Top 10 Cruel TV Shows That Got Cancelled
Do we really need this much TV? For this list, we’ll be looking at ill-conceived, mean-spirited television series and specials that got the ax in one way or another.
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00:00 "You finally did it, didn't you? You finally went one step too far, Mr. Big Shot. Well,
00:05 don't say I didn't warn you."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10
00:10 cruel TV shows that got canceled.
00:12 "Keep going."
00:13 "Yeah."
00:14 "I've revealed too much right now to stop, so I gotta…"
00:17 "Oh, you've revealed too much? Stop!"
00:19 For this list, we'll be looking at ill-conceived, mean-spirited television
00:23 series and specials that got the axe in one way or another.
00:27 We're casting a wide net by including programs that faced straightforward, overt cancellation,
00:33 as well as ones that were postponed indefinitely.
00:36 Which of these shows made you cringe the hardest? Sound off in the comments.
00:40 10. I Wanna Marry Harry
00:44 It was not the first sham dating show on American television, but
00:47 I Wanna Marry Harry was definitely one of the more unnecessary ones.
00:51 "Welcome to the fairy tale."
00:53 "That's a horrible feeling, to know that you were wrong all along."
00:56 "That could become a nightmare."
00:58 The contestants were not initially told who their mysterious bachelor would be,
01:02 but the American women cast to compete were immediately taken with the Britishness of it all.
01:07 The castle, the staff, the accents, and more were all meant to point them in one clear direction.
01:14 They were trying to romance Prince Harry.
01:16 "Like, who else has secret service? The queen, the president…"
01:21 "This is the coolest thing ever."
01:24 "Michael Jackson…"
01:26 "Oh my God."
01:28 "I don't think he's any one of them."
01:30 The prince was actually Matthew Hicks, who is not royal.
01:33 According to at least one former cast member, several dishonest tactics were used behind the
01:38 scenes to make the women believe he really was Harry. In the end, the show was cancelled,
01:43 halfway through the season.
01:45 "I barely remember a single name."
01:47 "Don't worry about that."
01:48 "Yeah, fingers crossed."
01:50 9. Man vs. Beast
01:52 In 2003, Fox aired a TV special that saw humans competing in physical feats against wild animals.
01:58 "Sean is putting up a valiant fight right to the end, but tonight the zebra took down the cheetah man."
02:04 Needless to say, animal advocates, and much of the general public, were outraged.
02:08 The controversy didn't stop them from airing a second special the next year.
02:13 "Bam Bam's very serious right now. You can see he's looking,
02:15 swinging back and forth, taunting the gymnast."
02:18 "Definitely taunting him."
02:19 However, when Man vs. Beast was adapted for British television, there was a huge backlash.
02:24 Though filmed, the show was scrapped indefinitely, and never aired any of its six episodes.
02:29 Animal Cruelty has gotten high-profile shows cancelled,
02:32 but it's a wonder this one ever made it to air in America, let alone twice.
02:37 "Oh, it's down! It's down time!"
02:40 8. Bridalplasty
02:43 Dr. Terry Dubrow may be a renowned plastic surgeon,
02:46 but his contribution to television here is less than stellar.
02:49 On Bridalplasty, his services were part of the prize package.
02:53 "Alexandra and her dress are all that stand between me and my boob job."
02:57 The series pitted 12 women against each other to win their ideal nuptials and cosmetic procedures.
03:02 Plus, each episode, whoever won that week's challenge, would also win a single procedure,
03:07 such as a nose job or implants.
03:09 Some of these contestants almost stumble into these moments of clarity about how problematic it all is.
03:14 "Having these 15 surgeries, or more, it's a lot.
03:18 But to have complete confidence."
03:23 It might work as satire if it weren't so upsettingly real.
03:27 The show was lambasted by critics and professional plastic surgeons,
03:30 hemorrhaged viewers, and never got a second season.
03:34 "And, you know, it just didn't work out."
