24 Brutal TV Shows That Were Adapted From Great Movies

Shows that failed to capitalize on a movie’s success
24 Brutal TV Shows That Were Adapted From Great Movies

Swing and a miss! Well, look at us with our sports . See, we’re more than just hoity-toity writers, Dad! 

Where were we? Okay, so the “swingers” in this scenario were producers who thought that a TV show based on a highly successful movie would easily score big ratings. That has been the case for some shows, but these producers couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Here’s what happens when you mess with a good thing…

Heathers

HEATHERS SHOULD'VE JUST STAYED DEAD CRACKED.COM A rash of real-life school shootings made the original's dark comedy downright tasteless in 2018. The remake came off as a repugnant, mean-spirited attempt at satire that uses smug wokeness as a hall .

Weird Science

USA NETWORK COOKED UP SOME WEIRD SCIENCE CRACKED.COM For five (!) seasons, Gary and Wyatt continued to not get busy with computer- generated dream gal Lisa. She still has the ability to grant wishes, except for the actors' desire to look like real teenagers.

School of Rock

YOU'RE TACKY AND I HATE YOU SCHOOL OF ROCK CRACKED.COM Not only was there a Nickelodeon kid-centric version of School of Rock, it lasted for three freaking seasons. This Dewey Finn is super-into being a teacher -- he's Jack Black with the rough edges sanded off.

Evolution

Disastrous Comedy 2001 Alienators: Evolution Continues The raunchy sci-fi comedy Evolution was not for children, but the spinoff cartoon series tried to make it for kids by ripping off Real Ghostbusters and releasing a toy line. The movie wasn't all that memorable, so no adult or child ever asked for this. CRACKED

The Outsiders

COPPOLA STAYED FAR FROM THE OUTSIDERS CRACKED.COM When The Outsiders premiered in 1990, it scored the highest rating ever for a Fox drama. (That's Billy Bob Thornton as the owner of Sodapop's service station.) Unfortunately, ratings then plummeted faster than you can lisp S.E. Hinton.

Blade

THE VAMPIRES REALLY SUCKED ON BLADE: THE SERIES CRACKED.COM Cashing in on one of the first Marvel film hits, Blade: The Series featured more naked ladies than a Cinemax Saturday night. The acting and action, unfortunately, were pay-cable exploitation quality as well.

Bad News Bears

NO BEER FOR THE TV COACH OF THE BAD NEWS BEARS BEANS BEARS BEARS 2 BEARS CRACKED.COM The fun of the original Bad News Bears movie was watching kids curse and fight as they lost baseball games. Take away the bad words and violence and you're left with a bunch of cute-ish kids who stink at Little League.

9 to 5

SECOND-RATE STARS WORKED 9 TO 5 2 4 CRACKED.COM 9 to 5 was full of semi-famous relatives: Dolly Parton is replaced by sister Rachel; Jane Curtin's cousin Valerie nabbed Jane Fonda's role, and Rita Moreno took over for Lily Tomlin. The show sucked, relatively speaking.

Serpico

SERPICO GRACKED.COM Al Pacino earned an Oscar nomination for his 1973 role as real-life whistleblower, Frank Serpico. The TV series aired on NBC in 1976, with critics saying, it lacked the raw, suspenseful elements of the film and was ultimately canceled after 14 episodes.

Working Girl

WORKING GIRL CRACKED.COM The 1988 film was nominated for Best Picture and its lead, Melanie Griffith was nominated for Best Actress. The 1990 series did give Sandra Bullock her first taste of the spotlight, but critics say the messy pilot was just the 2 hour movie condensed to 23 minutes, and only 8 of its 12 produced episodes made it to air.

Clueless

AS IF TV COULD IMPROVE ON CLUELESS CRACKED COM Amy Heckerling originally developed Clueless as a TV pilot before it was turned into a hit movie. Cher Horowitz comes full circle in a sitcom that was quickly cancelled. That was way harsh, Tai.

My Big Fat Greek Life

MY BIG FAT BE GREEK LIFE VISIT THI CRACKED.COM My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a massive hit, making over $350 mill on a $5 mill budget. CBS jumped at the chance for a series, but the fresh feel and genuine humor of the movie was replaced by a formulaic sitcom. After just 7 episodes, it was never heard from again.

