-episodes-prime-video|access-date=2025-01-08|website=Vox|language=en-US}} Contestants complained that they were denied food, water, medication, and beds during the production of the show. Additionally, dozens reported that various injuries took place during the first filming sessions, as well as mistreatment, sexual harassment, and not being paid for overtime.{{Cite news|last=Upton-Clark|first=Eve|date=November 8, 2024|title=Why MrBeast is in the hot seat over his 'Beast Games' competition show|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91225914/why-mrbeast-is-in-the-hot-seat-over-his-beast-games-competition-show|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203064137/https://www.fastcompany.com/91225914/why-mrbeast-is-in-the-hot-seat-over-his-beast-games-competition-show|archive-date=December 3, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2024|work=Fast Company}} On September 16, 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.{{Cite news|last=Malone Kircher|first=Madison|date=September 18, 2024|title='Beast Games' Contestants File Lawsuit Claiming 'Dangerous Conditions' on Set|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/style/mrbeast-reality-show-lawsuit.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122235731/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/style/mrbeast-reality-show-lawsuit.html|archive-date=November 22, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2024|work=The New York Times}} According to a December 2024 Rolling Stone report on the working conditions for Beast Games published earlier that month, a portion of a tower exterior fell on a crew member on September 11, 2024. Later that month, the Ontario Ministry of Labour confirmed that it had opened an investigation into an on-set industrial incident on September 11, 2024. It stated that two of the employers, Blink 49 Studios and Manhattan Beach Studios, were each issued a "requirement." The Toronto Police Service also released a statement saying that they had been called to set for the incident but were not investigating as there was not a criminal element.{{Cite news|date=December 30, 2024|title=Ontario labour ministry investigating injury on Toronto set of 'Beast Games'|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-labour-ministry-investigating-injury-on-toronto-set-of-beast-games-1.7160474|access-date=December 30, 2024|work=CTV News|agency=The Canadian Press}}

;Don't Scare the Hare: The premiere of the 2011 British game show hosted by Jason Bradbury drew 1.93 million viewers for a 15% audience share,{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a316157/new-doctor-who-kicks-off-with-65m.html|title=New 'Doctor Who' kicks off with 6.5m|last=Millar|first=Paul|date=April 24, 2011|work=Digital Spy|publisher=Hachette Filipacchi UK|access-date=24 April 2011|location=London}} but was canceled after only three of nine planned episodes due to poor ratings.{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/bbc/bbcs-hare-set-for-axe-as-viewers-switch-off/5027297.article|title=BBC's Hare set for axe as viewers switch off|work=Broadcast Now|date=12 May 2011|access-date=4 June 2011}} Jim Shelley of the Daily Mirror wrote: "The idiots playing might have enjoyed themselves but even toddlers would have found the games dull and Jason creepy".{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/columnists/jim-shelley/2011/04/25/don-t-scare-the-hare-gameshow-was-dull-115875-23086146/|title=Don't Scare the Hare gameshow was dull|work=Daily Mirror|first=Jim|last=Shelley|author-link=Jim Shelley (TV critic)|date=25 April 2011|access-date=25 April 2011|location=London}} The Stage observed: "The actual games are pretty feeble and uninspired, leaving the poor hare and his robotic novelty value to carry the show".{{cite news|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/32009/tv-review|title=TV review|work=The Stage|date=April 27, 2011|access-date=May 1, 2011}} John Anson of the Lancashire Evening Post opined: "If you're going to have a gimmick in your game show at least make it entertaining. ... Make the questions simple, involve bunches of kids and hey, presto it works... But primetime Saturday night viewing it ain't".{{cite news|url=http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/leisure/9026710.Review__Don___t_Scare_the_Hare__BBC1/|title=Review: Don't Scare the Hare, BBC1|work=Lancashire Evening Post|first=John|last=Anson|date=May 13, 2011|access-date=May 14, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921000319/http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/leisure/9026710.Review__Don___t_Scare_the_Hare__BBC1/|archive-date=September 21, 2012}} Alex May of Now Then magazine called the show "without question, the worst game show in the world, ever".{{cite web|url=https://nowthenmagazine.com/articles/dont-scare-the-hare-without-question-the-worst-gameshow-in-the-world-ever|title=Don't Scare the Hare: Without question, the worst gameshow in the world, ever|first=Alex|last=May|work=nowthenmagazine.com|date=July 2011|access-date=5 February 2022}} Complex said in 2011, "Don't Scare The Hare was cancelled after only three episodes aired for a reason—the show was absolutely terrible".{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/07/the-15-craziest-foreign-reality-competition-shows/dont-scare-the-hare|title=The 15 Craziest Foreign Reality Competition Shows|first=Tanya|last=Ghahremani|work=Complex|date=14 July 2011|access-date=5 February 2022}} Caroline Westbrook of Metro listed the "frankly bizarre" show among her 2013 selection of "so bad they're brilliant" game shows.{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2013/06/28/from-splash-to-dont-scare-the-hare-top-10-tv-shows-so-bad-theyre-brilliant-3860939/|title=From Splash! to Don't Scare The Hare: Top 10 TV shows so bad they're brilliant|first=Caroline|last=Westbrook|work=Metro|date=28 July 2013|access-date=5 February 2022}} Digital Spy rated Don't Scare the Hare sixth among the "10 of the worst TV shows of all time" in 2016,{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a786920/10-of-the-worst-tv-shows-of-all-time-a-scientific-meta-analysis/|title=10 of the worst TV shows of all time - a scientific* meta-analysis|first=Tom|last=Eames|work=Digital Spy|date=15 March 2016|access-date=5 February 2022}} and Scott Harris-King of Grunge included it in his 2017 list of "dumb game shows someone should've been fired for".{{cite web|url=https://www.grunge.com/17926/dumb-game-shows-someone-shouldve-fired/|title=Dumb Game Shows Someone Should've Been Fired For|first=Scott|last=Harris-King|work=Grunge.com|date=14 July 2017|access-date=5 February 2022}}

;The Million Second Quiz: Marred by a confusing and boring format that jeopardized the health of its contestants,{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/09/12/million_second_quiz_contestant_12_miserable_hours_and_no_money_fun.html|title=The 57,600 Seconds I Spent at the Million Second Quiz|work=Slate|last=Stevenson|first=Seth|date=September 12, 2013|access-date=May 21, 2017}} excessive and unwarranted hype,{{cite web|last1=Saraiya|first1=Sonia|title=Million Second Quiz – Week of September 9|url=https://www.avclub.com/million-second-quiz-week-of-september-9-1798177970|website=The A.V. Club|date=September 16, 2013|access-date=January 28, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2013/tv/reviews/million-second-quiz-tv-review-1200601664/|title=TV Review: The Million Second Quiz|last=Lowry|first=Brian|work=Variety|date=September 9, 2013|access-date=June 17, 2017}} banal questions,{{cite news|last=Hale|first=Mike|title=Why 'Million Second Quiz' Didn't Work: A Multiple-Choice Answer|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/why-million-second-quiz-didnt-work-a-multiple-choice-answer/?_r=1|date=September 20, 2013|access-date=June 16, 2017|work=The New York Times}} and a random decision to inflate the grand prize after it was won solely to set the record for most money won on a single game show,{{cite press release|last=Bibel|first=Sara|title=Champion Crowned on Finale of NBC's The Million Second Quiz|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/champion-crowned-on-finale-of-nbcs-the-million-second-quiz/203941/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601191327/https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/champion-crowned-on-finale-of-nbcs-the-million-second-quiz/203941/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 1, 2019|work=TV by the Numbers|publisher=Zap2it|date=September 19, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Oldenburg|first=Ann|title=Million Second Quiz wraps with $2.6 million winner|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/09/20/million-second-quiz-wraps-with-26-million-winner/2841631/|work=USA Today|date=September 20, 2013|access-date=October 5, 2014}} The Million Second Quiz was lambasted by critics and suffered from collapsing ratings throughout its short run in 2013. A review for The A.V. Club was indicative of the reception: "so deeply flawed and so universally unpopular that it is not going to remain in anyone's memory for long".

;Naked Jungle: A UK game show on Channel 5 that revolved around naturists performing an assault course, based on Jungle Run. Naked Jungle was savaged by critics, denounced by nudists for being exploitative[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2000/jun/11/foodanddrink2 Cheggers outrage is just skin-deep] The Guardian, 11th June 2000. Retrieved 2010-02-10. and even condemned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/789086.stm|title=Channel 5 criticised in Commons|work=BBC News|date=2000-06-13|access-date=2010-02-10}} A group of TV historians later voted it the worst British TV show ever.[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/aug/22/broadcasting.uknews Naked Keith Chegwin hits the heights of 'memorably rotten' TV]

The Guardian, 22nd August 2006. Retrieved 2010-02-10. Host Keith Chegwin later called presenting the show "the worst career move I made in my entire life".{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a80228/keith-chegwin.html|title=Keith Chegwin Interview|work=Digital Spy|date=November 20, 2007|access-date=October 28, 2013}}

;Shafted: A UK game show aired on ITV presented by Robert Kilroy-Silk. It is most notorious for Kilroy-Silk's laughable actions on the show, which have since been frequently mocked on popular satirical show Have I Got News for You since late 2004. Particularly notable is his delivery of the show's tagline, "Their fate will be in each other's hands as they decide whether to share or to shaft", and the associated hand actions. The show was dropped just four episodes after it started in 2001, and was listed as the worst British television show of the 2000s in the Penguin TV Companion (2006).{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/24/ucomedy.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212203337/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F10%2F24%2Fucomedy.xml|title=Racist stereotypes 'make the worst TV'|author=Ben Quinn|date=2006-10-27|work=The Telegraph|archive-date=2007-12-12|location=London|url-status=dead}} A 2012 postmortem of the show read: "Nothing seemed to work for Shafted from the start. It looked derivative, it sounded derivative, the format was pretty unfair, the host was bad, and it just wasn't that interesting. So basically nothing worked out".Davis, Alex (March 15, 2012). [http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/beware-the-ides-of-march-shafted/ Beware the Ides of March: Shafted] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522142852/http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/beware-the-ides-of-march-shafted/|date=2012-05-22}}. Buzzerblog.com. Retrieved March 20, 2012. In an article on ITV programmes, Stuart Heritage described Shafted as "Hamfisted" and stated it was "deservedly remembered as one of the worst television programmes ever made".[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/sep/22/brideshead-revisited-celebrity-wrestling-best-worst-itv-60 "Brideshead Revisited or Celebrity Wrestling: the best and worst of ITV"] The Guardian, 22 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

;Three's a Crowd: Created and produced by Chuck Barris, and hosted by Jim Peck, this game show aired in syndication from 1979 to 1980. A male contestant was asked pointed personal questions, which were then asked of both his wife and secretary, to find out which of the two knew him better. David Hofstede, author of What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History wrote that it "offered the chance to watch a marriage dissolve on camera years before Jerry Springer", and noted that it received backlash from the United Auto Workers and the National Organization for Women. By the time the controversy settled in 1980, Three's a Crowd and all three of Barris's other shows (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show) had been canceled. His next two projects, revivals of Treasure Hunt and Camouflage, were also failures; neither lasted beyond one season. Barris, his reputation effectively ruined, would never again create a new game show. He stuck to revivals of his previous shows for the rest of his career.{{cite book|last=Hofstede|first=David|title=What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History|publisher=Back Stage Books|pages=13–14|year=2004|isbn=0-8230-8441-8}}

;Who's Whose: The 1951 panel game show was described at the time as "one of the most poorly produced TV shows yet to hit our living room screen",{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=poorly&ymd=1951-07-01&t=638|first=Rocky|last=Clark|title=Tele-Views: 'Who's Whose' Gone|newspaper=The Bridgeport Post (Connecticut)|page=19|date=1951-07-01|access-date=2018-07-10}} and "a miserable flop".{{cite news|url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/search/#query=%22Lacks+appeal%22+%22miserable+flop%22&ymd=1951-06-28|first=Larry|last=Wolters|title=Biggest Quiz On Who's Whose: Why Bother?|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|page=W6|date=1951-06-28|access-date=2018-07-10}} while columnist Rex Lardner wrote that the show was "the worst ever to hit television".{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22famed+Bronx+Jewish+family%22&ymd=1951-07-20&p_place=WI|title=TV Critic Pleads for Mollie [sic] Goldberg's Return|author=|newspaper=The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle|page=3|agency=AJP|date=1951-07-20|access-date=2018-07-10}} Who's Whose, rushed into production to fill a hole caused when The Goldbergs refused to comply with the Hollywood blacklist,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/05/19/archives/sponsor-dropping-goldbergs-on-tv-gertrude-berg-series-will-be.html|title=Sponsor Dropping 'Goldbergs' on TV|newspaper=New York Times|page=19|date=1951-05-19|access-date=2018-07-10}} was the first television series to be canceled after one episode,{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/worst-tv-shows-canceled-after-pilot-premiere/|title=TV Shows that Never Made it Past the Pilot|first=Jonathan H.|last=Kantor|work=Screen Rant|date=October 22, 2017|access-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902171656/https://screenrant.com/worst-tv-shows-canceled-after-pilot-premiere/|archive-date=2021-09-02}} and its host, radio personality Phil Baker, had his contract bought out; it would be Baker's only television hosting role.{{cite news|url=https://varietyultimate.com/search?search=%22paying+Baker+off%22&searchType=&startYear=1950&endYear=1951&searchDate=July+4%2C+1951|author=|title=Who's Was|page=32|newspaper=Weekly Variety|date=1951-07-04|access-date=2018-07-10}}

