History DevelopmentHell / LiveActionTV

* ''Buy It Now'' was originally slated to be part of ABC's summer 2006 lineup; however, Website/EBay pulled out of the series' participation before it debuted, resulting in its cancellation.

* On October 30, 2019, Creator/HBOMax announced a [[MediumBlending live-action/animation hybrid series]] called ''Tooned Out'' which starred Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/ZachGalifianakis, and directed by Creator/RobertZemeckis. The series involved Christopher Lloyd's character interacting and getting help from the ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' characters and WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}}. Before HBO Max launched, footage from the series was shown during a sizzle reel for a Warner Brothers Earnings Meeting. ''Tooned Out'' was originally planned for a 2020 release, but was delayed due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. With [[Creator/DiscoveryChannel Discovery Inc.]] acquiring Warner Media (now Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery) on April 9, 2022, the series has either been QuietlyCancelled or hasn't restarted production.

* After a well-received short film called ''Voltron - The End'', Greg Aronowitz, the creator of that short, (and producer of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD''), [[https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-abandoned-plans-for-a-voltron-live-action-series/ got into serious negotiations with Voltron rights holders World Events Productions]] about making a ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' television series. However, Creator/DreamWorks exercised their option to ''Voltron'' media through their 2012 purchase of the Classic Media assets (which included not only ''Voltron'' but numerous Filmation properties such as ''She Ra'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Bravestarr}}''), and announced they were going to make what eventually became ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender''. Negotiations quickly fell apart afterward, but Aronowitz, as recently as 2018 when ''Legendary Defender'' ended, has publicly expressed hope that his version of the series will eventually see the light of the day. While in October 2020, WEP Inc. President Bob Koplar mentioned he was looking into possibly making a live-action ''Voltron'' show if it made more sense than a film, he did not mention who, if anyone he was negotiating with for said production.

* After snatching the Series/ReadingRainbow brand back from Creator/LeVarBurton by means of a frivolous lawsuit, WNED announced that they are working on a retool of the show. That was back in 2017, nothing has since come out of it.

** The series JONAS suffered from this. The original plan was to launch the vehicle for Music/TheJonasBrothers with the band serving as a front for a group of secret agents (think a WesternAnimation/KimPossible meets Series/HannahMontana hybrid) with the name standing for "'''J'''unior '''O'''peratives '''N'''etworking '''A'''s '''S'''pies). For whatever reasoning, that didn't fly, resulting in {{Retool}} after [=retool=], ultimately culminating in a standard, run of the mill sitcom (albeit sans LaughTrack). Then after a botched launch on Saturdays where ''Series/ICarly'' cleaned its clock, it went through yet another retool after the first season, and with the Jonas Brothers fading among teenagers, turned into an unexpectedly depressing soapish dramedy in the second season, renamed, JONAS LA (yes, it's in ALLCAPS). JONAS LA was canceled, because of predictably low ratings.

* A few years ago, a planned live-action ''Franchise/StarWars'' TV series was announced, but since then there hasn't been much news about it. Reportedly, it will be a DarkerAndEdgier episode-based show that focuses on the minor characters of the series rather than the main storyline, and will take place between Episodes III and IV.

** Likewise, Creator/JephLoeb announced a ''Comicbook/{{Mockingbird}}'' series alongside the aforementioned ''Hulk'' show in 2011. The show would've featured Bobbi Morse as a college freshman working for Comicbook/{{SHIELD}}, with the plot revolving around her trying to balance her double life as a student and a spy. The series was presumably buried for good when an alternate take on Bobbi Morse was introduced on ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' instead.

** An Comicbook/XMen show called ''Hellfire'' was announced alongside ''Series/{{Legion|2017}}'', with plans to air on Fox. The series would have seen a secret agent trying to thwart the Hellfire Club's plans for world domination during TheSixties, similar to ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. Fox ultimately passed on ''Hellfire'' in favor of ordering ''Series/TheGifted'', a different X-Men show.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', with fairly ambitious plans including a virtual reality tie-in game after the series debuted. [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-02-13/live-action-sword-art-online-producer-series-sold-to-netflix-will-have-asian-lead-actors/.127753 In early 2018 the rights were sold to Netflix]] with the promise that lead characters Kirito and Asuna would be cast with Asian leads to avoid concerns of whitewashing. However, nothing has been said about the show since, be it writers or casting.

** It later occurred again with the announcement of a fourth season based after the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal and the subsequent impeachment hearings. However, again, the series ended up in development hell in 2018 when Murphy stated that the series would be scrapped because he felt that it would be "gross" if the season didn't involve Lewinsky in the production. [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/monica-lewinsky-produced-impeachment-set-as-next-american-crime-story-at-fx-1229819?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral However, a year later, it was announced that the season]] [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/monica-lewinsky-produced-impeachment-set-as-next-american-crime-story-at-fx-1229819?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral (subtitled]] ''[[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/monica-lewinsky-produced-impeachment-set-as-next-american-crime-story-at-fx-1229819?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral Impeachment]]'') [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/monica-lewinsky-produced-impeachment-set-as-next-american-crime-story-at-fx-1229819?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral would go forward as the third season with Lewinsky serving as a producer, and air in 2020.]]