Dumb and Dumber

DUMB & BE DUMBER CRACKED.COM Dumb and Dumber was a huge hit in 1994, so ABC rushed a cartoon to piggyback off of that success. The cartoon was aimed at children (who were too young to go see the movie), featured a talking beaver named Kitty, and only lasted 3 months before cancellation.

Police Academy

POLICE ACADEMY BE CRACKED.COM Because seven 'Police Academy' films weren't enough, producer Paul Maslansky brought it to TV in 1997. The one returning cast member, human sound machine Michael Winslow, wasn't enough to keep it going, and the show was cancelled after one season.

Delta House

ANIMAL HOUSE CRACKED.COM 1979's 'Delta House' had a ton of the original cast, Ivan Reitman as the executive producer, and John Hughes as a writer. Unfortunately, the lack of Jim Belushi, and strict FCC censorship watered down the raunch Animal House was known for, but the show's one season did give the world Michelle Pfeiffer.

Ferris Bueller

FERRIS BE BUELLER CRACKED COM Again, it's a bad sign if John Hughes wants no part of it. The film was a massive hit, but fans and critics called TV's 'Ferris Bueller' the most intolerable television spin-off of a beloved motion picture ever. 12 of its 13 episodes aired in 1990-91 before cancellation.

Conan the Adventurer

CONAN THE BE BARBARIAN CRACKED COM With hit 90s fantasies like 'Hercules' and 'Xena,' producers decided to reach back to the 1982 movie for a 1997 TV show 'Conan the Adventurer.' A 1992 animated series with the same name lasted 2 seasons, but 97's live action show was a flop and cancelled after 22 episodes.

Bill & Ted

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE GRACKED.COM Shouting Excellent! every episode got not-so excellent real quick. Variety said, Taking two-dimensional teen time travelers and making a movie was a good idea. Taking one-dimensional teen time travelers and making a weekly series is not a good idea. Only 7 episodes aired in 1992 before cancellation.

Dirty Dancing

DIRTY DANCING ES SODA CRACKED.COM The first episode of the CBS series 'Dirty Dancing' had strong ratings, because it had only been one year since Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey lit up movie screens. Once fans realized the actors, dance moves just weren't the same, ratings plummeted and the show was cancelled, airing 10 of the 11 episodes.

10 Things I Hate About You

10 THINGS I HATE BE ABOUT YOU CRACKED.COM All you late 20-somethings want a TV show of that movie you liked as a teen? The 1999 movie had some great moments and a breakout performance from Heath Ledger, but the 2009 TV remake was one of many forgettable high school shows of the time, and it was cancelled after a single season.

Uncle Buck

UNCLE BUCK UES CRACKED.COM John Hughes condemned the idea of the 1990 CBS sitcom. The film made 80 mill and gave us Macauley Culkin, but the show had the parents die in a car accident and lacked John Candy. It was canceled after 16 episodes, and a 2nd TV adaptation with Mike Epps suffered the same fate in 2016.

RoboCop

ROBOCOP BE CRACKED COM Three up, three down. Both the 1988 animated show and 1994 live-action series had less violence and gritty realism than the 1987 film, and the live-action series struggled to match the special effects. Neither of these 'RoboCop'TV programs lasted more than one season. A slightly better animated attempt had 40 episodes in 1998, but suffered the same fate.

Rush Hour

RUSH HOUR CRACKED.COM Rush Hour worked because of the surprising chemistry between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Justin Hires and Jon Foo weren't bad in the 2016 TV show, but they're simply not Tucker and Chan. Formulaic plots, uninspired comedy, and mediocre action led to the show's one-season/13 episode demise.

Fast Times

FAST TIMES BE THE OCEAN FA HAHT 12 ATHEDS SEA SHELL COOH NERGY PLACE EAR HERE ST UN OKE JOZE MAN CRACKED.COM No sex or drugs this time, but we'll be fine, right? With only two actors-Ray Walston (Mr. Hand) and Vincent Schiavelli (Mr. Vargas) reprising their roles, and the more PG storylines, CBS' forgettable 'Fast Times' disappeared after just 7 episodes in 1986.

Tags:

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

?