10 TV Shows That Seemed Too Big To Fail… But Then Did Anyway

In a golden age of television with blockbuster budgets, movie star casts, and ultra-talented teams behind the scenes, some shows have still fallen short of acclaim. Several platforms hope to elevate their streaming service portfolios with well-known property titles and projects from famous filmmakers and actors. Services have been willing to throw large budgets at these shows to expand their libraries. With all the right ingredients involved, some TV series seem too big to fail, yet somehow defy expectations.

Of course, with so many variables going into the production of any movie or show, it’s impossible to predict how anything will turn out. If 2023 has proven anything, it’s that money can’t buy public appeal for a project, as many of the highest-budget films of the year were critical failures. No studio, writer, or actor sets out to make a bad project, but the general cultural reaction is vicious toward high-budget flops.

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10 The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power

Despite the largest budget ever, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show wasn’t up to par.

After The Hobbit trilogy, fans were rightfully skeptical of another Tolkien adaptation. Realistically speaking, though, the highest-costing TV show ever made should be good. With over $450 million spent on a project, more than most feature films, there’s no excuse for Prime Video’s Rings of Power’s lackadaisical opening season. While the Lord of the Rings prequel series is visually stunning and well-acted, the main issue is its writing, which lacks much of the authentic character development that Peter Jackson’s film trilogy had.

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9 The Witcher

Netflix’s The Witcher should’ve been their big fantasy break, but even Henry Cavill couldn’t save it.

Following Game of Thrones, every streaming service wanted its own fantasy epic to contend with the cultural phenomenon HBO had. Netflix’s The Witcher should’ve been the answer, with a fantastic world constructed by author Andrzej Sapkowski, a massive fan base from the video game adaptations, and the perfect Geralt of Rivia casting in Henry Cavill. Not to mention, Cavill’s love for the material made him instantly beloved. Like The Rings of Power, The Witcher is suffering in its writing, which has worsened the further it strayed from its source material, much to the dismay of Sapkowski, who claimed the showrunners never listened to him (via Gamespot).

8 Halo

An adaptation of one of the biggest games ever, Halo was unfortunately a mess.

Paramount+ tried its hand in a video game adaptation sci-fi series with Halo. Like The Witcher, Halo should’ve been able to rely on a devoted audience. A $10 million per episode budget made the series look fantastic, with Master Chief and the Spartans ideal replications of their iconic game counterparts. However, the series again suffered due to choppy writing, diverting almost entirely from the masterful story game players are familiar with.

7 Camelot

The Starz fantasy show had a massive budget for its time and only lasted ten episodes.

Period dramas and fantasy shows are always expensive, and Starz tried its take on Arthurian legend with a $7 million per episode budget. For its time in a pre-Game of Thrones world, this budget was gigantic, and the series brought on movie actors like Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green to round out its cast. Camelot also boasted a producer duo from the successful shows Torchwood and The Tudors. The series was canceled after only one season, becoming an infamous, expensive failure.

6 Secret Invasion

With a star-studded cast and MCU brand, Secret Invasion was very unpopular.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe released movies without fail for almost a decade, but the perception of the highest-grossing film franchise ever has become more mixed in recent years. Disney+ TV shows like Secret Invasion are one of the primary reasons why. With an adaptation of a celebrated comic storyline, a ridiculously talented cast headlined by Samuel L. Jackson, and the advantage of a dominant multimedia franchise, there’s no reason the series should’ve been a failure. Still, Secret Invasion became the worst MCU TV show.

5 Westworld

HBO’s next big hit tanked after a stellar premiere season.

It’s incredibly uncommon for an HBO series to fail, and Westworld started off as a title with unbelievable potential. With an incredible cast and a behind-the-scenes team led by Jonathan Nolan, the sci-fi series could’ve been the follow-up to Game of Thrones in terms of a show with extensive worldbuilding and top-quality production. Unfortunately, Westworld went wrong in several ways. Starting in season 2, the series continued to grow more convoluted with new theme parks, and an unclear timeline resulted in a decline in viewership and the series ultimately being canceled.

4 The Idol

The Euphoria creator’s next show had all the ingredients for success.

Sam Levinson has been one of HBO’s most successful creative assets in recent years with the commercial and critically successful Euphoria. With the involvement of Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd, Levinson’s The Idol seemed to fit the bill for another cultural hit. Instead, it was a seriously overhyped TV show that became highly controversial, with overtly provocative material and cringe-worthy dialogue. After one season, HBO’s The Idol experiment was canceled.

3 The Book Of Boba Fett

The first Star Wars miniseries relied too heavily on cameos.

Behind the MCU, Star Wars is the second highest-grossing franchise ever, giving it an enormous edge over other shows in terms of budget and expected viewership. But Star Wars fans deserve high-quality TV, too, and The Book of Boba Fett is one of the worst Star Wars shows that’s been made. The series attempted to bring to life a classic character from the original trilogy but scarcely utilized any qualities that made Boba Fett so memorable. On top of already resurrecting the titular character, The Book of Boba Fett relied too heavily on cameo appearances from The Mandalorian characters and Cad Bane to appeal to its audience.

2 Inhumans

ABC’s Marvel show is a forgotten disaster.

Before Disney+ began making Marvel shows, the ABC network was a source for TV loosely related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Inhumans intended to add an interesting new element to the MCU, bringing in Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon to promote the complex character ensemble the Marvel show intended to have. On top of poor costumes and special effects, the writing failed to do justice to its rich comic book characters. The ABC series technically isn’t canon to the MCU, but the exceeding expectations for the series made it a shocking failure.

1 Citadel

Prime Video’s ultra-expensive espionage thriller flopped.

The Rings of Power isn’t the only enormously expensive Amazon Prime Video series. With an absurdly high $250 million budget for a six-episode show, the espionage thriller Citadel was considered a massive flop on its release. Richard Madden has been an exciting young actor to watch, and he’s paired with Priyanka Chopra to make for a charismatic, alluring spy duo. Despite their charm and the support of veteran actors Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville, Citadel was one of 2023’s most underwhelming TV shows.

Sources: Gamespot