TV shows that were surprising hits

While we could be talking about the original British version of “The Office,” we are talking about the American version in this instance. People were a little puzzled by the mockumentary starring Steve Carell in the first season. “The Office” felt too much like its British counterpart. However, Carell then became a movie star thanks to “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and the show became extremely popular on iTunes. Suddenly, “The Office” was a hit, and it would last for over 200 episodes.

The chronicles of “Seinfeld” have been well-cataloged, going back to the original pilot when the show was called “The Seinfeld Chronicles” and Elaine wasn’t even a character. It began life as a midseason replacement, and it was a ratings dud for years. NBC would have been justified in cancelling it, but the network had faith in the show. That faith paid off, of course, as “Seinfeld” is now regarded as perhaps the most iconic ‘90s sitcom.

The initial success of “Saved by the Bell” is a bit surprising. It was a spinoff, or perhaps a reboot, of an unsuccessful kids show called “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” that aired on Disney Channel for a season. NBC wanted to keep an audience of kids who were growing out of watching cartoons, so they decided to take a gamble on Zack Morris and the gang. It worked, as the show lasted for several seasons and through two spinoffs. The real surprise, though, is the long shelf life “Saved by the Bell” has had with people who grew up with it. There was even a pop-up restaurant in the style of The Max, the diner from the show, in Chicago and L.A.

It may be hard to remember now, but for years AMC was not a channel with original programming. It just showed movies, hence the name American Movie Channel. People were not used to going to it for TV shows when “Mad Men” debuted. We had no idea what to expect. What we got was a critical darling that turned Jon Hamm into a star.

Prime-time game shows were out of fashion by 1999. They mostly just aired in syndication. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” debuted in August as a way to fill some time in the late summer before the fall season began. Instead, viewers went wild for it. It was relaunched as an hourlong show in November and would eventually become so popular they aired it five nights a week and spawned a bunch of imitations.

The movie “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” made $16 million in the box office in 1992. It was forgettable, and few people remembered it when the WB decided to turn it into a TV show. With Sarah Michelle Gellar now in the titular role, “Buffy” made its TV debut in March 1997, replacing a forgotten show called “Savannah.” It took a little while to get going — the first season has some really cheap special effects — but eventually “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” became a cult classic that would run for seven seasons across two networks.

As the old saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed…That seemed to be a lesson Chris Carter, creator of “The X-Files,” took to heart. When he first pitched his sci-fi show to Fox, the network passed on it. He tweaked it a bit, took it back to Fox and, this time, got a green light. In due time, it would be one of the most popular shows, and certainly the most popular drama, on the growing Fox network.

Yes, believe it or not, the iconic show that has been on the air for 30 seasons was a surprise hit. Just put yourself in the mindset of a person in 1989. It had been years since there was a prime-time animated comedy on TV. Fox was a new network that was still trying to attract viewers. “The Simpsons” could have easily flopped. Many were skeptical. Instead, audiences went wild, Bart Simpson quickly became a pop culture icon, soon followed by his father Homer, and history was made.

OK, so you’ve got a kids show about teenagers who are some sorts of superheroes. However, a bunch of the show is stock footage from Japanese shows. The creators just took some American kids and had them act out some scenes to splice that Japanese footage together and threw in some dubbing. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? Critically speaking, it was, but kids didn’t care. “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” became a phenomenon among kids in the ‘90s. A lot of them probably didn’t even realize just how much stock footage they were watching.

While it feels weird to hear now, the original “Star Trek” series wasn’t that popular when it first aired. It only lasted a few seasons, it really had to fight for that last one and it wasn’t until it got into syndication that it became a big hit. It would then take 20 years before they decided to take a shot at a new “Star Trek” series. No network wanted “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” so they had to settle for syndication. Patrick Stewart has said he didn’t unpack his stuff for the first six months of making the show, as he was sure it would flop. Instead, it would last for 178 episodes and spawn movies.

“Mad Men” had debuted on AMC prior to “Breaking Bad,” but it was the second original show out of the gate for the network. While “Mad Men” was getting a little traction, the network was still new to the game. Plus, “Breaking Bad” has a premise that could have easily fallen through. It was the dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” cooking meth. Indeed, the first season didn’t grab viewers, but eventually people caught on. By the time it ended, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were getting Emmys, and the show was a hit.

