It is frustrating how many cases of promising projects come to nothing due to the decision of a few who speak for everyone, something that the executives of the big studios have made a habit of, conditioning the tastes of the public, often in a way that is insulting to the public. intelligence.
The history of television and, more recently, streaming, is full of cases in which a series that no one was betting on, receives a chance and ends up destroying all schemes.
Some even manage become cultural icons that last in the memory of fans, and sweep reruns, even years after the broadcast of their final episodes.
Today, at HobbyCine, we tell you the story of 8 series that no one gave a damn about, and they ended up sweeping away indisputably.
What we do in the shadows
In the mid-2010s, talking about What We Do in the Shadows meant referring to the cult independent film by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement about a group of vampires who share a house in New Zealand.
Although the film has its fans, adapting its story to the series format, and incidentally transferring the action to Staten Island with a new cast, was quite a risk.
FX He saw potential where no one else found it, and he got it right with a series that not only captures the essence of the film it was inspired by, but raises the stakes.
Six seasons have been given to What We Do in the Shadows on the channel before the good vampires return to sleep for a few centuries.
Abbott College
Disney+
A sitcom in the work environment is like flipping a coin: it can turn out well or, usually, last a season, as happened to Blockbuster—the Netflix series.
But sometimes rare birds like Abbott School, the series of Quinta Brunson set in a primary school that has managed to shine on ABC (Disney+ in Spain).
Finding the balance between comedy and social messages, as well as the way its main characters interact with each other, has earned Colegio Abbott a success that no one expected.
The squid game
Netflix
Hwang Dong-hyuk He spent a decade shaping The Squid Game and trying to sell it to some platform.
Netflix ended up acquiring the series as part of a large package of content produced in South Korea, but without seeing anything special in it: one more original series to add to the catalog.
The Internet did the rest: in a matter of days, The Squid Game became a global phenomenon that fascinated millions of viewers with its brutality, emotionality and a premise that, despite its simplicity, addresses current issues such as inequality. .
In 2021, The Squid Game became the most viewed series in the history of Netflix, and in 2024 it remains so, with a second season about to enter the scene.
Mad Men
AMC He had no experience in top-level television production, so when they announced the production of a series about the world of advertising in the mid-20th century, no one seemed interested in the topic.
Then Mad Men He dedicated himself to closing mouths with a vibrant staging and an overflowing ability to address notorious themes, even today.
A formidable cast completed the milestone of AMC’s first great series, but it would not be the last, far from it.
Andor
Disney+
When Lucasfilm announced that they would be producing the Andor series, many Star Wars fans—myself included—questioned the necessity of telling the story of a character with such a definitive destiny in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Although Diego Luna is not relegated to a secondary role in the movie from 2016, didn’t seem to offer anything special compared to many other characters.
Then it came Tony Gilroy with its slow narrative and an approach that moves away from everything we are used to seeing in the saga, and it conquered us.
Not only was Andor a huge success, but it is the most original Star Wars series, along with The Mandalorian.
Breaking Bad
How are you going to get Hal Wilkerson in? Malcolm to cook methamphetamine? Typecasting could undermine confidence in Breaking Bad, considered today as one of the best series in history.
Bryan Cranston took the reins from Walter White in the series Vince Gilligan and anyone who dared to question his capacity for drama would receive a visit from Heisenberg.
In addition to giving the world five fantastic seasons, Breaking Bad gave way to Better Call Saul, a very powerful spin-off.
Queen’s Gambit
Although in 2020, Anya Taylor-Joy He had already had some relevant roles, his career skyrocketed thanks to Netflix and Queen’s Gambit.
Despite this, the story of the chess player could sink into the vast drawer of series on the platform that pass without pain or glory, largely due to the habit they had of not giving promotion to many of them.
But The Queen’s Gambit was a global phenomenon that was added to the platform’s major productions.
The Simpson
20th Century Fox Television
If it seems to you that many still classify cartoons as “for children” in 2024, we won’t even tell you how things were going in 1989. Even though The Simpsons had become famous in the Show de Tracey Ullmangiving them a series format was quite a risk for Fox.
I don’t think it’s necessary to go into detail: The Simpsons has aired 35 seasons and has one more on the way. Its best moment may be behind it, since its arrival marked a television revolution: there was nothing like it in the eighties, however, its episodes continue to accumulate huge numbers, even more thanks to streaming.
If Fox had listened to the ashes who urged not to trust a series like this, Homer and his family would not have had the global impact that they obtained, and Matt Groening It would not have been able to give way to series like Futurama.
As we say, the industry is full of these types of cases in which the established is humiliated by something that, for one reason or another, manages to connect with the general public who, ultimately, is what determines success.