Turning a beloved movie into a weekly TV series is a time-honored tradition in Hollywood. Sometimes it works beautifully—think Stargate, Fargo, or Cobra Kai—but for every hit, there are countless misses. These five pilots, based on popular films, never made it past the starting gate, and they serve as a reminder that not every big-screen story can survive the small-screen treatment.
Coming to America (1989)
Before Eddie Murphy was a household name, CBS tried to capitalize on his 1988 comedy smash Coming to America with a sitcom pilot. The show followed Prince Tariq, Akeem's previously unseen younger brother, played by Tommy Davidson, as he's sent to Queens for college. Despite Murphy's involvement as an executive producer, the pilot struggled to find its footing. Davidson, a talented comedian in his own right, was clearly instructed to mimic Murphy's style, and the jokes felt dated even for the '80s. The pilot aired once as part of CBS Summer Playhouse and quickly faded into obscurity. It's a fascinating time capsule, but not a good one.
Darkman (1992)
Sam Raimi's 1990 cult classic Darkman was a wild, violent superhero story that didn't fit neatly into any box. Two years later, Universal tried to turn it into a half-hour TV series with Christopher Bowen stepping in for Liam Neeson. The pilot recycled action scenes from the film and stripped away the character's dark, tragic edge, turning him into a generic vigilante. Larry Drake returned as Durant, but even his presence couldn't save the show. The pilot never aired, though a version exists online. It's a prime example of how a unique property can become bland when forced into a TV formula.
Zombieland (2013)
Amazon Prime's pilot season in 2013 gave viewers a chance to vote on which shows would get picked up. One of the contenders was a Zombieland TV series, written by the original film's scribes, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The pilot followed the same characters—Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock—but with a new cast. While the concept of a zombie road trip had potential, recasting the beloved characters was a fatal mistake. The pilot was widely panned, and audiences wisely voted against it. It's a rare case where the audience's decision was clearly the right one.
Tremors (2018)
Kevin Bacon's return to the Tremors franchise was teased in a 2018 Syfy pilot that never saw the light of day. The show would have seen Bacon's Val McKee, now older and estranged from his daughter, facing a new breed of Graboids in the town of Perfection. The teaser trailer was promising, but Syfy ultimately passed on the series, likely due to the high cost of special effects and a movie star's salary. The pilot remains unreleased, leaving fans to wonder what could have been.
Why Do These Pilots Fail?
These failed pilots share common threads: they either tried to replicate the movie's magic too closely, or they strayed too far from what made the original special. Sometimes the casting was off, sometimes the tone was wrong, and sometimes the network just didn't have the budget. But for every M*A*S*H or Buffy the Vampire Slayer that defied the odds, there are dozens of these forgotten experiments. They're a reminder that not every great movie needs a weekly installment.
For more on TV adaptations that did work, check out our list of joyful TV shows from the 2000s or our take on book-to-screen adaptations. And if you're a fan of cult classics, you might enjoy our ranking of neo-noir films.