;You're in the Picture: The premiere of this 1961 CBS game show hosted by Jackie Gleason received extremely hostile reviews that the following Friday, Gleason appeared in the same time slot inside a stripped-down studio to give what Time magazine called an "inspiring post-mortem", asking rhetorically "how it was possible for a group of trained people to put on so big a flop".{{cite magazine|title=Television: Inspiring Post-Mortem|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872060,00.html|date=February 3, 1961|access-date=October 11, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229181234/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872060,00.html|archive-date=February 29, 2012}} {{subscription required}} Time later cited You're in the Picture as one piece of evidence that the 1960–61 TV season was the "worst in the [then] 13-year history of U.S. network television".{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,872198,00.html|title=Television: The Season|date=March 31, 1961|access-date=2009-10-11|magazine=Time|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220224111/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872198,00.html|archive-date=February 20, 2016}} {{subscription required}}

;The Morning Program: On January 12, 1987, The Morning Program made its debut{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6DD113AF930A25752C0A961948260|title=Debut Of 'Morning Program' On CBS|date=13 January 1987|work=The New York Times|first=John|last=Corry}} on CBS hosted by actress Mariette Hartley and Rolland Smith, former longtime anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City. Radio personality Mark McEwen handled the weather, while Bob Saget did comedy bits. Produced by the network's entertainment division, the show ran for 90 minutes (7:30–9{{nbsp}}am local time) behind a briefly expanded 90-minute CBS Early Morning News (6–7:30{{nbsp}}am local; although most larger affiliates pre-empted all or part of the 6–7{{nbsp}}am hour to produce a local morning newscast), which had dropped "Early" from its title. However, The Morning Program, with its awkward mix of news, entertainment, and comedy, became the joke of the industry, receiving scathing reviews.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963331,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312022006/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963331,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 12, 2007|title=Video: Something To Embarrass Everyone|date=26 January 1987|work=Time|first=Richard|last=Zoglin}}Terry, Clifford. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/01/15/morning-is-a-real-yawner/ "'Morning ' Is a Real Yawner'"]. The Chicago Tribune. January 15, 1987. Retrieved 2014-04-04.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965701,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312061934/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965701,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 12, 2007|title=Video: An Embarrassing Failure|date=12 October 1987|work=Time|first=Laurence|last=Zuckerman}} At one point, it generated the lowest ratings CBS had seen in the morning slot in five years. The format was aborted and the time slot returned to the news division after a ten-and-a-half-month run. Hartley and Smith were dumped, while Saget left to star on the ABC sitcom Full House, which premiered later that same year. A longtime producer summed up this version of the program upon its demise by saying, "...everyone thought we had the lowest ratings you could have in the morning. The Morning Program proved us wrong".

;Der schwarze Kanal: Aired weekly from 1960 to October of 1989 on DFF/DDR-FS, Der schwarze Kanal consisted of selected recorded excerpts of West German television followed by a communist commentary usually from chief commentator Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler. Although it initially enjoyed sizeable ratings of around 20% in the 1960s, it rapidly declined with the opening of alternative channels and had to rely on being abruptly aired after popular Monday night films to draw in passive viewers; by 1989, the show had a dismal primetime viewership rate of 5% on one of two official television channels.https://web.archive.org/web/20210304151113/http://sk.dra.de/ The show was broadcast due to the availability of West German television signals over much of East Germany, which von Schnitzler sought to "clean" (the title, which means 'the black channel', is a pun on a euphemism for sewers as well as the CDU's usage of black as a political symbol). The intellectually heavy-handed, caustic, and blatant nature of the propaganda in addition to scandals over von Schnitzler and his wife's opulent shopping trips to West Berlin made the show and von Schnitzler a laughing stock among the public with a common GDR joke referencing his name as "von Schni–" as the television would be rapidly turned off upon his name being mentioned. Von Schnitzler's rhetoric in itself was unpopular and controversial: he described Peter Fechter, an 18-year-old killed by border guards while trying to cross the Berlin Wall as "both a victim and a perpetrator"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cIxfToe74M and provided justification and applause to political repression. The show ZDF-Magazin on West German channel ZDF hosted by Gerhard Löwenthal, airing from 1969 to 1988, was seen as the western and anti-communist counter aimed towards East Germans and shared similar rhetoric, although Löwenthal publicised and condemned human rights abuses rather than denying or justifying them, and attracted more viewers. Von Schnitzler and Löwenthal provided templates for each other. With the collapse of East German communism in the autumn of 1989, Der schwarze Kanal was axed as von Schnitzler refused to moderate or reform his rhetoric, airing its last episode on 30 October 1989, less than two weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

{{see also|Criticism of reality television}}

;Being Bobby Brown: An American reality television series that debuted on Bravo on June 30, 2005.{{cite web|title=Bravo Series Uncovers the Ups and Downs of "Being Bobby Brown"|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2005/05/25/bravo-series-uncovers-the-ups-and-downs-of-being-bobby-brown-18441/20050525bravo01/|access-date=19 November 2012}} The series depicts the life of R&B singer Bobby Brown, his then-wife, pop/R&B superstar Whitney Houston, and their family and provided a view of the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston and Brown in unflattering moments and received mostly negative reviews. Rolling Stone called it "The Cruel Reality-TV Exploitation of Whitney Houston",{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/whitney-houston-reality-tv-exploitation-being-bobby-brown-i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-1234654926/|title=The Cruel Reality-TV Exploitation of Whitney Houston|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=January 2023}} Variety referred to the show as a "vanity project [that] almost makes Britney and Kevin's show look deep and revealing -- OK, almost" {{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2005/tv/reviews/being-bobby-brown-1200524835/|title=Being Bobby Brown|date=June 29, 2005}} and Today called the show "disgusting"{{cite web|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/being-bobby-brown-disgusting-wbna8409211|title='Being Bobby Brown' is disgusting|date=June 29, 2005}} with reviewer Barry Garron writing that {{"'}}Being Bobby Brown', the reality show spotlighting the R&B singer whose rap sheet might be longer than his catalog, is undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television". Garron also noted that the show contained remarks regarding sexual and excretory functions.{{cite news|last=Garron|first=Barry|title='Being Bobby Brown' is disgusting|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8409211|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711144448/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/8409211/ns/today-entertainment/t/being-bobby-brown-disgusting|url-status=live|archive-date=11 July 2011|work=Today|access-date=19 November 2012}} Years later, The Guardian opined that through her participation in the show, Houston had lost "the last remnants of her dignity".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/12/whitney-houston-obituary|title=Whitney Houston obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=February 12, 2012|last1=Sullivan|first1=Caroline}} Despite the so-called train-wreck nature of the show, the series was extremely popular, winning its time slot, and gave Bravo its highest ratings ever.{{cite web|author=Rogers, Steve|url=http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/report-bravo-being-bobby-brown-coming-back-for-second-season-3794.php|title=Report: Bravo's 'Being Bobby Brown' coming back for second season|website= RealityTV World|date=October 31, 2005}}

;The Briefcase: An American reality TV series created by Dave Broome that premiered on CBS on May 27, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2015/05/28/reality_tvs_sick_depths_how_the_altruism_porn_of_the_briefcase_highlights_americas_twisted_relationship_with_its_poor/|title=How the altruism porn of "The Briefcase" highlights America's twisted relationship with its poor|date=28 May 2015|access-date=31 May 2015|last=Williams|first=Mary Elizabeth}}{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/the-briefcase-reality-show-cbs-trailer-1201480751/|title='The Biggest Loser' Creator Brings New Reality Show 'The Briefcase' to CBS|access-date=31 May 2015|last=Wagmeister|first=Elizabeth|work=Variety|date=28 April 2015}} In each episode, two American families undergoing financial hardship are each given a briefcase containing $101,000, and must decide whether to keep all the money for themselves or give some or all of it to the other family. Over the course of 72 hours, each family learns about the other and makes a decision without knowing that the other family has also been given a briefcase with the same instructions.{{cite web|url=http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/the-hunger-games-new-cbs-reality-show-exploits-poor-families-by-making-them-grovel-for-101000/comments/#disqus|title=The Hunger Games: New CBS reality show exploits poor families by making them grovel for $101,000|date=30 May 2015|access-date=31 May 2015|last=Holloway|first=Kali|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531060757/http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/the-hunger-games-new-cbs-reality-show-exploits-poor-families-by-making-them-grovel-for-101000/comments/#disqus|archive-date=31 May 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/the-biggest-loser-creator-pits-poor-families-against-one-another-for-briefcase-full-of-cash/story-fnagkbpv-1227334736031|title=The Biggest Loser creator pits poor families against one another for briefcase full of cash|date=5 May 2015|access-date=31 May 2015|work=news.com.au}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/04/briefcase-reality-series-cbs-biggest-loser-creator-1201417019/|title=CBS Sets 'The Briefcase' Reality Series From 'The Biggest Loser' Creator|date=28 April 2015|access-date=31 May 2015|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie}} The Briefcase was met with largely negative reception from critics. Ken Tucker, critic-at-large of Yahoo! TV, described it as "cynical and repulsive" for "passing off its exploitation...as uplifting, inspirational TV".{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/tv/the-briefcase-review-cbs-120065934155.html|title='The Briefcase': Cynical, Condescending Help for the Needy|last=Tucker|first=Ken|date=27 May 2015|work=Yahoo!|access-date=4 June 2015}} Jason Miller of Time.com called it "the worst reality TV show ever".{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3911261/cbs-the-briefcase/|title=Why The Briefcase Is the Worst Reality TV Show Ever|magazine=Time|access-date=10 June 2015|first=Jason|last=Miller|date=10 June 2015}} Others compared the show to fictional films and television that pitted the needy against each other, such as the Twilight Zone episode "Button, Button", or The Hunger Games.

;Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: An American reality television series on TLC, featuring the family of child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ZFcx056PQ Honey Boo Boo - Between the Lines by KyleKallgrenBHH on YouTube] The show premiered on August 8, 2012. Thompson and her family originally rose to fame on TLC's reality series Toddlers & Tiaras.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/how-to-cook-like-honey-boo-boo|title=How to Cook like Honey Boo Boo|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=September 28, 2012}} The show mainly revolves around Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and "Mama" June Shannon and their family's adventures in the southern town of McIntyre, Georgia. Critical reaction to the series was largely negative, with some characterizing the show as "offensive", "outrageous", and "exploitative", while others called it "must-see TV".{{cite web|last=Venutolo|first=Anthony|title='Here Comes Honey Boo Boo': Revolting, or amusing? Or revoltingly amusing?|date=August 10, 2012|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2012/08/here_comes_honey_boo_boo_tlc_v.html|publisher=NJ.com|access-date=August 10, 2012}} The A.V. Club called the first episode a "horror story posing as a reality television program",{{cite news|last=McGee|first=Ryan|title=Here Comes Honey Boo Boo|url=http://www.AVclub.com/articles/here-comes-honey-boo-boo,83569/|newspaper=AV Club|access-date=August 10, 2012}} with others worrying about potential child exploitation.{{cite web|last=Dos Santos|first=Kristin|title=Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: Hilarious Guilty Pleasure, or the Worst Thing Ever?|date=August 9, 2012|url=http://www.eOnline.com/news/336664/here-comes-honey-boo-boo-hilarious-guilty-pleasure-or-the-worst-thing-ever|publisher=E! Online|access-date=August 10, 2012}}

;Jersey Shore: A string of controversies over the U.S. MTV series documenting members of the Guido subculture made this series one of the most controversial in television history.{{cite news|last=Rhett|first=Joshua|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/italian-american-groups-ask-mtv-to-cancel-jersey-shore|title=Italian-American group asks MTV to cancel Jersey Shore|publisher=FoxNews.com|date=2010-04-07|access-date=2010-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201160000/http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/11/25/italian-american-group-asks-mtv-cancel-jersey-shore/|archive-date=2011-02-01|url-status=live}}

;The One: Making a Music Star: At the time of its premiere, according to overnight ratings from Nielsen Media Research, the first episode of The One was the lowest-rated series premiere in ABC history, and the second-worst such episode in the history of American broadcast television, scoring only 3.2 million total viewers (1.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic), and fifth place in its timeslot.[http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6089.asp 'The One', ABC's newest reality bomb, Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine, July 19, 2006] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204130833/http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6089.asp|date=February 4, 2012}} In Canada, the premiere of The One on CBC had 236,000 viewers, which trailed far behind Canadian Idol on CTV and Rock Star: Supernova on Global, each scoring around one million viewers.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208230828/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20060719/ctv_release_20060719_idol/20060719 Canadian Idol Tops Competitive Tuesday], CTV press release, July 19, 2006 The next night's results episode fared even worse in the United States ratings, sinking to a 1.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic. The re-run of night 1's episode (which preceded the results show) plunged to an embarrassingly low 0.6 average in the vital demo ratings. The poor performance of the show helped ABC measure its lowest-rated night in the network's history (among 18–49s), finishing tied for sixth place.[http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6119.asp From bad to worse for ABC's The One] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204130837/http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6119.asp|date=2012-02-04}}, Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine, July 20, 2006 The series was ultimately cancelled after a second week of poor results. According to CBC executive Kirstine Layfield, in terms of resources and money, The One "had the most backing from ABC than any summer show has ever had (sic)".[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-version-of-the-one-still-possible-cbc-executive-1.587603 Canadian version of The One still possible: CBC executive], CBC.ca, July 28, 2006 The One was touted as a show that would dethrone American Idol, then the most-watched show in the United States; such high expectations for the series made the resounding public rejection of it all the more spectacular. Canadian ratings have dipped as low as 150,000 CTV press release as quoted in [http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/2006/07/how_low_can_you.html How low can you go?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204104748/http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/2006/07/how_low_can_you.html|date=2012-02-04}}, blog post by Antonia Zerbisias, July 26, 2006 – not necessarily out of step with the CBC's usual summer ratings, although much lower than the broadcaster's stated expectations for primetime audiences, in the one-million range.[http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/20060320/cbc.html Layfield defends new direction at CBC], Etan Vlessing, Playback, March 20, 2006 The CBC initially insisted that despite the cancellation, a planned Canadian version may still go ahead, citing the success of the format in Quebec (Star Académie) and Britain (the BBC's Fame Academy). The network confirmed that the show will not air in fall 2006[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-version-of-the-one-will-not-appear-this-fall-1.587602 Canadian version of The One will not appear this fall], CBC.ca, August 15, 2006 – in fact, the show had never been given a fall timeslot[http://www.cbc.ca/newtvseason/pdfs/CBCBlockSchedPrime0607TV.pdf CBC Television Fall 2006 schedule], published June 2006 – but the show was "still under development". Critical response was limited but generally negative. A 2018 article on TV By the Numbers identified the show as "the nadir of ABC's forays into music competitions", among a list of seven major flops in the format ABC had attempted in the 21st century (the article noted in its headline "ABC is terrible at music shows").{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/more-tv-news/abc-is-terrible-at-music-shows-american-idol-will-try-to-change-that/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310023351/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/more-tv-news/abc-is-terrible-at-music-shows-american-idol-will-try-to-change-that/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2018|title=ABC is terrible at music shows; 'American Idol' will try to change that|first=Rick|last=Porter|work=Zap2it|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=March 12, 2018}} John de Mol Jr. (the creator of The One) would later find much greater success with his next music-based reality contest, The Voice.