* In 2020, The CW ordered a live-action adaptation of ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'', set to air in 2021. It ended up being delayed indefinitely and eventually QuietlyCancelled in 2023, following poor test screenings of the pilot and the subsequent leak of its script that was widely mocked for its [[TotallyRadical overly hip dialogue]] and [[TooBleakStoppedCaring gratuitously dark tone]], as well as the departure of cast member Creator/ChloeBennet (who played Blossom).

* In 2020, The CW ordered a live-action adaptation of ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'', set to air in 2021. It ended up being delayed indefinitely, following poor test screenings of the pilot and the subsequent leak of its script that was widely mocked for its [[TotallyRadical overly hip dialogue]], as well as the departure of cast member Creator/ChloeBennet (who played Blossom).

* In 2011, it was announced that Prime Focus - the company that made the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' {{Made For TV Movie}}s - were in discussions with Creator/TerryPratchett concerning a TV series based on the Watch, which Sir Terry described as ''[[Series/CSIVerse CSI]]: Ankh-Morpork''. In 2012 it was announced that this was now being done by Sir Terry's own production company Narrativia, and that Creator/TheBBC Worldwide were very interested and were bandying about terms like "the next ''Series/DoctorWho''". Since then, the only word is that it is still progressing, but only once they're sure they can do it ''right''. In October 2018, there was a press release from BBC America which basically said "Yes, this is actually happening". In 2021, we got ''Series/TheWatch''. Whether they did it "right" is another question.

** A ''Comicbook/MoonKnight'' TV show was announced in 2006, and writer Jon Cooksey confirmed he was working on it in 2008, nothing more has been heard since. Years later, a Creator/DisneyPlus series set in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse [[Series/MoonKnight was made instead]].

* ''Ultimate Slip 'N' Slide'', a reality game show produced by Universal Television and hosted by Bobby Moynihan and Ron Funches, was slated to air on Creator/{{NBC}} in summer 2021, premiering as the lead-out program to the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames Tokyo Olympics]] closing ceremony. Filming was nearly complete when [[https://people.com/tv/ultimate-slip-n-slide-scrapped-at-nbc-explosive-diarrhea-outbreak/ an outbreak of the waterborne parasite Giardia]] violently sickened as many as 40 crew members. The show was initially postponed, but was then scrapped entirely when it proved unfeasible to move the show's massive set to a safer location.

*** Since then, Disney bought the franchise and immediately set about making a new trilogy, plus several spin-off movies with the aim of making one Star Wars movie a year after 2015. Given the amount of money Disney are funneling into the new movies, it's looking very, very unlikely that Star Wars: Underworld will ever be made.

** In 2019, a ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' series was announced for Creator/HBOMax, with Creator/GregBerlanti producing and Seth Grahame-Smith and Creator/MarcGuggenheim attached to write. Described as a SpaceOpera spanning several decades, the show was said to feature multiple Green Lanterns like Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz across different time periods, with Comicbook/{{Sinestro}} serving as an antagonist. The project was also said to be the most expensive DC series to date, with a lavish production budget similar to the ones enjoyed by the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] and ''Franchise/StarWars'' shows on Creator/DisneyPlus. Development on the series moved slowly, with Creator/JeremyIrvine and Creator/FinnWittrock joining the cast as Alan and Guy, respectively, in 2021, before a long news drought. Near the end of 2022, following the purchase of WB by Discovery, it was announced that the series was being heavily {{ReTool}}ed, with Grahme-Smith exiting the project and the scope being drastically narrowed for budgetary reasons. In January 2023, it was confirmed that Berlanti had left ''Green Lantern'' as well, and that it had been redeveloped into a new series entitled ''Lanterns'' as part of Creator/JamesGunn's reboot of the [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse DCEU]] following the establishment of Creator/DCStudios. Now described as a sci-fi PoliceProcedural, ''Lanterns'' will reportedly follow John Stewart and Hal Jordan (the two most famous Green Lanterns) as the protagonists instead of the original plan for multiple separate [=GL=]s across many years.
** A ''Strange Adventures'' anthology series was also announced alongside ''Green Lantern'', with a similarly budget. The series was said to explore some of DC's lesser known heroes and villains, with Creator/KevinSmith attached to write and direct an episode focusing on Comicbook/JimmyOlsen and Comicbook/{{Bizarro}}. After a few years without any updates, Smith confirmed in 2022 that development on ''Strange Adventures'' had ceased due to the WB-Discovery merger.

