Top Ten Cancelled Reality Television Shows

In my premier project with the working title Prime Time Spies a fictional streaming giant called SuperFlix gives sixteen contestants the chance at winning big money by eliminating the competition in an espionage-themed stunt challenge show called Spy Games.

The show and its rules were inspired by reality television legends like Survivor, The Amazing Race, and The Mole. However, not every reality show is a hit, and some of them are quite controversial and sketchy. I admit I didn’t catch a single episode of some of these shows, and yet they all intrigue me. Here is a list of shows that didn’t last more than a season, and in my world Spy Games would far outshine.

10. Mr. Personality

First Aired by Fox in 2003

The start of the new millennium saw a lot of strange shows as we tried to redefine ourselves as a nation. Not many years before, Monica Lewinsky had been at the heart of a scandal, but here she was host to a Bachelor style television show where all the men wore masks the entire time. We should have heeded this warning on how the political world and the world of entertainment are not too far separated.

9. Proving Ground

First Aired by G4 in 2011

The first stunt show on the list, and the program most likely to have tried to pull off some of the best action sequences in Prime Time Spies, proving ground starred Ryan Dunn of Jackass fame and Jessica Chobot, the acclaimed video game journalist. The show used stunt technology and a group of experts to recreate moments from movies and games, but tragically Dunn passed away in a car accident. The show had filmed nine episodes, but could not continue. Perhaps a reboot would honor Dunn?

8. American Candidate

First aired on Showtime in 2004

Built to mirror the 2004 election, American Candidate pitted eleven amateur politicians against each other. They came from a diverse range of political backgrounds, to include Independents and Libertarians. The two contestants with the least online popular votes had a debate each week and then one was eliminated. Again the theme surfaces of how the line is blurred between entertainment and real life politics. The show only lasted one season, but I would venture to say in 2016 and 2020 it had the best ratings. Huge and very “bigly” ratings.

7. Stylista

First Aired on the CW in 2008

Pitched as the Devil Wears Prada meets reality television, this show took The Apprentice formula and applied it to the world of fashion. Produced by Tyra Banks and Hosted by Elle’s Fashion News Director at the time, Anne Slowey. The winner was awarded an entry level position at Elle and fashion prizes amounting to 100,000 dollars. Considering the popularity of Disney’s Cruella, maybe they should give it another try but this time involve a few dalmatians as mascots.

6. Anchorwoman

First Aired by Fox in 2007

After the success of the first Anchorman movie, maybe someone at Fox thought this would be a good idea. The simple premise is to take a model with zero qualifications in journalism and see if she can become a successful news anchor. The show was panned by critics and real journalists as being an insult to journalism. But could this have worked? I think it could have using The Apprentice model, where a group of people train with real intent to succeed, rather than make a mockery of a profession. America loves an underdog, and any show which takes the unqualified and has them learn on the fly is at the heart of Spy Games. Maybe they should have at least made her cover a hurricane to experience some real danger.

5. The Hasselhoffs

First Aired by A&E in 2010

There are a lot of sub genres in reality television. So many I don’t cover them all on this list. Cooking Game Shows, House Flipping Shows, and plenty of strange shows in between like Pawn Stars and Duck Dynasty. But I can’t skip over the “follow the celebrity family” type of show. Even back before we had “reality” television we had “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” The western audience loves to obsess over their celebrities. So why wasn’t “The Hoff” and his family as intriguing as say The Osbornes, or the Kardashians? My theory - they were a little too normal in comparison. For a Hollywood family, that’s saying a lot.

4. Farmer Wants A Wife

First aired on ITV in the UK in 2001, then on the CW in 2008

Bachelor style reality television shows are not my cup of tea, but they are a popular trope networks like to experiment with. If I had known about this show, I might have tried it out for a few episodes just to see women who have never lifted a shovel struggle to do farm work to impress a man. As much as we here in the United States boast about our farmers and even have dedicated farmer dating sites, it came as a surprise the British beat us to this premise. And then the Australians rolled with it in 2007. It was finally picked up by a Canadian network (The CW) which then broadcasted to US audiences. A hugely popular show in more than ten countries only got one season in the nation with a famed breadbasket. Guess our farmers would rather have a woman who knows how to work.

3. Capture

First Aired on The CW in 2013

Recently, Youtuber Mr. Beast managed to put on a live action version of Squid Game. He got more views for his version in a week than the actual show received in a month. In 2013, the craze of the day was Hunger Games (of which Squid Game was compared to in limited capacity.) A real life Battle Royal where teams compete for limited resources sounds rad, but Capture only got one season. Teams were eliminated for failing challenges and getting “captured”. Maybe if there were ways the contestants could directly fight and eliminate each other, the show would have had better ratings. There are plenty of ways to do this safely. Just sign the complicated waiver for any bodily injury.

2. Splash

First Aired on ABC in 2013

The success of Dancing With the Stars launched a series of copycat shows for celebrities to try their hand at different talents, to include ice skating. Splash was one of them, a high high diving competition for famous people. This premise may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but half the contestants got injured or had to withdraw for fear they would be hurt. The celebrities pictured were coached by Olympic high diving champion Greg Louganis, but in such an erratic and potentially dangerous sport, one needs years of training. It is worth repeating how I love the idea of teaching amateurs to take on interesting, difficult, or challenging professions, but this one probably should have been left dead in the water. Make the celebrities do The Floor is Lava instead.

1. Pirate Master

First Aired by CBS in 2007

This was the show to truly inspire the fictional television show of Spy Games and the story of Prime Time Spies. Most of us only saw half the season. Only by researching for this blog have I discovered the rest of the one and only season can be found online. What a grand premise developed by Mark Burnett of Survivor, Voice, and Shark Tank fame. This show was wrought with tragedy when one of the cast members committed suicide a week after being eliminated, and the cloud hanging over the show remained. In the end, the ratings didn’t justify the cost. Still, the idea of someone being elected leader of a crew and then cast aside if they fail is a premise which could work in a multitude of genres, and I would love to see another attempt at something like this.