;The Swan: The 2004 plastic surgery reality series has been panned by multiple critics. Robert Bianco of USA Today called The Swan "hurtful and repellent even by reality's constantly plummeting standards".{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2004-04-11-swan_x.htm|title=USAToday.com There is nothing beautiful about the swan|work=USA Today|first1=Robert|last1=Bianco|date=April 12, 2004|access-date=May 25, 2010}} Journalist Jennifer Pozner, in her book Reality Bites Back, calls The Swan "the most sadistic reality series of the decade".{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/05/09/110509crat_atlarge_sanneh?currentPage=all|title=New Yorker The Reality Principle|work=New Yorker|first1=Kelefa|last1=Sanneh|date=May 9, 2011|access-date=May 18, 2011}} Journalist Chris Hedges also criticized the show in his 2009 book Empire of Illusion, writing "The Swan{{'}}s transparent message is that once these women have been surgically 'corrected' to resemble mainstream celebrity beauty as closely as possible, their problems will be solved".Hedges, Chris (2009). Empire of Illusion. New York, NY: Nation Books. p. 25. {{ISBN|978-1568586137}} Feminist scholar Susan J. Douglas criticized the show in her book The Rise of Enlightened Sexism for its continuation of a negative female body image, claiming that "it made all too explicit the narrow physical standards to which women are expected to conform, the sad degree to which women internalize these standards, the lengths needed to get there, and the impossibility for most of us to meet the bar without, well, taking a box cutter to our faces and bodies".Douglas, Susan J. (2010). The Rise of Enlightened Sexism. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. p. 223. {{ISBN|978-0-312-67392-5}} Author Alice Marwick believes that this program is an example of "body culture media", which she describes as "a genre of popular culture which positions work on the body as a morally correct solution to personal problems".{{Cite journal|title=There's a Beautiful Girl Under All of This: Performing Hegemonic Femininity in Reality Television|last=Marwick|first=Alice|date=2010|journal=Critical Studies in Media Communication|volume=27|issue=3|pages=251–266|doi=10.1080/15295030903583515|s2cid=145271445}} Marwick also suggests that cosmetic reality television encourages viewers to frame their family, financial, or social problems in bodily terms, and portrays surgical procedures as an everyday and normal solution. The Swan attracted further criticism internationally as British comedian and writer Charlie Brooker launched attacks on it during his Channel 4 show You Have Been Watching, where guest Josie Long suggested the show be renamed "The bullies were right".{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The show was ranked at No. 1 in Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s 10 Worst Reality-TV Shows Ever.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/gallery/10-worst-reality-tv-shows-ever/442832_swanljpg-0|title=10 Worst Reality-TV Shows Ever|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=November 29, 2010|access-date=October 7, 2016}}

{{main|List of sitcoms known for negative reception}}

;The Decision: On July 8, 2010, LeBron James announced on a live ESPN special that he would be playing for the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2010/news/07/08/lebron.decision/index.html|title=LeBron James makes his pick: He's going to Miami|date=July 9, 2010|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|access-date=July 9, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711003820/http://www.nba.com/2010/news/07/08/lebron.decision/index.html|archive-date=July 11, 2010}} In exchange for the rights to air the special, ESPN agreed to hand over its advertising and airtime to James. James arranged for the special to include an interview by Jim Gray, who had no affiliation with the network and was paid by James's marketing company.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=5397113|title=Lebron James' 'Decision' special damaging for ESPN|first=Don|last=Ohlmeyer|work=ESPN|date=July 21, 2010|access-date=January 29, 2019}} The show drew criticism for making viewers wait 28 minutes before James revealed his decision, and for the spectacle involved.{{cite news|url=http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2010-07-09/james-decision-draws-big-ratings-for-espn|title=Was LeBron special ESPN's deal with devil?|first=David|last=Bauder|work=sportingnews.com|agency=Associated Press|date=July 10, 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202192038/http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2010-07-09/james-decision-draws-big-ratings-for-espn|archive-date=February 2, 2013|url-status=dead}} The phrase "taking my talents to South Beach", which James said when he revealed his choice, became a punchline for critics.{{cite news|last=Wetzel|first=Dan|title=LeBron's decisive backlash tops all stories|date=December 21, 2010|work=Yahoo! Sports|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=dw-storyoftheyear122110|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207072905/http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=dw-storyoftheyear122110|archive-date=December 7, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Kerasotis|first=Peter|title=For Miami Heat, High Hopes but Lower Volume|date=December 25, 2011|page=SP8|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/sports/basketball/for-miami-heat-high-hopes-but-lower-volume.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|access-date=June 27, 2012}} The special drew 13 million viewers, but ESPN's reporting leading up to the program, its decision to air it, and the network relinquishing its editorial independence were called gross violations of journalistic ethics.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/13/AR2010071305908.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Coverage of LeBron James's decision brings ESPN's integrity into question yet again|first=Leonard|last=Shapiro|date=July 14, 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/07/14/junemedia.power/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718132509/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/07/14/junemedia.power/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 18, 2010|work=CNN|title=Meet the person who designed the LeBron front page of the Plain Dealer|date=July 15, 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/07/09/espn.lebron/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711023139/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/07/09/espn.lebron/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 11, 2010|work=CNN|title=ESPN's LeBron circus good for TV ratings, bad for sports media|date=July 9, 2010}} In 2012, Forbes listed James as one of the world's most disliked athletes on the basis of his move to Miami.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf45fkhi/lebron-james-2/|title=America's Most Disliked Athletes|work=Forbes|date=February 7, 2012}}

;Eaten Alive: This 2014 Discovery Channel special purported to have host Paul Rosolie swallowed whole by an 18-foot (5.5-meter) anaconda. It drew criticism from those who felt Discovery was aiming for sensationalism and shock value.{{cite news|title=Reality TV's New Extreme: Being 'Eaten Alive' by a Giant Anaconda Snake|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/reality-tvs-extreme-eaten-alive-giant-anaconda-snake/story?id=26727681|access-date=November 23, 2014|work=ABC News|date=November 6, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_things/2014/11/11/discovery_channel_airs_a_man_getting_eaten_alive_by_an_anaconda_educational.html|title=Dear Discovery Channel: A Man Getting Eaten Alive by an Anaconda Isn't Educational|first=Laura|last=Bradley|date=November 11, 2014|work=Slate}} Rosolie was never actually consumed before the stunt was prematurely called off due to safety concerns, which resulted in heavy viewer complaints.Hibberd, James (December 8, 2014). [https://time.com/3623093/eaten-alive/ Eaten Alive Viewers Outraged Man Wasn't Actually Eaten Alive]. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 8, 2014.{{cite web|title=Discovery's 'Eaten Alive' Sparks Viewer Outrage After Paul Rosolie Doesn't Get Eaten (Video)|url=https://www.thewrap.com/eaten-alive-discovery-anaconda-paul-rosolie-twitter/|publisher=The Wrap|date=December 8, 2014|first=Tony|last=Maglio|access-date=December 8, 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.today.com/popculture/eaten-alive-ending-leaves-viewers-angrier-anaconda-1D80341775|title=Outrage! 'Eaten Alive' ending leaves viewers angrier than the anaconda|last=Hines|first=Ree|work=NBC News|date=December 8, 2014|access-date=December 8, 2014}}{{cite web|title='Eaten Alive': Snake Finds Discovery Special Hard To Swallow|url=https://deadline.com/2014/12/eaten-alive-paul-rosolie-anaconda-snake-swallow-discovery-channel-1201314467/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=December 8, 2014|date=December 7, 2014|first=Lisa|last=de Moraes}} PETA criticized the special as an example of "entertainment features ... that show humans interfering with and handling wild animals [that] are detrimental to species conservation".{{cite news|title=Discovery's 'Eaten Alive' guy isn't actually eaten alive by snake, and viewers are furious|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/12/08/discoverys-eaten-alive-guy-isnt-actually-eaten-alive-by-snake-and-viewers-are-furious/|access-date=December 8, 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|date=December 8, 2014|first=Emily|last=Yahr}} In January 2015, Discovery president Rich Ross admitted the special's promotion was "misleading".{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/eaten-alive-special-misleading-discovery-channel-president-admits/story?id=28105811|title='Eaten Alive' Special Was 'Misleading', Discovery Channel President Admits|work=ABC News|date=January 9, 2015|access-date=February 10, 2018}}

;Elvis in Concert:This TV special was a recorded Elvis Presley concert held on June 19, 1977. Presley's deteriorating health was evident in his weight gain and his inability to remember several song lyrics. The network's plans to record another concert and get better footage fell through when Presley died on August 16, 1977. The special, which aired in October 1977 and May 1978, has been called "terrible and embarrassing"[http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/08/01/233812.php Blogcritics Magazine Music Review: Elvis Presley – Elvis In Concert] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402230324/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/08/01/233812.php|date=2009-04-02}}. and a "travesty".Roy Carr and Mick Farren, Elvis: The Illustrated Record (Harmony Books, 1982). The Presley estate refuses to release the special on VHS or DVD to this day.[http://www.elvispresley.com.au/elvis/presley/elvis_in_concert.shtml For Elvis Fans Only: Press Release From Presley Estate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504105529/http://elvispresley.com.au/elvis/presley/elvis_in_concert.shtml|date=2009-05-04}}.

;First Night 2013 with Jamie Kennedy: On December 31, 2012, KDOC-TV aired a live New Year's Eve special hosted by comedian and actor Jamie Kennedy. It was riddled with mishaps and technical issues, including periods of dead air, unedited explicit language, and Kennedy randomly speaking into his microphone, unaware he was live. A fistfight erupted onstage during the end credits. The special was deemed "the world's worst New Year's broadcast" by The A.V. Club,{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-worlds-worst-new-years-broadcast-features-jamie-ken-1798235405|title=The world's worst New Year's broadcast features Jamie Kennedy, Macy Gray, and trainwreck after trainwreck|first=Josh|last=Modell|work=The A.V. Club|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} "the worst New Year's Eve show of all time" by Uproxx,{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/tv/a-local-tv-station-in-los-angeles-put-together-the-worst-new-years-eve-show-of-all-time/|title=A Local TV Station In Los Angeles Put Together The Worst New Year's Eve Show Of All Time|first=Brian|last=Grubb|work=Uproxx|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} and "the worst in television history" by Gawker.{{cite web|url=https://gawker.com/5972865/the-worst-new-years-eve-broadcast-in-television-history-comes-from-la-obviously|title=The Worst New Year's Eve Broadcast In Television History Comes From LA, Obviously|first=Cord|last=Jefferson|work=Gawker|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} Kotaku called it a "class-five flaming disaster",{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/this-hilarious-new-years-eve-special-is-a-class-five-fl-5972972|title=This Hilarious New Year's Eve Special Is A Class-Five Flaming Disaster|first=Kirk|last=Hamilton|work=Kotaku|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} and Huffington Post noted the special's "astounding level of technical incompetence".{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/kdocs-new-years-eve-live-broadcast-goes-horribly-wrong_n_2403166.html|title=KDOC's Live New Year's Eve Broadcast Goes Horribly Wrong (VIDEO)|work=Huffington Post|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} In 2018, Good Housekeeping included the show among its selection of the "most dramatic TV catastrophes ever".{{cite web|url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g25700863/new-years-eve-tv-dramatic-moments/?slide=16|title=The 20 Most Dramatic New Year's Eve TV Moments Ever|first=Kayla|last=Keegan|work=Good Housekeeping|date=December 28, 2018|access-date=February 2, 2019}} Comedian Jensen Karp described Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing as "running as smooth as a Jamie Kennedy New Years Eve special".{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/09/the-funniest-tweets-about-brett-kavanaughs-supreme.html|title=The Funniest Tweets about Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing|first=Garrett|last=Martin|work=Paste|date=September 4, 2018|access-date=February 2, 2019}} Kennedy claimed the show's miscues were intentional,{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/tv/jamie-kennedy-says-his-train-wreck-nye-show-was-totally-supposed-to-be-like-that/|title=Jamie Kennedy Says His Train Wreck NYE Show Was 'Totally Supposed To Be Like That'|first=Brian|last=Grubb|work=Uproxx|date=January 7, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}} and defended his work in an interview with The New York Times: "I didn't stab nobody, I didn't shoot nobody. I just made a New Year's Eve special. Is that so bad?"{{cite web|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/jamie-kennedy-discusses-his-memorable-new-years-eve-special/?src=recg|title=Jamie Kennedy Discusses His Memorable New Year's Eve Special|first=Dave|last=Itzkoff|work=The New York Times|date=January 4, 2013|access-date=February 2, 2019}}

