Adapting a beloved film to television is no easy task. Showrunners are tasked with the daunting challenge of taking a great film and translating the magic that made it successful onto a smaller screen, while also extending the story in a new way. While many series based on films enjoy incredible success (Fargo,Hannibal) thanks to stellar writing and unforgettable performances, others fall flat due to exhaustingclichés, generic plots and miscast characters. In several cases, these poorly conceived series blemish the legacy of great films and franchises.
Shows likeDirty DancingandBladestruggle to connect with audiences due to the replacement of their lead actors, while series likeRoboCopandMy Big Fat Greek Lifeabandon all the qualities that made the original films so good in the first place. Here are the 10 most disappointing television shows based on movies.
10’Clueless' (1996-1999)
Created by Amy Heckerling
In the spin-off to one of the greatest90s slice-of-life films, audiences follow the life of Cher Horowitz (Rachel Blanchard) a bubbly California high school girl. Cher and her friend Dionne “Dee” Davenport (Stacey Dash), along with their wider circle of friends, navigate the varying challenges of high school life. During the series' run, characters dealt with romance, friendships and family dynamics.
WhileCluelessthe series enjoyed a modest run, it was never able toreplicate the charm of the original film. While Dash,Donald Faison,Elisa Donovan, and others reprised their roles in the television series,Alicia Silverstonewas unable to commit to the project due to a development deal she had signed with Columbia-TriStar. Blanchard offered audiences a decent enough performance to keep them engaged, butCluelesswas ultimately relegated to the shadow of the original film.
Cluelessis available for streaming on the Internet Archive in the U.S.
WATCH CLUELESS
9’Napoleon Dynamite' (2012)
Created by Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess and Mike Scully
Based on the2004 cult-hit film, this animated series follows the life of awkward teenager Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) and his quirky friends and family as they navigate life in the rural city of Preston, Idaho. Napoleon is often accompanied by his best friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and his classmate Deb (Majorino) as they find themselves in a multitude of varying misadventures. The show features offbeat and deadpan humor and explores the themes of friendship and the awkwardness of adolescence.
WhileNapoleon Dynamitefeatured most of the original cast, it failed to connect with audiences. While the film attempted to capture the heart and tone of the original film, it featured a more heavy-handed approach that relied harder on the absurdist elements of the series, oftentimes at thecost of the understated style and tone of the film. The series also aired several years after the explosive popularity of the original film, by which time the style and humor felt dated.
Napoleon Dynamiteis available for streaming on Amazon Prime in the U.S.
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8’Dirty Dancing' (1988-1989)
Developed by Robert Rabinowitz and Barra Grant
Based on the explosively popular film featuringJennifer GreyandPatrick Swayze in one of his best roles, Dirty Dancing follows the same basic premise of the original filmexcept for a few minor changes. In 1963, Frances “Baby” Kellerman (Melora Hardin) is granted the position of talent director to dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Cassidy). Just like in the original film, the two begin an adversarial relationship that develops throughout the short-lived series into a blossoming romance.
The television adaption ofDirty Dancingwas doomed from the start by anill-conceived plot and poor casting decisions. The original film’s roaring success resulted from aself-contained story with clear stakesand a satisfying resolution that fit neatly into the timeframe of a film. The television series attempted to capitalize on this success by extending the story in a way that was repetitive and monotonous. But perhaps the biggest reason this series was short-lived was the lack of chemistry between the series' leads. It’s not easy to fit the shoes of Swayze and Grey, who sizzled onscreen in one of thebest summer romance films of all time.
Dirty Dancing
7’Rush Hour' (2016)
Developed by Bill Lawrence and Blake McCormick
This ill-fated television series based onBret Ratner’s buddy cop action comedy filmwas a police procedural drama that lasted a single disappointing season. Detective James Steven Carter (Justin Hires) plays a reckless LAPD detective who gets paired up with Johnathan Lee (Jon Foo) a conservative, by-the-book Hong Kong detective who arrives in LAto investigate his sisters' death. Throughout the series, the two detectives investigate a number of crimes while also attempting to uncover a connection between his sister’s death and a Chinese Organized crime ring.
Upon its premiere,Rush Hourreceived a slew of negative criticism due to the lead actors' lack ofonscreen chemistry, generic storylines and weak choreography. In the original film,Chris TuckerandJackie Chanmade an impressive pair; Tucker and Chan’s chemistry and genuine charisma are what made the original film one of thebest action-comedy thrillers of all time. This charm was unfortunately impossible to replicate without the original actors, and the weakly choreographed fight scenes coupled with formulaic plot lines failed to resonate with audiences.Budgeting constraints are at least partly to blame. The originalRush Hourfilms were a huge success due to the theatrical and high-octane action sequences that were difficult to emulate given the smaller budgets associated with television shows.
Rush Houris available for streaming on Google Play in the U.S.
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6’Minority Report' (2015)
Developed by Max Borenstein
This sci-fi drama series follows an unlikely partnership between a “precog” named Dash (Stark Sands) who can predict crimes before they happen and a perceptive detective, Lara Vega (Meagan Good). While visions of his future haunt Dash, Vega struggles with her past, as the two work together in a race against time toidentify and arrest criminals in a futuristic WashingtonD.C. that features a plethora of sophisticated technology.
Based on one of thebest sci-fi films of the 2000s,Minority Reportfailed to capture the audience’s interest due to itstired formulaic police procedural format,cliché writing and unremarkable acting. Spielberg’s original film was a huge success because of incredible performances from action-film superstarTom Cruiseand the legendaryMax Von Sydow(in one of hismore well-known appearances in American film). Unfortunately, the cast for the television follow-up to this sci-fi classic could not recreate this onscreen magic,likely due to uninspired writingthat failed to explore the deeper philosophical themes of the original film. At the time the series premiered, it was also competing with a slew of other similar cop procedural dramas, making it another series in an overly saturated market.