** A ''Strange Adventures'' anthology series was also announced alongside ''Green Lantern'', with a similarly budget. The series was said to explore some of DC's lesser known heroes and villains, with Creator/KevinSmith attached to write and direct an episode focusing on Comic/JimmyOlsen and Comicbook/{{Bizarro}}. After a few years without any updates, Smith confirmed in 2022 that development on ''Strange Adventures'' had ceased due to the WB-Discovery merger.

** In late 2020, it was announced that the CW was developing a ''Comicbook/{{Wonder Girl|Infinite Frontier}}'' series from Creator/GregBerlanti and ''Series/QueenOfTheSouth'''s Dailyn Rodriguez. The show would have followed Yara Flor, a young Latina immigrant who becomes a superhero after discovering that she's the daughter of a Brazilian river god. Just a few months later, Rodriguez revealed that the CW had passed on the project.

** A ''Comicbook/MoonKnight'' TV show was announced in 2006, and writer Jon Cooksey confirmed he was working on it in 2008, nothing more has been heard since. It will be reworked into a Creator/DisneyPlus series set in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse instead.

* A few years ago there was gonna be a darker reboot of ''Captain Power''.

** A ''Series/{{Smallvile}}''-style series called ''The Graysons'' was in the works at The CW for a while. The series would've focused on a young [[AdaptationNameChange DJ Grayson]] in the years leading up to the murder of his parents and his subsequent transformation into Comicbook/{{Robin}}. The CW ordered a pilot, but the whole series was scrapped for not fitting with WB's plans for the Batman franchise at the time.
** In 2013, the CW announced that they were developing a series based on Hourman from the ''[[Comicbook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]''. In a departure from the comics, the series would've been a mostly InNameOnly adaptation about a young man who discovers that he has the ability to see tragic events an hour before they occur. No further news about the project was released after the initial announcement, and an alternate (and more comic-accurate) take on the Hourman character was later introduced in ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''.

* On October 30, 2019, Creator/HBOMax announced a [[MediumBlending live-action/animation hybrid series]] called ''Tooned Out'' which starred Creator/ChristopherLloyd, Creator/ZachGalifianakis, and directed by Creator/RobertZemeckis. The series involved Christopher Lloyd's character interacting and getting help from the ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' characters and ''WesternAnimation/Droopy''. Before HBO Max launched, footage from the series was shown during a sizzle reel for a Warner Brothers Earnings Meeting. ''Tooned Out'' was originally planned for a 2020 release, but was delayed due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. With ''[[Creator/DiscoveryChannel Discovery]]'' acquiring Warner Media (now Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery) on April 9, 2022, the series has either been QuietlyCancelled or hasn't restarted production.

* In 2021; former longtime Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} producer Creator/DanSchneider (who had departed that network in 2018 following an investigation revealing that he was overly aggressive and verbally abusive) announced that he had sold [[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/arts/dan-schneider-nickelodeon.html an unnamed pilot script]] that was implied to be Schneider's comeback vehicle. As of August 2022; no further word on the pilot has surfaced. Additionally; incidents such as the publication of "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by former ''Series/ICarly'' star Creator/JennetteMcCurdy[[note]]which includes allegations of being photographed in a bikini for a wardrobe malfunction - [=McCurdy=] being only 15 when ''iCarly'' first began; being encouraged to drink alcohol by who she referred to as "The Creator" {which Buzzfeed suggested was a thinly-veiled reference to Schneider} and that Nickelodeon tried to pay her $300,000 in hush money; which [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules she rejected]][[/note]] leading to several other allegations coming to public attention[[note]]such as former ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' co-star Creator/DaniellaMonet noting her discomfort over a scene involving her character, Trina Vega, sticking a pickle in her mouth due to Monet feeling the scene was [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything too sexualized for a children's show]]; the incidents that led to Creator/AlexaNikolas leaving ''Series/Zoey101'' after getting yelled at by Schneider and Music/BritneySpears during [[HostilityOnTheSet a feud]] between Nikolas and series star (and Britney's sister) Jamie Lynn Spears and a [[https://web.archive.org/web/20220831185842/https://www.businessinsider.com/dan-schneider-nickelodeon-empire-massages-hostile-workplace-allegations-inappropriate-costumes-2022-8 Business Insider article]] mentioning incidents such as Schneider having driven Anquelique Bates to tears on the set of ''Series/AllThat'' when a sketch fell apart; rarely hired female writers (with an unnamed female writer for ''Series/TheAmandaShow'' accusing Schneider of pressuring her into simulating being sodomized, while that show's other female writer - Jenny Kilgen - said she was uncomfortable with Schneider repeatedly requesting massages; with Kilgen's 2000 lawsuit being settled out of court); tried to [[{{Unperson}} erase another writer's name]] from unaired episodes of one show after the unnamed writer quit only to back down when told that action would be illegal; Schneider repeatedly trying to push for the actresses on ''Victorious'' and ''iCarly'' to wear skimpier outfits; misconduct allegations dating to the early days of ''All That'' being referenced by Liz Feldman, currently showrunner for the ''Creator/{{Netflix}}'' series "''Series/DeadToMe''" and a video showing a ''Victorious'' where [[Music/ArianaGrande Ariana Grande's]] Cat Valentine character was shown with her big toe in her mouth {likely related to Schneider's long-rumored [[FootFocus foot fetish]]} while pouring water on herself from online extras where Schneider was credited as a writer going viral[[/note]] while re-igniting long-running rumors about Schneider [[PaedoHunt possibly being a pedophile]]; making it highly unlikely Schneider's pilot would see the light of day.