;If I Did It: In November 2006, O. J. Simpson, who had been acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in a trial in 1995, wrote a book describing how he would have committed the murders, if he had done so. He arranged for publisher Judith Regan to interview him about the book in a promotional television special. NBC refused to air it; Fox almost did before backing out at the insistence of its affiliates. The Goldman family, who won a $33,500,000 wrongful death settlement in 1997 against Simpson and insist he is guilty of the murders despite his acquittal, declared the special "an all-time low for television",{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-simpson16nov16,0,4376301.story?coll=la-home-headlines|title=Simpson to tell how he could have killed pair|access-date=2006-11-16|last1=Abcarian|first1=Robin|last2=Miller|first2=Martin|date=2006-11-16|work=Los Angeles Times}} and arranged for HarperCollins to fire Regan for alleged "anti-Semitic remarks".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/business/media/18regan.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1166418000&en=c9fced1f36c5e7ab&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin|title=Fired Editor's Remarks Said to Have Provoked Murdoch|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 18, 2006|access-date=2009-05-07|first1=Julie|last1=Bosman|first2=Richard|last2=Siklos}} Regan sued HarperCollins for wrongful termination and won, but Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch admitted the special was an "ill-considered project".{{cite web|url=http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_320.html|title=News Corporation Cancels Simpson Book and TV Special|access-date=2006-11-20|publisher=News Corporation|date=2006-11-20|archive-date=November 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127233604/http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_320.html|url-status=dead}} The special never aired in its original form, and the book's rights were turned over to the Goldmans, who retitled the book If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, with the If in much smaller type. In 2018, the special was re-edited, with new bridging segments hosted by Soledad O'Brien, and titled O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession. The Goldman family approved of the re-edited special, which aired in March 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-finally-air-oj-simpsons-infamous-i-did-it-interview-1090041|title=Fox to Finally Air O.J. Simpson's Infamous 'If I Did It' Interview|first=Michael|last=O'Connell|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 1, 2018|access-date=March 1, 2018}}

;Liz & Dick: This 2012 Lifetime original movie starred Lindsay Lohan in the title role of Elizabeth Taylor. Matt Roush of TV Guide called it an "epic of pathetic miscasting" and "laughably inept".{{cite book|title=TV Guide. November 12 – 18, 2012. pg. 14}} According to David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle, the film is "so terrible, you'll need to ice your face when it's over to ease the pain of wincing for two hours" and "the performances range from barely adequate to terrible. That would be [Grant] Bowler [as Richard Burton] in the "barely adequate" slot and Lohan, well, in the other one".David Wiegand. [http://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/Liz-amp-Dick-review-How-Lohan-can-you-get-4057338.php#ixzz2Ct7JbLSz "Liz & Dick' review: How Lohan can you get?"] San Francisco Chronicle, 11-21-2012. Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News noted, based on a consensus of other reviews, that "it's the howler everyone expected" and openly mused that the film could end Lohan's acting career.Simon, Jeff (November 23, 2012). [http://www.buffalonews.com/Article/20121123/LIFE/121129809 Reflecting on 'Sesame Street', Lindsay Lohan and Jodi Johnston]. The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 24, 2012. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 26, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews", based on 27 reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/liz-dick|title=Liz & Dick Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=November 26, 2012}}

;Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives: As part of their annual Shark Week programming, Discovery Channel aired a special on August 4, 2013, that alleged the continued existence of the megalodon, a long-extinct giant shark species. While the show attracted a record 4.8 million viewers,{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/showbiz/tv/discovery-shark-week-megalodon/index.html|title=Discovery Channel defends dramatized shark special 'Megalodon'|first=Breeanna|last=Hare|work=CNN|date=August 9, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}} it was later criticized for fabricating events that were passed off as fact.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2013/08/shark-week-fans-deserve-better-what-discovery-feeding-them/312471/|title=Shark Week Fans Furious at Discovery Channel for Megalodon Mockumentary|first=Alexander|last=Abad-Santos|work=The Atlantic|date=August 6, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2014/08/the_dark_side_of_shark_week_af.html|title=Shark Week's dark side: After fake documentary controversy, Discovery doubles down on its lies|first=Grant|last=Butler|work=Oregon Live|date=August 6, 2014|access-date=January 31, 2020}} Huffington Post called Shark Week "a disgrace" in response to the special.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shark-week-is-a-disgrace_b_3711081|title=Shark Week is a Disgrace|first=Chris|last=Sosa|work=Huffington Post|date=August 6, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}} The Atlantic wrote, "[T]he last bastion of science-related television was Discovery Channel. But no more". Christie Wilcox of Discover accused the network of "peddling lies and faking stories for ratings".{{cite web|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/discoverys-megalodon-defense-we-dont-know-or-we-dont-care|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201001415/https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/discoverys-megalodon-defense-we-dont-know-or-we-dont-care|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2020|title=Discovery's Megalodon Defense? 'We Don't Know', Or 'We Don't Care'|first=Christine|last=Wilcox|work=Discover|date=August 5, 2013|access-date=October 1, 2013}} Wired deemed the show "the absolute worst of Shark Week" in that it "mockumentary-ized [reality] using fake experts and videos".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/08/the-best-and-worst-of-shark-week-good-for-science-bad-for-tv/|title=The Best and Worst of Shark Week: Good for Sharks, Bad for Science|first=David|last=Shiffman|magazine=Wired|date=August 9, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}} John Oliver of The Daily Show called it "a faked two hour shark-gasm",{{cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2013/08/the_daily_show_host_john_olive.html|title='The Daily Show' host John Oliver blasts Shark Week for fake megalodon documentary|first=Grant|last=Butler|work=OregonLive.com|date=August 8, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}} and actor Wil Wheaton wrote that Discovery owed its viewers an apology for airing "a cynical ploy for ratings [that] deliberately lied to its audience and presented fiction as fact".{{cite web|url=http://wilwheaton.net/2013/08/discovery-channel-owes-its-viewers-an-apology/|title=Discovery Channel Owes Its Viewers An Apology|first=Wil|last=Wheaton|author-link=Wil Wheaton|work=wilwheaton.net|date=August 5, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2020}} The special was highlighted in a 2014 article by The Verge titled "How Shark Week Screws Scientists".{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/13/5998745/how-shark-week-screws-scientists|title=How Shark Week screws scientists|first=Arielle|last=Duhaime-Ross|work=The Verge|date=August 13, 2014|access-date=January 31, 2020}} Discovery responded that Megalodon had contained multiple disclaimers that some events were dramatized and that the "institutions or agencies" who appeared therein had no affiliation with the special, nor approved its contents.

;The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults: This 1986 live television special involved opening a newly discovered vault previously owned by mafia boss Al Capone. Promotions heavily implied that the vault was likely to contain artifacts from Capone's life, or even dead bodies. When the vault was opened, it contained a handful of empty moonshine bottles and nothing else. The phrase "Al Capone's vault" soon entered the vernacular to refer to any heavily promoted event that spectacularly fails to live up to expectations.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435702/trivia/?item=tr0710050 |title=The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults (TV Special 1986) - Trivia - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2025-06-16 |via=www.imdb.com}} Host Geraldo Rivera had recently been fired from his job as a reporter for ABC, and this special marked a turning point, pivoting his career from journalism to tabloid entertainment, including his eponymous talk show.{{cite news|title=Capone Vault-Cracking An Unrewarding Blast|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GTJPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2436%2C8157641|newspaper=Toledo Blade}}

;Poochinski: This unsold pilot aired as a one-off special on NBC in 1990. The show, which featured Peter Boyle as the voice of a detective who is killed and reincarnated as a bulldog,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srI8fEXmnQc Poochinski - DVD-R Hell by Stoned Gremlin Productions on YouTube] has been mocked for its bizarre premise and copious amounts of toilet humor.(14 January 2012). [http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2010-01-14/poochinski-the-greatest-show-of-all-time-that-was-never-made/ The Greatest Show of All Time (That Was Never Made)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023063404/http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2010-01-14/poochinski-the-greatest-show-of-all-time-that-was-never-made/|date=2013-10-23}}, VH1(5 August 2004). [https://www.proquest.com/docview/420341522 ABC special shines light on failed shows], Chicago TribuneLyons, Margaret (6 January 2010). [http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/06/clip-du-jour-poochinski-is-the-bestworst-show-that-never-was/ Clip du jour: 'Poochinski' is the best/worst show that never was], Entertainment Weekly"[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5YxQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TBMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6932,332808&dq=poochinski&hl=en This humorous TV book assures BAD time for all]", Milwaukee Sentinel March 2, 1995.

;Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa: Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa premiered on Kids' WB during the 2002 holiday season, with a voice cast including Mark Hamill, Walter Emanuel Jones, Jodi Benson and Paige O'Hara. It was intended to be the first of a series of films, but its negative reception, particularly for its computer animation,{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1146170/the-daily-stream-rapsittie-street-kids-believe-in-santa-should-be-your-new-holiday-tradition/|title= The Daily Stream: Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa Should Be Your New Holiday Tradition|first=Erin|last=Brady|work=/Film|date=December 24, 2022|access-date=November 27, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/best-bad-animated-movies|title=The 10 Best So-Bad-They're-Good Animated Movies|first=Robert|last=Lee III|work=Collider|date=May 3, 2023|access-date=November 27, 2023}} led to those plans being canceled and the special never being broadcast again with no home video release. Dan Neilan of The A.V. Club called it "horrific" and "far beyond terrible", citing the "nightmarish characters that rarely blink and never properly interact with their environment".{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/spread-some-holiday-fear-with-this-horrific-2002-comput-1820881283|title=Spread some holiday fear with this horrific 2002 computer-animated Christmas special|last=Neilan|first=Dan|date=November 13, 2017|work=The A.V. Club|access-date=November 23, 2023}} In 2022, Troy Brownfield of The Saturday Evening Post called it the worst Christmas special due to its "ugly" animation.{{cite web|url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/12/the-worst-of-christmas/|title=The Worst of Christmas|first=Troy|last=Brownfield|work=The Saturday Evening Post|date=December 7, 2022|access-date=November 27, 2023}} Polygon and Engadget deemed it the worst holiday film ever made.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/24/22196527/rapsittie-street-kids-believe-in-santa-cast-crew-making-of|title=The making of the worst Christmas special of all time|first=Adesh|last=Thapliyal|work=Polygon|date=December 24, 2020|access-date=November 27, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/watch-this-rapsittie-street-kids-worst-christmas-special-ever-183043538.html|title=Big-name talent and bad CG made for the worst holiday special ever|first=Chris|last=Velazco|work=Engadget|date=December 25, 2020|access-date=November 27, 2023}} Writing for Rotten Tomatoes, Alonso Duralde remarked that Hamill "can now claim that he was in a holiday special even worse than the Star Wars one".{{cite web|url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/7-completely-bizarre-christmas-specials-you-probably-forgot-existed/|title=7 Completely Bizarre Christmas Specials You Probably Forgot Existed|first=Alonso|last=Duralde|work=Rotten Tomatoes|date=November 27, 2018|access-date=November 27, 2023}} The film currently holds a 1.3/10 user rating on IMDb.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0341543/?ref_=tt_urv|title=Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa|work=Internet Movie Database|access-date=November 27, 2023}}

;Star Wars Holiday Special: This 1978 TV special has been heavily criticized by Star Wars fans and the general public. David Hofstede, author of What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, ranked the holiday special at number one, calling it "the worst two hours of television ever".Hofstede, pp. 204–206 Shepard Smith, a former news anchor for the Fox News Channel, referred to it as a "'70s train wreck, combining the worst of Star Wars with the utter worst of variety television". Actor Phillip Bloch explained on a TV Land special entitled The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, that the special, "...just wasn't working. It was just so surreal". On the same program, Ralph Garman, a voice actor for the show Family Guy, explained that "Star Wars Holiday Special is one of the most infamous television programs in history. And it's so bad that it actually comes around to good again, but passes it right up". George Lucas, who had little involvement with the special's production,{{Cite web|date=2021-07-12|title=The Epically Terrible Star Wars Holiday Special: An Oral History|url=https://lithub.com/the-epically-terrible-star-wars-holiday-special-an-oral-history/|access-date=2023-11-25|website=Literary Hub|language=en-US}} is quoted as saying, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that program and smash it".{{Cite web|last=McKairnes|first=Jim|title=Remembering that infamously bad 'Star Wars' holiday special, 40 years later|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/11/19/remembering-star-wars-holiday-special-1978/2027329002/|access-date=2021-12-17|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=WARREN|first=ROBERT BURKE|date=2014-12-26|title=The "Star Wars" holiday special George Lucas wants to smash every copy of with a sledgehammer|url=https://www.salon.com/2014/12/25/the_star_wars_holiday_special_george_lucas_wants_to_smash_every_copy_of_with_a_sledgehammer_partner/|access-date=2021-12-17|website=Salon|language=en}} The only aspect of the special that has been generally well-received is the animated segment by Canadian animation studio Nelvana, which introduces Boba Fett, who become a popular character when he appeared in the Star Wars theatrical films.[https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/09/19/boba-fett-easter-egg-found-on-star-wars-blu-ray Boba Fett Easter Egg Found on Star Wars Blu-ray - IGN]

;Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?: In this January 2000 special, 50 female contestants competed to immediately marry an unseen multimillionaire. Unbeknownst to the contestants and viewers, Rick Rockwell barely qualified for the title (owning $2,000,000 in assets, including non-liquid ones) and had a record of domestic violence. Rockwell and winner Darva Conger never consummated their relationship, and the marriage was annulled on April 5, 2000. In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, the show was ranked No. 9 on a list of TV's ten biggest "blunders".Battaglio, Stephen. "The Blunder Years", TV Guide, November 1, 2010, Pages 20–21

;The Baseball Network (Baseball Night in America) (1994–1995): This short-lived joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball (MLB) premiered immediately after CBS's four-year run as Major League Baseball's over-the-air broadcaster (which was itself a disaster,{{cite news|last=Quindt|first=Fritz|date=October 15, 1993|title=Let's remember baseball on CBS for what it wasn't|newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune}}{{cite news|last=Hansen|first=Jeff|date=October 18, 1990|title=CBS, ESPN made rookie mistakes during baseball season|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/18/CBS-ESPN-made-rookie-mistakes-during-baseball-season/5040656222400/|work=UPI}} compared at least once to the Exxon Valdez oil spill).{{cite news|author=Richard Sandomir|date=April 17, 1992|title=Sports Weekend: TV Sports; The Young McDonough Plays Ball With CBS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/17/sports/sports-weekend-tv-sports-the-young-mcdonough-plays-ball-with-cbs.html|access-date=March 19, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times}} It was a pioneer in that the league produced and owned the rights to the telecasts, including half of the regular season and the postseason, but it was mostly a flop. The Baseball Network had exclusivity in every market, so in markets with two teams, a Baseball Network game featuring one team prevented all viewers in the market from seeing the other team's game that night.{{cite news|title=MEDIA More Pain for Fans|last=Zipay|first=Steve|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20169916.html?dids=20169916:20169916&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+29%2C+1995&author=Steve+Zipay&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=MEDIA+More+Pain+for+Fans&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106223153/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20169916.html?dids=20169916:20169916&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+29,+1995&author=Steve+Zipay&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=MEDIA+More+Pain+for+Fans&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2012|newspaper=Newsday|date=29 September 1995|access-date=31 May 2011}}{{cite news|title=Cubs Viewers Thrown A Curve By TBN Blackout|last=Nidetz|first=Steve|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/21100960.html?dids=21100960:21100960&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+23%2C+1995&author=Steve+Nidetz%2C+Tribune+Media+Columnist&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CUBS+VIEWERS+THROWN+A+CURVE+BY+TBN+BLACKOUT&pqatl=google|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=23 August 1995|access-date=31 May 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106223034/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/21100960.html?dids=21100960:21100960&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+23,+1995&author=Steve+Nidetz,+Tribune+Media+Columnist&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CUBS+VIEWERS+THROWN+A+CURVE+BY+TBN+BLACKOUT&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title='Baseball Night' leaves Astros, Rangers fans on deck|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAD97A220C872EA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|date=14 July 1995|access-date=31 May 2011}} Fans of East Coast teams couldn't see games played on the West Coast (or vice versa) in the team's home market because they started too early or too late.{{cite news|title=Cashing in, hand over fist|last=Craig|first=Jack|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21342196.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+22%2C+1995&author=Jack+Craig%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Cashing+in%2C+hand+over+fist&pqatl=google|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=22 August 1995|access-date=31 May 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106223241/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21342196.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+22,+1995&author=Jack+Craig,+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Cashing+in,+hand+over+fist&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR NOMO'S START|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4D2329C4CCCC8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|newspaper=Miami Herald|date=15 July 1995|access-date=31 May 2011}} Regionalized coverage lasted well into the postseason. Finally, a players' strike ended the 1994 season in mid-August, cancelling the entire postseason, including the World Series. Sports Illustrated{{'}}s Tom Verducci dubbed The Baseball Network "America's regional pastime" and an "abomination". Bob Costas wrote that it was an unprecedented surrender of prestige and a slap to all serious fans. When public address announcer Tom Hutyler mentioned The Baseball Network during the Mariners-Yankees ALDS at Seattle's Kingdome, the crowd erupted in boos. The Baseball Network shut down at the end of the 1995 season. When ABC Sports president Dennis Swanson announced the dissolution, he said "The fact of the matter is, Major League Baseball seems incapable at this point in time, of living with any long term relationships, whether it's with fans, with players, with the political community in Washington, with the advertising community here in Manhattan, or with its TV partners".{{cite magazine|url=http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Baseball%27s+attempt+to+juice+up+the+game+may+leave+a+sour+-+08.07.95+-+SI+Vault&expire=&urlID=432446172&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fmagazine%2FMAG1006913%2Findex.htm&partnerID=289881|title=Swing And A Miss|date=August 7, 1995|first=Tom|last=Verducci|magazine=Sports Illustrated|author-link=Tom Verducci}}

;Celebrity Boxing (2002): This two-episode icon of Fox's "lowbrow" era ranked number 6 on TV Guide{{'}}s "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time" list. The boxers were mostly "D-list" celebrities and people involved in notorious criminal cases. One match pitted Joey Buttafuoco (taking the place of "Weird Al" Yankovic, who refused to fight a woman) against pro wrestler Chyna; Buttafuoco won in a decision.{{cite book|title=TV Guide Guide to TV|year=2004|publisher=Barnes and Noble|isbn=0-7607-5634-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/228 228]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/228}}

;Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (2024): This professional boxing match featuring YouTuber and former Disney Channel star-turned-boxer, Jake Paul and former undisputed heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson was widely criticised for a variety of factors prior to the event and after the event. Many viewers and other boxers criticised the event due to the age difference between both the combatants, as the 31-year age difference is the largest recorded in the history of professional boxing. Former UFC Middleweight Champion, Sean Strickland stated that the fight should be illegal, and fellow YouTuber-turned-boxer, KSI described the bout as "elderly abuse".{{Cite web|date=2024-11-15|title=Sean Strickland rips 'clown' Jake Paul for fighting Mike Tyson: 'This should be illegal'|url=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2024/11/sean-strickland-opinion-jake-paul-clown-fighting-mike-tyson-should-be-illegal-ufc-mma-boxing|access-date=2024-11-16|website=MMA Junkie|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Gorrie|first=Jonathan|date=2024-11-16|title=KSI slams Paul as rival reacts to 'disgusting' Tyson fight|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/boxing/ksi-jake-paul-mike-tyson-boxing-2024-b1194412.html|access-date=2024-11-16|website=The Standard|language=en}} At the weigh-in the day prior to the fight, Paul performed a racist gesture towards Tyson by imitating the knuckle-walking done by non-human primates and then proceeding to step on Tyson's toes. In retaliation, Tyson slapped Paul across the face.{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Rann|date=2024-11-15|title="Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson" perpetuates the long history of profiting from race conflicts in the ring|url=https://www.salon.com/2024/11/15/jake-paul-vs-mike-tyson-netflix-boxing/|access-date=2024-11-16|website=Salon|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2024-11-15|title=Fans spot 'real reason' why Mike Tyson savagely slapped Jake Paul the night before fight|url=https://www.unilad.com/news/sport/mike-tyson-slap-jake-paul-boxing-match-reason-430112-20241115|access-date=2024-11-16|website=UNILAD|language=en}} The next day, on the day of the event, many viewers expressed outrage towards Netflix due to the widespread technical difficulties that prevented them from watching the highly anticipated fight.{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=James H.|title=Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul: Netflix suffers significant issues on massive fight night|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/15/mike-tyson-jake-paul-netflix-issues-buffering-reactions/76343456007/|access-date=2024-11-16|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}} Paul won the fight by unanimous decision, largely after Tyson shifted his strategy to surviving the bout by avoiding taking punches and making very few shots of his own.{{Cite web|last1=Peter|first1=Josh|last2=Freeman|first2=Mike|last3=Tucker|first3=Heather|last4=L. Moore|first4=Casey|date=November 15, 2024|title=Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul results, highlights: Round-by-round analysis for Netflix fight|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/15/mike-tyson-jake-paul-live-updates-highlights/76266132007/|website=USA Today}}

;NBA on ABC (2002–present): Viewer complaints about ABC's telecasts of NBA games since the 2002 season include strange camera angles (including the Floorcam and Skycam angles), shots from too far away, colors that seem faded and dull, and quieting the crowd noise so that announcers can be heard clearly; NBC had allowed crowd noise to occasionally drown out their announcers.{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/sports/col/kaufman/2004/06/14/monday/index_np.html#angles|title=King Kaufman's Sports Daily|author=Salon Staff|work=salon.com|access-date=24 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330190925/http://www.salon.com/news/sports/col/kaufman/2004/06/14/monday/index_np.html#angles|archive-date=30 March 2008}}{{cite web|url=http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2007/01/nba-on-abc-my-issues_116981979859675884.html|title=The NBA on ABC: My Issues|date=26 January 2007|work=The Painted Area|access-date=9 August 2012}}{{cite web|last=Hazell|first=Bill|url=http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2006/06/09/nba_on_abc_cant_live_up_to_predecessors-print.php|title=NBA on ABC can't live up to predecessors|publisher=Sports-central.org|date=2006-06-09|access-date=2013-12-19}} The 2003 NBA Finals received very little fanfare on ABC or corporate partner ESPN. Subsequent Finals were promoted more on both networks, but NBA-related advertisements on ABC were still down significantly from promotions on NBC. According to the Sports Business Daily, NBA promos took up 3 minutes and 55 seconds of airtime on ABC during the week of May 23, 2004, compared to 2 minutes and 45 seconds for the Indy 500. Promotions for the Indianapolis 500 outnumbered promotions for the NBA Finals 14:9 from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm during that week.[http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.main&requesttimeout=500&storyid=SBD2004060908 The Daily Monitors ABC's Promotional Push Around NBA Finals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008081101/http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.main&requesttimeout=500&storyid=SBD2004060908|date=October 8, 2008}}

;NBC Olympic broadcasts (1964, 1988–present [summer]; 1972, 2002–present [winter]): NBC was the inaugural Olympic broadcaster at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. They later broadcast the 1972 Winter Olympics. NBC brought the broadcast rights to start with the 1988 Summer Olympics, and would obtain rights to broadcast the Winter Olympics starting in 2002. Currently, NBCUniversal (a division of Comcast which operates NBC and its cable networks) holds the broadcasting rights for the Olympics until 2032.{{cite news|title=Olympics on NBC through 2032|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/05/07/nbc-olympics-broadcast-rights-2032/8805989/|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 7, 2014}} Since 2000, NBC has received criticism over its tape-delaying practice, which has gotten many complaints from many viewers, yet in 1992, the then-NBC Sports producer Terry O'Neil coined the term "possibly live" for NBC's practices to tape delay live events as if they were live.{{cite news|title=Olympics Will Be Shown Without Live TV, NBC Says|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-10-mn-28476-story.html|author=Alan Abrahamson|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 10, 2000}}{{cite news|title=NBC Goes Digital for Olympics, but Tape Will Still Roll in Prime Time|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/sports/olympics/nbc-will-show-every-olympic-event-live-online.html?_r=0|author=Richard Sandomir|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 2, 2012|access-date=February 25, 2014}} Some examples include the Women's Gymnastics event during the 2016 Summer Olympics in order to "juice the numbers".{{cite web|title=NBC's Rio 2016 Coverage Short-Shrifts Women's Gymnastics, Pushing It Into Late-Night|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/columns/nbc-rio-2016-olympics-womens-gymnastics-simone-biles-1201834973/|website=Variety|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=12 August 2016}} In the 2010 Winter Olympics, NBC aired no alpine skiing events in order to showcase high-profile events.{{cite web|title=NBC's coverage of Olympics misses the thrill|url=http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_14440839|work=Salt Lake Tribune|date=February 20, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223023912/http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_14440839|archive-date=February 23, 2010}} Many viewers have expressed outrage, including U.S. senators during the 2010 Winter games, and people were forced to use VPN servers to access the BBC and in Canada, CTV (for the 2010 Winter Games and 2012 Summer Games), and the CBC (for the 2014 Winter Games and 2016 Summer Games) to view them live.{{cite web|title=Even Senators Hated NBC Universal's Olympic Coverage|url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100301/0252398339.shtml|work=TechDirt|date=March 1, 2010}}{{cite news|title=Some U.S. viewers turn to CBC amid complaints about NBC's Olympic coverage|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/some-us-viewers-turn-to-cbc-amid-complaints-about-nbcs-olympic-coverage/article16790846/|author=Cassandra Szklarski|agency=Canadian Press|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=February 10, 2014|access-date=February 13, 2014|location=Toronto}}

:NBC has also frequently been criticized for airing the Olympics as if it is more of a reality television program instead of a live sports event.{{cite magazine|title=Why You Hate NBC's Olympics Coverage: It is reality TV masquerading as a sporting event|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/fivering_circus/2014/02/nbc_olympics_the_network_s_coverage_of_the_sochi_games_is_reality_tv_masquerading.html|magazine=Slate.com|date=February 22, 2014|access-date=February 23, 2014|last1=Levin|first1=Josh}}{{cite news|title=Reality or "Reality"?: Should NBC's Olympics Coverage Be More Straightforward?|first=Graeme|last=McMillan|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/08/08/reality-or-reality-should-nbcs-olympics-coverage-be-more-straightforward/|work=Time|date=August 8, 2012|access-date=February 23, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/8/18/12527498/olympics-nbc-bad-suspense-reality-show|title=NBC has sucked all of the suspense out of the Olympics|website=vox.com|date=August 18, 2016|access-date=August 21, 2016}} One example of this includes cutting off a fall from Russian gymnast Ksenia Afanasyeva, which NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus did "in the interest of time", although her routine took only 1 minute and 38 seconds. And according to The New York Times, he did this to create suspense on the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team.{{cite web|url=http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/where-was-nbc-when-the-russian-gymnast-fell/?_r=0|title=Where Was NBC When the Russian Gymnast Fell? blog for 2012 London Olympics|first=Richard|last=Sandomir|date=August 2, 2012|access-date=December 2, 2016}}