Talk about an underdog story. The three men behind “It’s Always Sunny,” who also happen to be three of the stars, made the pilot on their own to shop around to networks. They got FX to pay for a super cheap first season, but nobody watched it. John Landgraf, President of FX, told them they liked the show, but changes were needed. Danny DeVito agreed to join the show, and now “Always Sunny” has been on TV for 15 seasons.

“Happy Days” spawned several spinoffs, but it was itself a spinoff. In fact, a failed pilot for the show ended up on an episode of “Love, American Style.” Then, Ron Howard ended up in “American Graffiti,” and suddenly people were interested in the show again. “Happy Days” was a midseason replacement show, so obviously expectations weren’t high. Indeed, the first season got middling ratings. Then they decided to focus more on a charismatic biker called “The Fonz,” and the rest was history.

“The Sopranos” wasn’t the first original show on HBO. It is the one that made it a TV powerhouse, though. “The Sopranos” was a dark drama focused on a loathsome protagonist. This was not yet common on television. It was a big swing, but HBO knocked it out of the park. Every success the network had after “The Sopranos” was hard to consider a surprise.

Fox, as a network, debuted in October 1986. “Married…with Children” aired its first episode in 1987. It was basically the first show the network put out there to introduce itself. On top of that, it was a crass sitcom, a family show that luxuriated in showing dysfunction. There was a lot of controversy around Al, Peg and the rest of the Bundy family. That controversy may have helped turn it into a surprise hit, though. In the end, “Married…with Children” aired for a decade, helping establish Fox as a network.

A show based on Archie comics…in 2017? Also, a sexy, sultry version of the Archie characters? The idea seems kind of odd on the surface. Would the CW’s audience care? Did any of them even know anything about Archie, Betty and the rest of the Riverdale gang? Well, maybe the origins of the show didn’t matter. It’s a bunch of attractive 20-somethings in a prime-time soap opera. That’s often a recipe for a hit, even if the idea of sexy Jughead seems bizarre.

It was a long, twisted road to success for “Three’s Company.” Though they were remaking a British show, the adaptation process was a tricky one. The first pilot failed, and then the show was ordered as a midseason replacement after a second pilot was shown. However, they were unhappy with the actress who played Chrissy, so even though the show had been ordered, they produced a third pilot, this time with Suzanne Somers in the Chrissy role. After all that, it was still a midseason replacement show expected to air six episodes and be cancelled. Instead, audiences loved it, and it lasted eight seasons, even though the cast went through a lot of changes, including replacing Somers after the fifth season.

There have been many popular Nick cartoons. However, they rarely capture the zeitgeist. Kids loved “Rugrats,” but “Rugrats” only lasted a few seasons, and it didn’t create a huge cultural phenomenon. Somehow, “SpongeBob” did that. It’s a show about a happy-go-lucky sponge. It’s also the most successful show in Nickelodeon history. They’ve done 12 seasons, 247 episodes, and it’s still technically an active show.

Reality TV is ubiquitous now. There are so many reality shows out there of different flavors. You can watch real housewives from around the United States. Back when “Real World,” debuted, though, it was revolutionary. A show dedicated to just watching people living their lives was a rare, strange thing. MTV needed to fill airtime, though, as it started to air fewer music videos. “Real World” connected with MTV’s young audience, and it helped spawn the reality TV explosion.

Want to talk about rejection? The Duffer Brothers saw their idea for “Stranger Things” passed on by 15 networks. They all were worried about a show centered on kids. Netflix, not yet the powerhouse it is now, was willing to take a shot on the show. It had Winona Ryder to get people interested, but beyond that, “Stranger Things” was a mystery. Then it became a huge sensation. Those 15 networks are probably kicking themselves now.

The network sitcom is definitely not on the same level it used to be. A network show hitting the airs in 2021 did not necessarily have huge hopes tied to it. Somehow, though, "Abbott Elementary" has really grabbed people. It became a hit during its first season, a critical darling, and also an awards favorite. Sheryl Lee Ralph even won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award at the Emmys.

Canadian television. Even many Canadians don't watch much of it. "Schitt's Creek" was a CBC show, Canada's answer to the BBC, that aired in America on the Pop Network. Then, after its third season, it arrived on Netflix. People starting catching up with it, and suddenly "Schitt's Creek" was as big as any sitcom. Even though it was primarily watched on Netflix as opposed to on either network where it aired, Dan Levy's show really took off, became perhaps the hit comedy of the COVID-19 pandemic, and won all seven major comedy awards at the Emmys for its final season. Canadian TV has never been so popular.