Minority Report
5’RoboCop' (1994)
Created by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner
Following a devastating accident that leaves him mortally wounded, Alex Murphy (Richard Eden)is transformed by OCP (Omni Consumer Products) into RoboCop,a cybernetic law enforcement officer. Despite his cybernetic transformation, Murphy retains his humanity and spends his time catching criminals and occasionally thwarting corporate conspiracies in a futuristic Detroit. This 90s series is based on theimmensely popularRoboCopfranchise.
TheRoboCopfranchise is immensely popular, and the first film in the saga isone of Paul Verhoeven’s best films.But what made the RoboCop films so popular was thecomplexity of the villains and the graphic natureof the work. RoboCop was initially created with a mature audience in mind who could engage with the brutal nature of its content, but the short-lived RoboCop series failed because it was geared toward younger audiences. The nuanced morally corrupt villains of the films were replaced by ones who were naive and less interesting, the violence was toned down, and the criminals were taken down by non-lethal means to allow for their recurring appearances.RoboCopthe series failed because itremoved everything that made the original film great.
4’Blade: The Series' (2006)
Developed by David S. Goyer
Blade: The Seriesfollows the adventures of the titular character, Blade (Kirk “Sticky” Jones) a half-human half-vampire who has all the strengths of a vampire but none of the weaknesses. Blade dedicates his life to hunting down vampires and keeping humanity safe. The series explores the underground world of vampires and Blade, taking on a slew of varying adversaries, includingthe House of Cthon, a dangerous vampire organizationpart of one of the twelve vampire families.
The pilot forBlade: The Serieswas penned byDavid S. Goyer, who also wrote the original three films. Naturally, it would seem that the series was off to a good start given his early involvement, but unfortunately, the series was unable to connect with fans in the same way the rest of the franchise did.Wesley Snipes’sportrayal of Blade was one of the most crucial components of what’s consideredone of the greatest vampire thrillers. Many fans felt thatJones, despite showing promise in the role, tried too hard to imitate Snipes as opposed to coming up with his own interpretation of the character. This, coupled with underwhelming fight scenes that suffered from poor choreography, is ultimately whyBlade: The Serieswas unable to live up to the hype of the films.
Blade: The Series
3’Ferris Bueller' (1990)
Developed by John Massius
This meta take on the 80s classicFerris Bueller’s Day OffrecastsCharlie Schatterin the role of the legendary truant.John Massius,who developed the series, took an interesting approach by having Bueller acknowledge the existence of the film and even claiming it was a fictionalized version of his life.Ferris Buellerfollows its lead as he constantly outsmarts authority figures, and breaks the fourth wall to address the audience.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Offwas a phenomenal film because it was a riveting and concise story that made audiences laugh and root for the character. It worked because it was Bueller’s “day off,” not Ferris Bueller’s “Life story.“Ferris Buellerattempts to extend a complete story that needed no further extension. The film attempts to breathe new life into its source material by utilizing sitcom clichés, over-the-top humor, and a meta approach that ultimately fails to connect with audiences. The miscasting of Schatter as Bueller was yet another misfire, as he was incapable of emulating the magic ofone of Matthew Broderick’s best performances. While the approach to this series was a creative one, the execution could not do justice to one of thegreatest John Hughes films of all time.
Ferris Bueller
Ferris Buelleris available to stream on the internet archives in the U.S.
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2’True Lies' (2023)
Created by Max Nix
Harry Tasker (Steve Howey) poses as a traveling computer sales agent for Telonyx Solutions. He spends years away from home for “work,” but his wife Helen (Ginger Gonzaga) suspects he might be involved in an affair behind her back. To quell her fears, he invites her to Paris to show her he’s not cheating. But when a series of events reveals that Harry is secretly a top-tier government operative for a clandestine U.S. counter-terrorism unit, the two of them have to team up on a mission tosave their marriage and their fractured marriage.
True Liesis based on theentertainingJames Cameronspy filmof the same name. While the original film and the series share the same title and basic premise, that’s where the similarities end.True Liesthe series lacks thepersonality and charm of its source material. While the original film banked on the excitement of watching Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) try and figure out what Harry’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) secret is, the television series gave it away too early on. The show additionally suffered from an obnoxiously unserious tone, poor chemistry between its leads, and poorly choreographed action sequences.
1’My Big Fat Greek Life' (2003)
Created by Marsh McCall and Nia Vardalos
My Big Fat Greek Lifeis a sitcom that picks up whereMy Big Fat Greek Weddingends. The series follows main character Nia Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) and her non-Greek husband, Thomas Miller (Steven Eckholdt) as they navigate married life and deal with the antics of Nia’s boisterous and traditional Greek family. The series examines how the couple juggles their cultural differences in a day-to-day setting.
Unfortunately,My Big Fat Greek Lifecould not recreate the warmth and charm of its progenitor due to itsweak writing and an over-reliance on stereotypical humorthat failed to connect with audiences.My Big Fat Greek Weddingwas an explosive success because it depicted its subjects in anendearing and authentic style while celebrating their culture. The emotional payoff of its arc was a unique experience that could not translate to television, at least not in the case of this ill-fated sitcom. Characters like Nia’s father Gus (Gus Portokalos), and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin) were written like parodies of themselves and the series tried to use the comedy of their performances as a clutch. The replacement of Nia’s husband (originally played byJohn Corbett) also contributed to the failure of this series, as the two were incapable of recreating the chemistry of the film. Audiences were nothappy, as the series was canceled after one woefully underwhelming single season.