:In 2016, chief marketing officer John Miller held a press conference prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics about their formatting of NBC's Olympics coverage, citing that the Olympics were "not about the result, [but] about the journey. The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the Games than men, and for the women, they're less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It's sort of like the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one".{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/olympics/NBC_wont_broadcast_Rio_Olympics_opening_ceremonies_live.html|title=NBC won't broadcast Rio Olympics opening ceremony live|first=Jonathan|last=Tannenwald|publisher=philly.com|date=July 11, 2016}} This led to criticism from the media; Linda Stasi of the New York Daily News claimed it to be "sexist nonsense" and a "pandering, condescending view of the millions of women viewers".{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/stasi-nbc-marketing-big-insults-women-olympics-viewers-article-1.2741209|title=Gold-medal fool: NBC marketing honcho insults women and all Olympics viewers|first=Linda|last=Stasi|work=New York Daily News|date=August 6, 2016|access-date=August 21, 2016}} Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins suggested that "it insults the audience — but it sure does insult Olympic athletes, especially female athletes".{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/by-packaging-the-olympics-nbc-insults-viewers-and-the-athletes-themselves/2016/08/06/a8eda1fe-5b3f-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html|title=By 'packaging' the Olympics, NBC insults viewers, and the athletes themselves|first=Sally|last=Jenkins|newspaper=Washington Post|date=August 6, 2016|access-date=August 21, 2016}}

:NBC was also criticized for frequently editing and tape-delaying the opening and closing ceremonies, with "context" as its main reason.{{cite web|title=NBC opens Olympics coverage by upsetting fans who wanted to see ceremony live|url=http://www.newser.com/article/da09lr2g0/nbc-opens-olympics-coverage-by-upsetting-fans-who-wanted-to-see-ceremony-live.html|author=David Bauder|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Newser.com|date=July 27, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728134051/http://www.newser.com/article/da09lr2g0/nbc-opens-olympics-coverage-by-upsetting-fans-who-wanted-to-see-ceremony-live.html|archive-date=July 28, 2012}}{{cite web|title=How to Watch the Winter Olympics Online|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2014/02/05/watch_winter_olympics_live_online_free_nbc_livestream_of_sochi_games.html|author=Will Oremus|work=Slate|date=February 5, 2014|access-date=February 8, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Rio Olympics opening ceremony: How to watch, time, TV info|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/04/2016-rio-olympics-opening-ceremony-schedule-tv-guide/87388434/|website=USA Today|access-date=5 August 2016}} In 2010, NBC aired the opening and closing ceremonies on a tape delay, even for viewers on Pacific Time, despite being 3 hours behind Eastern Time. During the closing ceremonies, NBC went into a 65-minute intermission to air a series premiere of The Marriage Ref and local newscasts, and returning to the ceremonies at 11:35 PM ET/PT.{{cite news|title=Live Updates From Closing Ceremony|url=http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/live-updates-from-closing-ceremony/?ref=olympics|work=The New York Times|date=February 28, 2010}} This spawned outbursts from upset viewers, especially on Twitter,{{cite news|title=U.S. viewers tweet up a storm after NBC cuts Olympic closing ceremonies show|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/olympics/us-viewers-tweet-up-a-storm-after-nbc-cuts-olympic-closing-ceremonies-show-85791672.html|agency=Canadian Press|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=February 28, 2010}} when several performances were cut off.{{cite web|title=Garou boudé par les États-Unis|url=http://lcn.canoe.ca/lcn/artsetspectacles/general/archives/2010/02/20100218-165135.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720210436/http://lcn.canoe.ca/lcn/artsetspectacles/general/archives/2010/02/20100218-165135.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 20, 2012|work=TVA|date=February 18, 2010}}

:In 2012, NBC cut a tribute to the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings in favor of a Ryan Seacrest interview with U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps during the opening ceremonies. Ultimately, this caused the hashtag #NBCFail to trend on Twitter.{{cite news|title=NBC fail shows network's commitment to 'the last great buggy-whip Olympics'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/30/nbc-fail-buggy-whip-olympics?CMP=twt_gu|author=Heidi Moore|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=July 30, 2012|access-date=July 30, 2012}} The network was criticized for cutting up to 27% of the closing ceremonies to air local newscasts and a sneak preview of the NBC sitcom Animal Practice.{{cite web|title=NBC cut nearly an hour from its Closing Ceremony telecast: Here's everything they didn't show you, including The Kinks' Ray Davies|url=http://deadspin.com/5934166/nbc-cut-nearly-an-hour-from-its-closing-ceremony-telecast-heres-everything-they-didnt-show-you-including-the-kinks-ray-davies|work=Deadspin|date=August 13, 2012}}{{cite magazine|title=NBC cuts The Who, Ray Davies, Muse from Olympics|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/nbc-cuts-the-who-ray-davies-muse-from-olympics-1007811352.story|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 25, 2016|archive-date=January 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122123117/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/nbc-cuts-the-who-ray-davies-muse-from-olympics-1007811352.story|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Viewers outraged after NBC cuts away from Olympics closing ceremony|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/13/sport/olympics-nbc-fail/index.html|work=CNN|date=August 13, 2012}}

:In 2014, NBC also received criticism for cutting the video segments on the Olympic Torch relay and not showing the mascots. It also received criticism for cutting the Olympic Oaths and IOC President Thomas Bach's speech on discrimination and equality.{{cite web|title=A giant bear, a Daft Punk cover and other things you missed in the Opening Ceremony|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/five-things-you-didn-t-see-on-nbc-s-opening-ceremony-broadcast-055612942.html|work=Yahoo! Sports|date=February 8, 2014|access-date=February 8, 2014}}{{cite web|title=NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony|url=http://deadspin.com/nbc-edits-out-ioc-anti-discrimination-statement-from-op-1518727938|work=Deadspin|date=February 8, 2014|access-date=February 8, 2014}} It was also criticized for setting a 90-minute window to air the closing ceremonies. In addition, they used the times before and after the 90-minute window to air a sneak preview of another sitcom, Growing Up Fisher, at 10:30 PM ET/PT,{{cite web|title=NBC Sets Premiere Dates for 'About a Boy', 'Growing Up Fisher', 'Believe', 'Crisis' & More|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/10/nbc-sets-premiere-dates-for-about-a-boy-growing-up-fisher-believe-crisis-more/228397|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110235144/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/10/nbc-sets-premiere-dates-for-about-a-boy-growing-up-fisher-believe-crisis-more/228397/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2014|author=Sara Bibel|work=TV by the Numbers|publisher=Zap2It (Tribune Company)|date=January 10, 2014|access-date=February 23, 2014}} and a documentary on Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan which aired between 7 PM and 8:30 PM ET/PT.{{cite web|title=Sochi Olympics Closing Ceremony: NBC's Presentation|url=https://deadline.com/2014/02/sochi-olympics-closing-ceremony-2014-winter-olympic-games-687877/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 23, 2014|access-date=February 23, 2014}} In 2016, NBC aired both of the ceremonies in a 1-hour delay (at 8 PM ET/PT) and it also drew criticism for the excessive number of advertisements it aired during the delayed ceremony, and cutting 38% of the closing ceremony.{{cite web|title=NBC's Closing Ceremony Broadcast Edited Out More Than An Hour. Here's What You Missed.|url=http://deadspin.com/nbcs-closing-ceremony-broadcast-edited-out-more-than-an-1785592630|website=Deadspin|date=August 22, 2016|access-date=22 August 2016}}{{cite web|last1=DePaolo|first1=Joe|title=NBC is Airing a Ton of Commercials During the Olympics' Opening Ceremony and People Aren't Happy|url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/nbc-is-airing-a-ton-of-commercials-during-the-olympics-opening-ceremony-and-people-arent-happpy/|website=Mediaite|date=August 6, 2016|access-date=August 6, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Review Opening ceremony proves Rio can throw a party; NBC, not so much|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rio-olympics-opening-ceremony-review-20160806-snap-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=August 6, 2016|access-date=August 12, 2016}}

:NBC also received criticism for an alleged pro-American bias{{cite journal|url=http://fitnessforlife.org/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/04%20Angelini%20IJSC%205_2_pgs%20193-209.pdf|title=The Nationalistic Revolution Will Be Televised: The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on NBC|last1=Angelini|first1=James R.|last2=Billings|first2=Andrew C.|last3=MacArthur|first3=Paul J.|journal=International Journal of Sport Communication|date=2012|volume=5|issue=2|pages=193–209|doi=10.1123/ijsc.5.2.193|access-date=October 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819191415/http://fitnessforlife.org/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/04%20Angelini%20IJSC%205_2_pgs%20193-209.pdf|archive-date=2016-08-19|url-status=dead}}[http://enx.sagepub.com/content/8/2/101.short Fanfare for the American: NBC's Prime-Time Broadcast of the 2012 London Olympiad - SAGE Journals]{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2016/08/10/nbc-criticised-for-worst-ever-olympic-coverage-in-america/|title=NBC criticised for 'worst ever' Olympic coverage in America|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=2016-08-11|last1=Alexander|first1=Harriet}} despite such bias being far less than other national Olympic broadcasters such as Canada and Russia,{{cite journal|title=Nationalism in the United States and Canadian primetime broadcast coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics|first1=James R.|last1=Angelini|first2=Paul J.|last2=MacArthur|first3=Lauren Reichart|last3=Smith|first4=Andrew C.|last4=Billings|date=3 December 2015|journal=International Review for the Sociology of Sport|volume=52|issue=7|pages=779–800|doi=10.1177/1012690215619205|s2cid=148118877}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/russia-broadcast-pyeongchang-2018|title=Russian state broadcasters commit to PyeongChang coverage|access-date=2018-02-06|language=en}} and for various comments made by commentators during the Olympics in 2016{{cite news|title='The man responsible': NBC broadcaster draws ire after crediting world record to swimmer's husband|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/07/the-man-responsible-nbc-broadcaster-draws-ire-after-crediting-world-record-to-swimmers-husband/|first=Roman|last=Stubbs|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 7, 2016|access-date=August 8, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Olympics announcer tweets gymnast's adoptive parents aren't her parents|url=http://mashable.com/2016/08/08/nbc-tweet-simone-biles/#8rJoxXnbBmqK|first=Marcus|last=Gilmer|publisher=Mashable Inc.|date=August 8, 2016|access-date=August 8, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/08/nbc-analyst-in-twitter-over-comment-about-simone-biles/88394548/|title=NBC analyst criticized over comment about Simone Biles|website=USA Today|access-date=December 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.outsports.com/2016/8/9/12416610/larissa-franca-beach-volleyball-gay-nbc-comment-olympics|title=NBC calls wife of gay athlete her 'husband'|first=Jim|last=Buzinski|date=August 9, 2016|access-date=December 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/09/nbc-sports-chris-marlowe-same-sex-spouse-wrong-gender/88491630/|title=NBC's Chris Marlowe calls Olympic athlete's same-sex spouse wrong gender|website=USA Today|access-date=18 December 2016}} and in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.{{cite news|title=As America succeeds at the games back home, all the talk is about NBC fail|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/as-america-succeeds-at-the-games-back-home-all-the-talk-is-about-nbcfail-7986147.html?origin=internalSearch|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|first=Guy|last=Adams|date=July 30, 2012}}{{cite news|title=NBC lambasted over banal butchering of opening ceremony – and rightly so|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/us-news-blog/2012/jul/28/nbc-olympics-opening-ceremony|author=Emma G Keller|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=July 28, 2012}}{{cite web|title=NBC Olympics coverage: Meredith Vieira at the Opening Ceremony: It's Cool To Be Ignorant|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2012/07/28/nbc_olympics_coverage_meredith_vieira_think_it_s_cool_to_be_ignorant_.html|author=Josh Levin|work=Slate|date=July 28, 2012}}{{cite news|title=The Opening Ceremonies in London: From the Industrial Revolution to Voldemort|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/07/28/157521409/the-opening-ceremonies-in-london-from-the-industrial-revolution-to-voldemort|work=NPR|date=July 28, 2012}}{{cite news|title=NBC's broadcast of the Olympics Opening Ceremony was the worst|url=http://observer.com/2012/07/nbcs-broadcast-of-the-olympics-opening-ceremony-was-the-worst-video/|work=The Observer|date=July 2012}}

;NHL on Fox (FoxTrax era): Fox Sports's decision to implement a CGI-generated glowing hockey puck during their live coverage of the National Hockey League from 1996 to 1998 drew ire from sports fans, who derided the move as a gimmick. Greg Wyshinski called glowing puck one of the worst ideas in sports history in his book Glow Pucks and Ten-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History.[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3QDESM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&asin=1589793080&revisionId=&format=4&depth=2 Amazon.com: Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History (pg.289)]

;Olympics Triplecast (1992): Even before the 1992 Summer Olympics started, many criticized the business model. On July 16, nine days before the Opening Ceremony, one Philadelphia Inquirer writer called it "the biggest marketing disaster since New Coke".Macnow, Glen. "Triplecast May Be A National Failure At This Year's Games". Philadelphia Inquirer 16 Jul. 1992: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120527141746/http://articles.philly.com/1992-07-16/sports/26025616_1_nbc-s-triplecast-nbc-chief-executive-olympic-coverage-nbc] The New York Times called it "sports TV's biggest flop" and said that NBC and Cablevision were "bereft in sanity" in operating it.Sandomir, Richard. "Click, Click, Click: The Year In Gaffes". New York Times 25 Dec. 1992: 8. By 1994, it was referred to as "the Heaven's Gate of television".Sandomir, Richard. "SPORTS BUSINESS; Some Shaky Precedents for New York Sports Fans". New York Times 28 Aug. 1994: 35. Albert Kim, the editor of Entertainment Weekly, went on National Public Radio and called it "an unmitigated disaster for NBC".DePrez, Greg. "The Olympics TripleCast: still revolutionary, still relevant". Multichannel News 22 June 1996: [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106053205/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18601621.html] It lost about $100 million (half of which was covered by Cablevision under agreement) and shaped NBC's strategies in covering future Olympics.