03:37 7. Dhadakiri
03:39 This Indian game show lasted four seasons before it finally went off the air.
03:43 "Stop all doing these f---ing things, and get real."
03:48 Contestants were forced to square off against designated jerks who would distract them from
03:53 completing tasks through abusive tactics, like insults and humiliation. Physical violence
03:58 occurred at least once. Indeed, the show achieved infamy for an incident involving
04:03 contestant Ravi Bhatia.
04:04 "There's not one f---ing word coming out of their mouth."
04:07 "Actually, the thing is that we don't want to talk with you, actually."
04:11 One of the show's jerk performers, Isha Bhaskar, slapped Bhatia in the face.
04:15 When Bhatia retaliated, many of the show's workers attacked him. The fight was edited
04:20 out of the episode, but footage leaked online and caused a national stir. Although the show
04:24 continued for three more seasons afterwards, its manipulative and demeaning format has placed it
04:29 among the worst reality shows around.
04:31 "Okay, I guess I'm done over here. Thanks, guys."
04:35 6. Heil Honey, I'm Home
04:38 A very weird and very offensive so-called parody of American TV, this mercifully short-lived
04:43 British sitcom turned Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun into an archetypal sitcom couple.
04:49 "Honey, listen, this could be your lucky break."
04:51 "This is lucky? Out there with the Goldensteins is lucky?"
04:55 "Honey, listen, think about it. What could be better than for
04:59 Chamberlain to see you're just a down-to-earth guy who has fun with his neighbors?"
05:04 Many didn't think the show's premise could even be called satire. Not only was it completely
05:09 unfunny, Heil Honey, I'm Home was essentially making a mockery of the real man's atrocities
05:14 and was widely seen as a failure of humor, irony, and taste.
05:18 "I'll show him around the town, we'll have a few beers. He'll forget about Czechoslovakia.
05:22 He'll think, 'Hey, this Adolf Hitler is a regular guy.'"
05:24 Things could have been worse, though. We could have been forced to watch it in its entirety.
05:28 Luckily for us, it was cancelled after one episode and has gone down as a low point in
05:33 television history.
05:34 "You must be real mad at me, honey. I'm a very, very bad Hitler."
05:39 Number 5. The Chamber. Game shows from the early 2000s were a different breed.
05:43 "You're about to be handed a release, Chuck. I know you've read it before the show.
05:47 Same one. By signing this release, you acknowledge that you are fully aware
05:52 of the risks involved when you enter the chamber. You willing to sign that?"
05:57 Contestants on The Chamber were subjected to extreme heat and cold, among other things,
06:02 while strapped to a chair while their vital signs were monitored by medical professionals.
06:06 Each round, the conditions of the chamber would worsen. It became clear this was a program
06:11 designed to push people to their physical and mental limits. Even the first host couldn't
06:15 take it, quitting during a rehearsal when he saw the game in action.
06:19 "Jennifer, would you recommend The Chamber?"
06:20 "Yeah, for some money."
06:23 When The Chamber premiered in 2002, people were horrified that we had sunk so low as to watch
06:28 people go through such horrid treatment on television for a payday. Given the reaction
06:33 and relatively low viewership, Fox cancelled it after three episodes.
06:37 "Chamber to shutdown in three, two, one."
06:42 Number 4. The WB Superstar USA.
06:45 "It all comes down to tonight, America. Thousands auditioned, only 12 made it to our Hollywood
06:50 stage, and now the field has narrowed to just three unsuspecting performers."
06:55 After the runaway success of American Idol, it was inevitable that more shows would come along
07:00 to make superstars out of ordinary people. The hopeful singers of Superstar USA were counting
07:05 on that. The series ran for about a month in 2004, and featured tone-deaf and inexperienced
07:10 singers vying for a record contract.
07:12 "Yeah!"
07:13 "See, we can't stop.
07:14 Maria, I think we're all in agreement. You are one step closer to becoming a superstar."
