Classic TV Shows That Only Lasted 1 Season Or Less

Did you know that Mary Tyler Moore had a failed variety series after the success of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and that Redd Foxx tried to revive Sanford and Son without his character’s titular son? There have been numerous failed television series over the years, but some are more notable than others. Not only did the series that we’ll be taking a look at in this video fail, but they also all had reliable celebrities and characters backing them up.

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:12 - Three’s a Crowd
01:52 - Sanford
02:52 - All-American Girl
04:55 - The Chevy Chase Show
07:09 - The Golden Palace
07:40 - The Mary Tyler Moore Hour
08:00 - Tabitha
08:19 - Life with Lucy
08:38 - Outro

Some of the television shows that we’ll be exploring in this video include Three’s a Crowd, Sanford, The Chevy Chase Show, and Life with Lucy. Three’s a Crowd was a spin-off of Three’s Company, though the only returning character was John Ritter’s Jack Tripper. The show premiered a week after its parent sitcom ended and it only lasted for a single season. Sanford was meant to be a revival of Sanford and Son, though the actor who played the titular son didn’t want to return. Sadly, the revival was a failure.

The Chevy Chase Show was meant to be a big late-night hit for the relatively new Fox network in 1993. The network sunk millions of dollars into the project, though it was so unsuccessful that it was canceled after only four episodes. Finally, Life with Lucy represented the last sitcom from the legendary Lucille Ball, and it was her first failure. A few years later, she passed away. Join Facts Verse as we explore classic TV shows that only lasted for one season or less.

Classic TV Shows That Only Lasted 1 Season or Less

[FactsVerse]

*Thanks to Established Titles for sponsoring this video!*

[stebaer]

I saw Tabitha ;The Golden Palace;Three's a Crowd; Mary;and Life with Lucy these are certain examples of how some certain things can have certain limited premises.

[steviegaga]

Funny memories…. At age 70, I’ve seen at least an episode of or heard about and chose not to (often the case!) Tabitha. Sanford. Life With Lucy. Sadly milking a dry horse…. But again, plenty of laughs and a “like” for sure!

[johnmccall]

How about “The Ropers”. It was a spin-off of Three’s Company too. They tried to capitalize on the nosy Land Lords of the original series.

[truepcs]

What's with the burned in ad's volume being so loud???

[JohnLee-ptjz]

The ones I remember are the golden place, life with Lucy and Mary Tyler Moore.

[robertdragoff]

You forgot to mention Robert Mandan, who played Jack Tripper’s father in law. He was also on the TV show Soap years before as the character Chester Tate….

You could have talked about the show that was a follow up to MASH called “After MASH”

While it had Col Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Max Clinger (everyone’s favorite cross dresser) the show only lasted 2 seasons….

Halfway through it tried to change things, they even brought back Garry Burghoff as Radar O’Reilly, but the problem was you had half a show.

There was no Hawkeye, BJ Hunnicutt, Hot Lips, Major Winchester, or any of the wonderful characters that were on MASH.

And also the show Radar, which also didn’t run for long….

That was a show about Radar becoming a Police Officer….

[jessicabuckman]

They tried the same thing with the Dukes of Hazzard, They fired Tom Wopat and John Schneider and brought on two look alikes, the producers figured people only liked the car, needless to say it failed miserably., they brought both Wopat and Schneider, but the Dukes of Hazzard failed.

[noahellis]

Though I remember some of the spinoffs that came along like Tabitha, 3s a Crowd and the Lucy show, I never really got into watching any of them. Some of these networks like Fox would cut a show if it didn't get the audience numbers they wanted to see right away. One series that I really liked but they gave the early boot to was the scifi series Firefly. But Fox put Firefly on a Friday night and wasn't getting the audience numbers because, as producers have said, Friday night time slots are usually the hardest night for a new show to compete against others. They aired about 10 episodes out of 12 made. But fans of Firefly have fought to get the series another shot and it did quite well when creator/producer Joss Whedon made it into movie at the theaters.

[JohnLee-ptjz]

I was surprised life with Lucy failed, she had success with her other shows. I love lucy, the Lucy show and here's Lucy. Lucy got Gale Gordon out of retirement to be in Life with Lucy, Lucy and Gale were longtime friends.

[enigmawyoming]

Susanne Summer’s “spread” as a Playboy bunny is a classic fantasy of mine.

[CyndisKrist]

The Girl With Something Extra only lasted one season, too, I think. I liked the premise but felt the show could've done more with it. I believe it ran in the 70s, a time when restrictions were loosening a bit but still on the cusp between what could and couldn't be included. Loved the two leads, John Davidson and Sally Field.

[skye.]

I watched the Chevy Chase show back when. It's a shame that it was the flop because Chevy Chase was a pretty funny guy but somehow he ended up antagonizing all of his guests and arguing with some of them. I never understood what happened

[earnold]

He had a wonderful successful TV show before ate Simple Rules it was called Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS. Speaking of John Ritter

[CaptainMarvelsSon]

And now, almost EVERY original series by streaming sites is one season. Just as you start to enjoy it, the show is over.

[angeleverable]

You might also mention Wayne Rogers's horrible one-season show after he left MASH, the detective series CITY OF ANGELS. And, don't get me started on the TV version of PLANET OF THE APES.

[ferociousgumby]

Why is the ad TWICE AS LOUD as the rest of the video? I was blasted out of my chair. I also don't get this "lord or lady" thing at all. Makes no sense.

[timmitchell]

The original Battlestar Galactica. I was in 5th grade for its one-season run. To this day I have friends who swear it went for at least 4 or 5 seasons.

[seanroche]

How about great pilots that didn’t air like our beloved Elvira Mistress of the Dark, that pilot is a scream

[alfonsogreen]

I wasn't born when Sanford and Son was on NBC but I loved it when it on syndication as reruns. I was 2 years old when Sanford came out. I didn't really like Sanford that much because it didn't match the success of Sanford and Son. It wasn't the same without Lamont. Even though the late Nathaniel Taylor reprised his role as Rollo he didn't stay long