;Power Slap: Road To The Title (2023): UFC president Dana White started the Power Slap League in 2022 and signed a deal with TBS to air an eight-episode reality competition series. Its January 2023 debut was delayed a week after White was filmed striking his wife in a nightclub.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ufc/dana-white-wife-slap-league-b2260259.html|title=Dana White criticised for promoting Power Slap League after domestic violence revelation|first=Alex|last= Pattle|work=The Independent|date=January 11, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}} The show got negative reception from critics and notable combat sport and political figures due to its violent nature and subsequent concerns over head trauma suffered by contestants.{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/power-slap-boxing-world-aghast-at-american-slap-fighting-2023-1|title=Slap fighting, a brutal sport, has left the world of boxing confused and in shock. It's 'literally organized brain damage', one exec said.|first=Alan|last=Dawson|work=Business Insider|date=January 29, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}}{{citation|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/dana-white-tbs-ashamed-power-220059256.html|title=Dana White and TBS should be ashamed of Power Slap, says neuroscientist Chris Nowinski|first=Simon|last=Samano|website=Yahoo! Sports|date=January 19, 2023}}{{Cite web|date=2023-02-04|title=Dana White's Power Slap denounced as dangerous: It's a ticking time bomb for brains|url=https://www.marca.com/en/ufc/2023/02/04/63de70c6e2704ec7a48b45b9.html|access-date=2023-02-10|website=MARCA|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/power-slap-is-mindless-violence-according-to-a-congressman-2023-2|title=Inside Power Slap: A changing ruleset, and a congressman asks questions amid more 'mindless violence'|first=Alan|last=Dawson|work=Business Insider|date=February 17, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/a-new-tv-show-thats-a-real-slap-in-the-face|title=A New TV Show That's a Real Slap in the Face|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Kelefa|last=Sanneh|date=January 30, 2023|access-date=January 23, 2024}} The New York Times wrote, "What's next, who can survive being run over by a tank? Knife fights on national television?" and criticized the league as "a display of pure punishment created for TV ratings, video views and money, money, money".{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/sports/power-slap-league-dana-white.html|title=Televised Face Slapping? What Are We Becoming?|first=Kurt|last=Streeter|work=The New York Times|date=March 6, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}} Stuart Heritage of The Guardian commented that Power Slap "has caused a firestorm, not least because it is objectively stupid and dangerous, with slap fighters often ending up swollen and disfigured".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/02/power-slap-is-this-the-most-stomach-churning-reality-tv-show-ever|title=Power Slap: is this the most stomach-churning reality TV show ever?|first=Stuart|last=Heritage|work=The Guardian|date=February 2, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}} Eric Blum of Deadspin called the "needlessly barbaric" show "the worst thing I've ever seen".{{cite web|url=https://deadspin.com/dana-white-power-slap-tbs-ufc-warner-discovery-injury-1850035859|title=Dana White's Power Slap is the worst thing I've ever seen|first=Eric|last=Blum|work=Deadspin|publisher=G/O Media|date=January 26, 2023|access-date=January 23, 2024}} Despite airing after AEW Dynamite, Power Slap suffered from poor ratings and was not renewed by TBS for a second season.{{citation|url=https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/03/10/power-slap-closes-first-season-with-record-low-ratings-dana-white-mma-news/|title=Power Slap closes first season with worst ever ratings|first=Trent|last=Reinsmith|website=bloodyelbow.com|date=February 17, 2023}}.{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/power-slap-series-tbs-part-230025496.html|title='Power Slap' series and TBS part ways as program set to move to online platform|first=Nolan|last=King|date=March 13, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}} Former Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Stephen Cloobeck resigned in December 2022 due to personal regret over his "mistake" of sanctioning the sport.{{cite web|url=https://www.mmamania.com/2023/3/9/23632175/former-nsac-chairman-admits-mistake-sanctioning-power-slap-fighting-i-regret-it-dana-white|title=Former NSAC chairman admits 'mistake' in sanctioning Power Slap fighting — 'I regret it'|first=Jesse|last=Holland|work=MMAMania.com|date=March 9, 2023|access-date=December 12, 2023}}

;Thursday Night Football (2006–present): Since 2006, when the National Football League started playing games on Thursday nights, the TV broadcasts have faced heavy criticism, including: hiring Bryant Gumbel as its first play-by-play announcer,[http://awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/top-10-sports-media-busts.html Top 10 sports media busts]. Awful Announcing (January 25, 2012). Retrieved December 17, 2016. difficulties getting cable providers to carry the NFL Network,{{cite news|title=COMMENTARY: Antitrust threat prompted NFL's reversal|url=http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/212510/|author=Dusty Saunders|work=Rocky Mountain News|publisher=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|date=January 2, 2008|access-date=January 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210022945/http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/212510/ |archive-date=February 10, 2008}} poor quality games,{{cite web|title=By design, Thursday Night Football is merely average.|url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63185200/thursday-night-football-in-the-national-football-league-isnt-always-popular|website=Sports On Earth|access-date=August 14, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Thursday Night Blights|url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/61721290|website=Sports On Earth|access-date=August 14, 2014|archive-date=August 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813193444/http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/61721290/|url-status=dead}} a uniform scheme that made it very difficult for viewers with color blindness to tell teams apart,{{cite news|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/color-blind-people-driven-nuts-watching-red-bills--green-jets-uniforms-021653681.html|last=Edholm|first=Eric|title=Color-blind people driven nuts watching red Bills, green Jets uniforms|work=Yahoo! Sports|date=12 November 2015|access-date=12 November 2015}} disrupting the league's weekly schedule in a way that potentially puts players at greater risk of injury,{{cite news|title=Texans' Arian Foster says NFL Thursday night games are dangerous, hypocritical|url=http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2014/10/texans-arian-foster-rips-thursday-night-games-calls-them-annoying-for-players/#27282103=0&27288101=|last=Smith|first=Brian|work=The Houston Chronicle|date=October 6, 2014|access-date=October 6, 2014}} and saturating the market, driving down viewership of the league's Sunday and Monday games (the league is forbidden under federal law from televising games on Friday or Saturday for most of the regular season). On at least one occasion, the league has reportedly considered ending the package after its current contracts expire.{{cite web|title=NFL Denies Speculation About 'Thursday Night Football' Ending Amid Ratings Slump|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/nfl-thursday-night-football-denies-speculation-ending-1201928169/|website=Variety|date=November 29, 2016|access-date=5 December 2016}}

;XFL on NBC, XFL on TNN and XFL on UPN (2001): The three programs covering the original incarnation of the XFL are generally treated as one for the purposes of worst television show lists. The series ranked No. 3 on the 2002 TV Guide list of worst TV series of all time, #2 on ESPN's list of biggest sports flops, #21 on TV Guide's 2010 list of the biggest television blunders of all time, and #10 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the biggest bombs in television history.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-worst-tv-shows-ever/|title=The Worst TV Shows Ever|last=Cosgrove-Mather|first=Bootie|work=CBS News|access-date=2010-07-27|date=2002-07-12}}{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/espn25/story?page=listranker/25biggestflops|title=ESPN 25: The 25 Biggest Sports Flops|publisher=ESPN|access-date=July 27, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524183133/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=listranker%2F25biggestflops|archive-date=2011-05-24}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20100302tvguide01|title=Breaking News – TV Guide Network's "25 Biggest TV Blunders" Special Delivers 3.3 Million Viewers|date=2010-03-02|publisher=thefutoncritic.com|access-date=2010-03-10}}[https://ew.com/article/2010/01/22/tvs-50-biggest-bombs-and-blunders/ TV's 50 biggest bombs and blunders|EW.com] Despite the league's failure, both of its co-founders tried again nearly two decades later: Dick Ebersol with the Alliance of American Football in 2019 (which ran out of money midway through its only season), and Vince McMahon with another XFL in 2020 (which he sold to Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia during the pandemic shutdown ahead of his total exit from sports entertainment two years later). After a 3 year hiatus, the XFL came back during 2023, after which it became a conference integrated within the United Football League.[https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2020/2/5/21123594/xfl-debuts-this-weekend-introduces-new-and-odd-rules XFL debuts this weekend, introduces new (and odd) rules - Dawgs By Nature]{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10060659-xfl-announces-2023-opening-weekend-schedule-headlined-by-vipers-vs-renegades|title=XFL Announces 2023 Opening Weekend Schedule Headlined by Vipers vs. Renegades|website=Bleacher Report}}{{cite news|last=Russell|first=Jake|date=December 31, 2023|title=XFL, USFL announce merger to form the United Football League|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/31/xfl-usfl-merger-ufl/|access-date=December 31, 2023|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en-us}}

;The Chevy Chase Show: A late night talk-show hosted by Chevy Chase that aired on Fox in 1993. It received negative reviews from critics,Entertainment Weekly article: "[http://www.ew.com/article/1993/10/08/chevy-chase-show TV Review – Lord of the Ring (1993)]".TIME article: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20101028054014/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979242,00.html Late-Night Mugging]". and ranked 16th on TV Guide's list of worst television shows and the same position on its list of biggest television blunders; former Fox chairwoman Lucie Salhany described it as "uncomfortable and embarrassing", and the series was cancelled within six weeks of its debut.The New York Times article: "[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/11/business/the-media-business-chevy-chase-s-ratings-deliver-frowns-at-fox.html THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Chevy Chase's Ratings Deliver Frowns at Fox]".The New York Times article: "[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/18/arts/chevy-chase-s-show-canceled-after-6-weeks.html Chevy Chase's Show Canceled After 6 Weeks]".

;The Jeremy Kyle Show: British tabloid talk show which presented family disputes and the like. Often accused of treating its guests in an exploitative way, it was permanently scrapped in May 2019 when a guest died a week after appearing and failing a lie detector test on the show, apparently taking his own life.{{cite web|title=The Jeremy Kyle Show axed by ITV after death of guest|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48279613|website=BBC News|access-date=May 15, 2019|date=May 15, 2019}}{{cite web|title=ITV axes Jeremy Kyle Show after death of participant|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/may/15/itv-axes-jeremy-kyle-show-after-death-of-participant|website=The Guardian|access-date=May 15, 2019|date=May 15, 2019}}

;The Jerry Springer Show: The trash TV show[https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210715/feder-when-chicago-plumbed-the-depths-of-trash-tv Feder: When Chicago plumbed the depths of trash TV - Daily Herald][https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_CpYQh6zv2A How 90s Trash TV Became Deadly|Dark Side of the 90s - VICE on YouTube] topped TV Guide magazine's 2002 list of "The Worst TV Shows Ever".CBS News

[https://web.archive.org/web/20021102083315/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/12/entertainment/main515057.shtml The Worst TV Shows Ever] The phrase "Jerry Springer Nation" began to be used by some who see the program as being a bad influence on the morality of the United States.{{cite web|last1=Eames|first1=Tom|title=10 of the worst TV shows of all time - a scientific* meta-analysis|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a786920/10-of-the-worst-tv-shows-of-all-time-a-scientific-meta-analysis/|website=Digital Spy|access-date=6 April 2020|date=15 March 2016}}

;The Magic Hour: Soon after its debut, the series was panned by critics citing Earvin "Magic" Johnson's apparent nervousness as a host, his overly complimentary tone with his celebrity guests, and lack of chemistry with his sidekick, comedian Craig Shoemaker. The series was quickly retooled with Shoemaker being relegated to the supporting cast (and eventually fired for publicly stating the show was a disaster){{cite magazine|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4796144-1.html|title=Stern Makes 'magic' Ratings|date=1998-07-06|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2008-08-19}}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1998/07/02/stern-screw|title=Magic|last=Wolk|first=Josh|date=1998-07-02|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2008-08-19}} which included comedian Steve White and announcer Jimmy Hodson. Comedian and actor Tommy Davidson was brought in as Johnson's new sidekick and Johnson interacted more with the show band leader Sheila E. The format of the show was also changed to include more interview time with celebrity guests.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-26-ca-63617-story.html|title=Embattled 'Magic Hour' to Try Different Strategy|last=Braxton|first=Greg|date=1998-06-26|newspaper=L.A. Times|access-date=2008-08-18}}{{cite magazine|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n13_v94/ai_21052801|title=Magic Johnson's late night talk show, 'The Magic Hour', is cancelled|date=1998-08-24|magazine=Jet|access-date=2008-08-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916183020/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n13_v94/ai_21052801|archive-date=2008-09-16}} One vocal critic of The Magic Hour was Howard Stern, who was later booked as a guest for one episode as part of a stunt to boost ratings.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1998/07/17/magic-johnson-no-magic-late-night-show|title=Remote Patrol|last=Fretts|first=Bruce|date=1998-07-17|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2008-08-19}}