07:20 If all of this wasn't unethical enough, Superstar USA was a two-way sham. To keep
07:25 them from giving away the secret, the audience basically were informed that they shouldn't
07:29 mock the singers because they were gravely sick, and this was a contest for charity.
07:33 The final reveal is cringe to the nth degree.
07:36 "I have one question for you, Jamie. Are you willing to put in the effort
07:42 and do whatever it takes to become a true superstar?"
07:47 Number 3. Kid Nation.
07:49 This show feels like what would happen if you left the principal from Matilda in charge
07:53 of programming. Seen as something of a survivor for kids, Kid Nation dropped 40 young people
07:59 in New Mexico and let them build their own society. Accidents and near disasters were
08:03 generally averted, but stories about accidentally drinking bleach and cooking mishaps have made
08:08 the show somewhat infamous in retrospect.
08:10 "Someone had to step in. We weren't really gonna eat anything."
08:13 "I was not wasting!"
08:19 "It wasn't cooking."
08:20 If the idea wasn't cruel enough, the production team was accused of taking advantage of loopholes
08:25 regarding child labor practices. In the end, Kid Nation wasn't worth the trouble, and CBS
08:30 gave it the chop after its first and only season.
08:33 "You people are dumb. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"
08:38 Number 2. There's Something About Miriam.
08:40 "Tom's just beaten Scott to win the heart of Miriam, but he's about to find out that
08:44 she's been hiding one big secret."
08:46 Scam dating shows are one thing, but this short-lived British series crossed too many
08:51 boundaries to name. Miriam Rivera was a trans woman recruited for a program about a group
08:56 of men looking for love. Of course, the producers didn't mention Miriam was transgender, and
09:01 she wasn't allowed to tell the contestants. They saved that fact for the end of the season.
09:06 "I told you, I told you guys! I knew it!"
09:13 Playing on offensive, harmful ideas of transgender people being deceptive, There's Something
09:18 About Miriam was a complete violation of ethics and taste. Needless to say, the show never
09:22 got any follow-up seasons, finishing for good after its six episodes aired. Miriam enjoyed
09:28 brief stardom afterward, but sadly passed away in 2019.
09:32 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:35 Who's Your Daddy?
09:37 Axed after one 90-minute special, this show tasked a woman with finding her biological
09:41 father.
09:42 "It was a very turbulent time. We weren't sure what was going to happen."
09:49 The Moment of Truth. Contestants answer increasingly embarrassing questions in front of their loved
09:53 ones.
09:54 "Do you think you've delayed having children because you're not sure if Katya will be your
09:58 lifelong partner?"
09:59 Space Cadets. Contestants were tricked into believing they were in space.
10:11 "Say you need some wannabe astronauts. How do you do it? First you place a pretty vague
10:16 ad in the press. Of those who applied, we invited the top 100 to London.
10:20 Remember, at this point, they have no idea what the show is all about."
10:26 Nice.
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10:43 Number 1. The Swan. A show that refers to its contestants as ugly ducklings is probably
10:50 not operating from a place of compassion. The Swan's premise took everyday women and
10:54 peddled the message that self-love and confidence can only come after extensive plastic surgery
10:59 and weight loss.
11:00 "Dory really underwent a tremendous number of surgical procedures and she just breezed
11:04 through the recovery. She's my hero."
11:06 Then the winning women from each episode competed against each other in a beauty pageant.
11:11 The most repugnant thing about the show was its contestants moralizing. It was as though
11:15 it felt it was a public service to play into people's insecurities.
11:19 "What has this one program taught you about yourself?"
11:22 "To respect myself and take care of myself and that way I can become a happier person."
11:27 What happened on the set was bad enough, but some contestants' troubles started to
11:32 worsen after filming had wrapped. Despite strong debut ratings, the series was cancelled
11:36 after two seasons.
11:38 "You able to turn the page now?"
11:39 "I'm ready to turn the page now."
11:41 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms Mojo.
11:45 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
11:49 [Music]