* From 1999 until picked up in 2016 by ABC, there were at least two attempts to revive ''Series/MatchGame'': One in 2004 was titled ''What the Blank?!'' and intended for FOX; the other was to have aired on TBS in 2008. Both stopped at the pilot stage. Going back even further, three revivals have been produced since 1982 and neither lasted a full season, counting ''Series/TheMatchGameHollywoodSquaresHour'' (two more attempts in the mid-80s were unsuccessful). Ultimately, a 2016 revival joined Creator/{{ABC}}'s lineup alongside a new version of ''Series/{{Pyramid}}''.

** In May 5, 2015, Chiller TV announced a TV series based on Creator/TobeHooper's ''Film/{{Lifeforce}}'' that was supposed to be out by the end of the same year. At the point of this writing (August 2016) no further news on the project are available.
** Its now 2020, and considering the Chiller network has been gone for years, its safe to call this one dead.

** ''Dreamfinders'' was a planned original series that was to be aired on the channel when it first launched in 1983. Based off the Ride/JourneyIntoImagination attraction, it was featured Dreamfinder (or Old Eli, as he was to be named) taking kids to the "Realm of Imagination" to find solutions to real world problems and dealing with a villain named Fear and his minions. At least one script was written, and an actor had even been cast in the role of Dreamfinder, [[https://youtu.be/icwT0VlAkeU briefly appearing on the channel's launch countdown]] (skip to 1:23). Unfortunately, no episodes were ever completed and the show fell into this trope, with no chance of it happening in sight.

** ''Dreamfinders'' was a planned original series that was to be aired on the channel when it first launched in 1983. Based off the Ride/JourneyIntoImagination attraction, it was featured Dreamfinder (or Old Eli, as he was to be named) taking kids to the "Realm of Imagination" to find solutions to real world problems. At least one script was written, and an actor had even been cast in the role of Dreamfinder, [[https://youtu.be/icwT0VlAkeU briefly appearing on the channel's launch countdown]] (skip to 1:23). Unfortunately, no episodes were ever completed and the show fell into this trope, with no chance of it happening in sight.

* While the final season of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' was airing, CBS announced on the fall of 2013 that there will be a spinoff entitled ''How I Met Your Dad'' which would be aired on 2014. By that time, various news sites revealed the new characters unrelated to HIMYM cast and the new lead to be played by Creator/GretaGerwig with Creator/MegRyan as the lead's voiceover and the pilot was already made. But after the mixed reception of the HIMYM finale, interest slowly dwindled, the pilot wasn't picked up by CBS, [[https://twitter.com/CarterBays/statuses/487538367492395008 Carter Bays called it quits]] due to disagreements with CBS and the contracts of the actors expired at the end of the year. In December 2016, there was an attempt to produce the spinoff which is renamed ''How I Met Your Father'' with ''Series/ThisIsUs'' producers, Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. However after the success of ''This Is Us'' which promoted the two producers as co-showrunners, the spinoff is on hold again. In August 2017, there was another attempt to revive the spinoff with Alison Benett as the writer.

* Netflix bought the rights to make a live-action version of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' in the summer of 2018 but production has hit some snags that didn’t allow it to start shooting until Q4 of 2021. The original creators of the show were attached to be the showrunners and things were looking good for about the first year and a half of development. It hit trouble in early 2020. Production was scheduled to start in Hawaii that February but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was put on indefinite hold since they’d plan to film extensively on location. That summer, the creators left due to CreativeDifferences which are rumored to be about making the show more focused on romance than the cartoon. The fate of the show is now further complicated by the [[https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/24/22297512/avatar-last-airbender-korra-studios-paramount-plus-streaming-netflix founding of Avatar Studios]], a studio specifically controlled by said creators to produce new content replayed the series for Nickelodeon and Paramount Plus, as well as control spin-off media related to the franchise. Production began in November 2021 in Vancouver, BC in a state of the art production studio that will make use of the same virtual background technology used in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' since the pandemic made location filming unfeasible.