;Maury: This tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich was dubbed by USA Today columnist Whitney Matheson as "the worst show on television" and "miles further down the commode than Jerry Springer".{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/candy/2002/2002-03-13-candy.htm|title=There shouldn't be a next time, America|last=Matheson|first=Whitney|date=December 3, 2002|work=USA Today|access-date=December 23, 2009}} The A.V. Club wrote in 2016 that "Maury has been lowering the daytime TV bar for 25 years" by "ruthlessly exploiting the misery and misfortune of its guests for ratings".{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/maury-has-been-lowering-the-daytime-tv-bar-for-25-years-1798251713|title=Maury has been lowering the daytime TV bar for 25 years|first=Joe|last=Blevins|work=The A.V. Club|date=September 9, 2016|access-date=May 20, 2021}}

;The ½ Hour News Hour: Fox News Channel's satirical news comedy show was criticized for its obvious intent to imitate Comedy Central's The Daily Show from a more politically conservative slant. The show's initial two episodes received generally poor reviews.{{cite web|url=http://www.11points.com/TV/11_Most_Disappointing_TV_Shows_of_the_2000s|title=11 Most Disappointing TV Shows of the 2000s – 7|publisher=11points.com|date=2009-12-15|access-date=2013-12-19}} MetaCritic's television division gave The 1/2 Hour News Hour pilots a score of 12 out of 100,{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/halfhournewshour|title=1/2 Hour News Hour, The|website=Metacritic|access-date=2007-06-02}} making it the lowest rated television production ever reviewed on the site.{{cite news|url=http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=3062&catid=85&volume_id=254&issue_id=284&volume_num=41&issue_num=23|title=The 'ire' in "satire: Conservatives are funny|last=Sankin|first=Aaron|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian|date=March 7, 2007}} Business Insider ranked it #1 on its list of "The 50 worst TV shows in modern history, according to critics".{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.de/worst-tv-shows-of-all-time-critics-2016-10|title=The 50 worst TV shows in modern history, according to critics|last=Lynch|first=John|website=Business Insider Deutschland|language=de|access-date=2018-12-25}}

;Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos: The series was cancelled by its network midway through its first airing. Kerry Packer, Australian media magnate and owner of the broadcaster Nine Network, saw the show while out at dinner with friends, and reportedly phoned Nine central control personally, ordering them to "Get that shit off the air!"[https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/sex-kerry-packer-and-videotape-looking-back-at-the-night-tv-failed-the-taste-test-20170919-gyk6n2.html Sex, Kerry Packer and videotape: looking back at the night TV failed the taste test - The Sydney Morning Herald] The network complied and immediately replaced it with reruns of Cheers, citing "technical difficulties". Packer arrived at the network the next day and again referred to the show as "disgusting and offensive shit". The show itself largely consisted of videos involving crude sexual content interspersed with off-color jokes from the show's host, former 2MMM morning host "Uncle" Doug Mulray. The show would not be seen in its entirety until 2008, three years after Packer's death.{{cite news|last=Casey|first=Marcus|title=Behind the return of Kerry Packer's Naughtiest Home Videos|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/behind-the-return-of-kerry-packers-naughtiest-home-videos/story-e6freuy9-1111117240020|access-date=30 December 2010|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 August 2008}}

;Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth: Live From Planet Earth debuted on Channel Nine on 8 February 2011, in the 9:30 pm timeslot. During the broadcast of the first episode, reaction on Twitter was hostile, with many users speculating the show would be axed.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/09/3134380.htm?section=entertainment|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223107/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/09/3134380.htm?section=entertainment|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2011|title=Ben Elton's new comedy falls flat|work=ABC News|date=9 February 2011}} Reviews of the first episode were largely negative. Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun called it "an early contender for worst show of the year", and Amanda Meade of The Australian called it "a screaming, embarrassing failure".[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/critics-bawl-out-new-elton-show/story-e6frf96x-1226003245846 Critics bawl out new Elton show], Herald Sun, 10 February 2011. The Age{{'}}s Karl Quinn stated there was "more to like than dislike" about the show.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/the-vulture/ben-elton-live-from-planet-earth-the-verdict/20110209-1am2w.html|title=Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth: the verdict|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=9 February 2011}}

;Osbournes Reloaded: This variety show was universally panned by critics, with Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant even going so far as to call it the "worst variety show ever"{{cite web|url=http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/03/osbournes-reloaded-worst-varie.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718144256/http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/03/osbournes-reloaded-worst-varie.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2012|title='Osbournes Reloaded:' Worst Variety Show Ever?|access-date=1 April 2009}} and Tom Shales of The Washington Post labeling it "Must-Flee TV".{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040104707.html?hpid=news-col-blog|title='Osbournes' So Bad, It's Must-Flee TV|access-date=1 April 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Tom|last=Shales|date=2009-04-01}} It was canceled after one episode, which itself was cut from 60 to 35 minutes prior to air; 26 affiliates had refused to air the first show or buried it in overnight graveyard slots, and Fox had barely convinced a group of 19 other stations to drop its plans to do the same. Rolling Stone named it one of the 12 worst TV shows of all time.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/12-worst-tv-shows-of-all-time-193034/|title=12 Worst TV Shows of All Time|last1=Sheffield|first1=Rob|date=2016-09-26|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-11}}

;Pink Lady (also known as Pink Lady and Jeff): The series ranked No. 35 on TV Guide{{'}}s Fifty Worst TV Shows of All Time list. The series, which featured Japanese duo Pink Lady struggling awkwardly through American disco hits and sketch comedy (the duo spoke very little English), was moved to the Friday night death slot after one episode and killed off after five episodes. (A sixth episode was unaired at the time but later included in a DVD release.){{cite news|last1=Associated Press|title=TV Guide trashes 'Springer'|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20020714&slug=badtv14|access-date=May 22, 2022|work=Seattle Times|date=July 14, 2002}}

;Rosie Live: This NBC variety special hosted by comedian and activist Rosie O'Donnell on the day before Thanksgiving 2008 received almost universally negative reviews from critics. The Los Angeles Times critic Mary McNamara wrote, "For those of us who are, and remain, Rosie fans, who think The View will never quite recover from her departure, who think her desire to resurrect the variety show was, and is, a great idea, disappointment does not even begin to describe it".{{cite news|last=McNamara|first=Mary|title=Rosie O'Donnell's 'Rosie Live': What was she thinking?|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 26, 2008|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/11/rosie.html}} TV Guide critic Matt Roush panned the show as "dead on arrival",{{cite magazine|last=Matt|first=Roush|title=Roush Dispatch: Rosie Live, Dead on Arrival|magazine=TV Guide|date=November 27, 2008|url=https://www.tvguide.com/Roush/Roush-Rosie-Live-1000292.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812155753/http://www.tvguide.com/Roush/Roush-Rosie-Live-1000292.aspx|archive-date=August 12, 2011}} while Variety wrote "If Rosie O'Donnell and company were consciously determined to strangle the rebirth of variety shows in the crib, they couldn't have done a better job of it than this pre-holiday turkey".{{Cite web|last=Lowry|first=Brian|date=2008-11-28|title=Rosie Live|url=https://variety.com/2008/tv/reviews/rosie-live-1200472011/|access-date=2024-01-24|website=Variety|language=en-US}} The show had been cleared for a tentative January 2009 launch as a regular series, but the show's poor reception led to the cancellation of those plans.

;Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell: In interviews, Director Don Mischer remembered the show as hectic and unprepared. He recalled the time that executive producer Roone Arledge discovered that Lionel Hampton was in New York, and invited the musician to appear on the show an hour before it was set to go on air.YouTube video: "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUVaekeDr7g Don Mischer Interview with the American Archive of Television – Part 1 of 5]". The show fared poorly among critics and audiences alike, with TV Guide calling it "dead on arrival, with a cringingly awkward host".TV Guide article: "[https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/saturday-night-live-howard-cosell/204224 Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell]". Alan King, the show's "executive in charge of comedy", later admitted that it was difficult to turn Cosell into a variety show host, saying that he "made Ed Sullivan look like Buster Keaton". Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell was canceled on January 17, 1976, after only 18 episodes. A year later, the NBC sketch show Saturday Night finally got permission to use the name Saturday Night Live, and hired many cast members who worked on the ABC version (including Bill Murray, who was hired after Chevy Chase left).

;The Tom Green Show: This comedy show written by and starring controversial Canadian comedian Tom Green was ranked No. 41 on TV Guide{{'}}s 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list. In 2001, Green also produced the film Freddy Got Fingered, which featured a similar style of humor and is also considered one of the worst films of all time to the point of winning the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture.{{cite news|title=Freddy heads Razzies nominations|work=BBC News|date=February 11, 2002|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1814018.stm|access-date=February 9, 2011}}

;Turn-On: Only one partial episode of this 1969 ABC sketch comedy show aired, as it was cancelled only ten minutes into its broadcast due to its off-color content.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=njVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4894,1001606|title='Turn On' Turned Off|work=Eugene Register-Guard|date=February 6, 1969|access-date=May 5, 2011|pages=3A}}{{Cite news|last=Mitchell|first=Gee|date=February 7, 1969|title=Laugh-In Copy Turns-On Yelps|page=59|work=Dayton Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76320049/laugh-in-copy-turns-on-yelps/|access-date=April 23, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oDVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=3738,1405503|title=Stations Turn Off 'Turn On'|date=February 8, 1969|access-date=April 19, 2011|agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite news|last=Shippy|first=Dick|date=February 6, 1969|title=WEWS Drops It: 'Turn-On' Quickly Turned Off|page=A-2|work=Akron Beacon Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76319225/turn-on-quickly-turned-off/|access-date=April 23, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|title=The Show That Died After One Night: The Inglorious History of 'Turn-On', a $1,000,000 TV Disaster|last1=Doan|first1=Richard K.|date=May 17–23, 1969|work=TV Guide|last2=Finnigan|first2=Joseph|page=6}} The show was ranked 27th on TV Guide's "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time",{{cite journal|year=2002|title=50 Worst Shows of All Time|journal=TV Guide}} and What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History ranked it at number 25.{{cite book|last=Hofstede|first=David|title=What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History|publisher=Back Stage Books|pages=150–151|year=2004|isbn=0-8230-8441-8}}

;The Wilton North Report: Almost from the outset, creative differences arose between the writing team, executive producer Barry Sand, and hosts Phil Cowan and Paul Robins. The hosts thought the writers' material was too sophisticated for mass audiences, and frequently not very funny. The writers thought Cowan and Robins were ignorant, and felt uncomfortable writing for them. Sand tried to make peace, seeking material that Cowan and Robins would feel comfortable with while encouraging the hosts to tone down their shrill delivery. Pre-debut rehearsals did not impress Sand or Fox executives. On November 29, 1987, the night before the show's scheduled premiere, they decided to push it back to give the crew extra time to gel (the hosts and writers had been together less than a week). Sand also scrapped the opening news review segment, believing it did not mesh with Cowan and Robin's friendly approach,[http://www.lanesarasohn.com/tvwriter/wilton01.html "An Insider's Report on the Death of 'Wilton North'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223013304/http://www.lanesarasohn.com/tvwriter/wilton01.html|date=2012-12-23}}, from Los Angeles Times, 2/14/1988 (via LaneSarasohn.com) while Fox objected to its crude humor.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-01-ca-25912-story.html "Fox Broadcasting Postpones Debut of 'Wilton North',"] from Los Angeles Times, 12/1/1987 When Wilton North finally premiered on December 11, 1987,[https://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1987_508864/wilton-north-makes-first-report-tonight.html "'Wilton North' makes first report tonight"], from Houston Chronicle, 12/11/1987 Clifford Terry of the Chicago Tribune said it took a smug, studious approach to its subject material,[https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/12/17/the-case-of-the-good-tv-show-its-a-mystery/ "The Case Of The Good Tv Show-it's A 'Mystery'"] from Chicago Tribune, 12/17/1987 while Ken Tucker of the Philadelphia Inquirer thought the "video version of Spy magazine" lacked "genuinely amusing rudeness".[https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234021/http://articles.philly.com/1987-12-18/news/26204742_1_wilton-north-report-phil-cowan-paul-robins "Fox Tries Late-night Wit Again With 'Wilton North'"], from Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/18/1987 Later episodes relied on long-form videos and feature reporting, such as a report on a dominatrix who specialized in corporal punishment, and a feature on a South Carolina high school basketball team that hadn't won a game in five years (though they pulled off a win when a Wilton North crew filmed them in action). The idea was to have Cowan and Robins serve as presenters and offer comments on what was being shown. Staff writer and commentator Paul Krassner would also be on hand to introduce and discuss "underground videos" with the hosts. Krassner, in what he would later term a "practice" segment, discussed the highlights of 1987 with Cowan and Robins on the January 1 broadcast, with the possibility that such analyses would become permanent the following week (a possibility Krassner was thrilled about, he would recall in a February 1988 Los Angeles Times piece about his time at Wilton North). By then, Fox's affiliates demanded that the show be cancelled immediately. When Fox announced Wilton North{{'}}s cancellation on January 5, 1988, network president Jamie Kellner called the show "a bit too ambitious". The show's 21st and final episode aired on January 8, 1988.

{{portal|Television|Lists}}

• List of television series canceled after one episode
• List of television series canceled before airing an episode
• List of films considered the worst
• Low culture
• Hate-watching

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Hofstede|first=David|title=What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History|publisher=Back Stage Books|year=2004|isbn=0-8230-8441-8}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100920033415/http://www.heavy.com/tv/2010/09/the-20-worst-tv-shows/ The 20 Worst TV Shows|HEAVY]
• [https://screenrant.com/worst-tv-shows-rotten-tomatoes/ 20 Worst TV Shows Ever Made (According To Rotten Tomatoes)]
• [https://screenrant.com/worst-tv-shows-ever-imdb/ 20 Worst TV Shows Ever Made (According To IMDb)]

{{Worst works}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Television Series Considered The Worst}}

Television series

Worst

Category:Criticism of television series