Failed Reality Shows
Every season a countless number of reality shows are produced and either never make it onto the air, or are cancelled after only a few episodes. Here are just a few of the shows that didn’t make it this year:
America’s Next Top Plastic Surgeon – Following on the heels of the highly popular America’s Next Top Endocrinologist (which had the fifth highest ratings among medical-specialist reality shows of the latter half of June), the show pitted sixteen total strangers against each other in the contest to become America’s next great face artist. Contestants were put through a series of challenges in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, but production had to be halted after numerous malpractice lawsuits. The show’s producers tried once again, this time hiring only trained and licensed medical doctors, but the studio deemed it too risky to force surgeons to perform rhinoplasties with only the use of a stethoscope and a putty-knife.
Cribs – This was supposed to be a British edition of the highly successful show of the same title from Sweden. Critically acclaimed there for its insightful exploration of the baby-containment furniture industry, it failed to catch on in the U.K. While ratings were quite strong originally, it turned out that most of those viewers were actually hoping to see Darrell Hammond’s house, and not learn about the history of the electric mobile. After two episodes, the show was cancelled.
Who Wants to be a Librarian? – Production was complicated when the Amherst Library refused to allow the contestants to speak at any volume louder than a whisper. Ratings remained low for the first few episodes until viewers realized they could almost make out the confessionals if they turned the volume all the way up. The show was strained even further when it was revealed that Miranda, an audience favorite for her wild and crazy card-catalog technique, had actually been a librarian for seventeen years. The negative press was significant, but had almost abated until in episode twelve Shawntelle was forced to do story time in the children’s section, and divulged she was actually illiterate.
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