This CBS series, Gary Unmarried, followed the story of a divorced couple co-parenting their two children while starting their new separate relationships and lives. The show seemed to have a good start, as it won the”Favorite New TV Comedy” award at the 35th People’s Choice Awards. However, they couldn’t maintain the momentum apparently, and the show was canceled in 2010, after 2 seasons.
To give Gary Unmarried some credit, the show did tackle some interesting themes, and the fact that a divorced couple was at the core of its premise was relatively unique in 2008.
2006: Twenty Good Years
"It is a male version of 'The Golden Girls,' but with weaker writing." - The New York Times What a hit below the belt, considering the network NBC thought they had a sure thing with two comedic legends, Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow, staring on their new show. Twenty Good Years followed the life of two 'seasoned' men who were forced into retirement. And although they are pretty much polar opposites of each other, the one thing they agree on is that they have 20 "good" years left to live, and they want to live them the best they can.
The show’s premise wasn't bad, and the talent was phenomenal, however, the writing was so poor, that none of the aforementioned could save it. Twenty Good Years was canceled after one season. The Golden Girls re-runs it is!
2009: Brothers
Michael Strahan enjoyed a successful 15-year-long professional football career with the New York Giants. After he retired as a pro athlete, he decided to give acting a chance, nothing unheard of before then. In 2009 he would star in his own TV show, Brothers, a series that focused on his character's careworn relationship with his brother. Their parents in the show played the force that would try to drive the two siblings to resolve their issues.
The ratings for the show's debut were quite a disappointment and did not improve much over the course of its 13-episode run. Thus, after one season Brothers was dropped by its network, Fox. Luckily for him, the failed show wouldn't keep Strahan from show-biz. Since the show's cancellation, he's experienced much success as a Daytime talk show host and a sports analyst.
2009: Hank
After the huge success of Cheers and Fraiser, the Hollywood acclaimed actor, Kelsey Grammer, was cast in yet another sitcom called Hank. This time he portrayed a high-powered business executive who lived the big city life with his wife and two children. That is until he gets let go from his lucrative CEO job. No longer able to afford their luxurious lifestyle, Hank and his family move from New York City to the much smaller and modest town of River Bend, Virginia.
This Country Mouse and City Mouse Adventure received generally negative reviews. One TV critic, Linda called Hank one of the worst new comedies on television. Grammer himself said that many times he found the script to be too "unfunny".
2014: Stalker
With Primetime television, sometimes it about who is willing to take a risk. And CBS took a huge risk when they decided to air Stalker. The story followed an LAPD Lt. who's an expert in cyber harassment, romantic fixation, and voyeurism. She, along with her team try to prevent and investigate such horrific crimes. What ended up on air were some of the most disturbing scenes ever seen on primetime television. The show was so creepy and dark that no one could bear to watch it, so CBS quickly snatched the show off the air after its first season.
Stalker received overwhelmingly negative reviews from viewers and critics alike. It was referred to as exploitative and misogynist. The Los Times wrote about the show "The violence, creepiness, and depravity appear to be the point because nothing of value is offered in balance... It's unforgivable." The question that remains is did anyone actually watch the pilot before the show was approved?