Series.Gogglebox: Remake: The rights have been sold to China, Ukraine, Spain (where it became a One-Episode Wonder) and the US, the last one making the show as The People's Couch.
AudienceAlienatingPremise.Live Action TV: Work It was a cross-dressing comedy about two St. Louis guys forced to dress as women in order to get jobs as pharmaceutical sales representatives, as said company only hires women. While that concept might have worked in The '70s with Bosom Buddies, it had no chance in 2012, and was quickly cancelled after two episodes.
YMMV.Greggo: High Rollers, Hit Man, Name That Tune, Now You See It, Win Richard Kim's Pocky, and WinAdmission all got one show each, for various reasons.
Literature.That Wacky Redhead: invoked Just like its counterpart in our timeline, Turn-On does not have a lengthy run. And it ruins producer George Schlatter's career to boot.
Trivia.Christmas In Tattertown: This was originally going to be Nickelodeon's first foray into evening television (and a regular children's series for Ralph Bakshi).
Trivia.Dark Universe: The series only had one movie. If Dracula: Untold hadn't been excised from its canon, it would've had two.
SkewedPriorities.Live Action TV: In the premiere episode of Night Court, as the staff prepares for the arrival of the new judge: Sheila: I hope he's got a background in criminal law. Dan: I hope he plays chess. Sheila: A new man has been appointed to the bench, and all you hope for is someone who can play chess?
Webcomic.VG Cats: Vague Age: Aeris's ID in the (very brief) Animated Adaptation simply reads "Legal". She might at least be going to college, given this strip, which shows her and Leo as roommates. The first published version of this strip indicated that Leo was 21 years old; Ramsoomair later edited the figure to the less precise "many years earlier", as Leo himself has yet to reach that age to begin with.
Trivia.Kamen Rider G: Can be viewed as the first episode of the Kamen Rider G series that never was.
Trivia.Apple Texts: To date, the Apple Eats Texts page has only had two stories released. Ironically, the second episode used titles and segue clips that were clearly meant for the Apple Texts page.
AnalogyBackfire.Live Action TV: The Muppet Show: The pitch reel compares it to Jim Henson's and George Schlatter's respective previous work, such as Sesame Street, Laugh In ... and Turn-On. It went on the promise that the names of the executives would be household words, like "toilet." This exchange between Rowlf and George Burns: Rowlf: Oh listen, I can play in any key. I'm another Jascha Heifetz. George Burns: Jascha Heifetz played the violin.note For those unfamiliar with the show, Rowlf plays the piano. Rowlf: No one'll know the difference, George.
Trivia.Korgoth Of Barbaria: Was intended to be a full series, but unfortunately for its fans it was never picked up.
Characters.Shadow Of Israphel: Ascended Extra: He only appeared in writing in an adventure map, but the memorable voice acting done by Simon made him into a One-Episode Wonder that made him become a part of the Shadow of Israphel backstory (spelled "Grizwold") in the Legend of Verigan special.
Trivia.Trick Moon: Despite the pilot having positive reviews, gaining a million views in less than a month, and quickly garnering a passionate fanbase, the pitch for a full series was rejected in the midst of company restructuring.
Trivia.Turn On: For a long time, it was considered the gold standard for this trope, with its rapid cancellation, though other examples in the years afterwards made it less unique in that regard. In fact, two of the future cases of shows getting canceled after one episode, Co-Ed Fever and McGurk: A Dog's Life (both from 1979) also featured Hamilton Camp among the cast.
YMMV.Cheat Slayer: Audience-Alienating Premise: Fans of isekai works were turned off by the inaccurate and mean-spirited parodies that painted the characters they were familiar with as a group of utterly horrific monsters, whereas general audiences were turned off by the excessively grim tone and graphic content (for example, the plot begins with the protagonist's childhood friend being raped and murdered). Even people who liked the idea of an anti-isekai plot were generally turned off by the story playing too many tropes that make the genre contentious straight. Needless to say, Cheat Slayer only lasted a single chapter before it was cancelled in the face of massive backlash.
Trivia.Durendal: His pilot for Dur en Dalle, where he planned to eat food from several movies. It didn't take-off and even he hates it.
Trivia.Kamen Rider OOO: Development Gag: #27, the 999th episode of the franchise, has a list of all Kamen Rider shows represented by title cards including mocks for Riderman, V3's secondary who was indeed considered for a spin-off before being dropped in favor of Kamen Rider X, and Kamen Rider ZX, which was intended to become series but ended as a One-Episode Wonder.
WorseThanItSounds.Live Action TV: Heil Honey I'm Home!: An audacious and underappreciated Dom Com in which an influential European statesman and his wife must learn to coexist with two of his most bitter enemies.
Recap.Strong Bad Email E 117 Montage: In-universe, Strong Bad hosts "some show on Animal Planet" that gets cancelled before the first commercial break.
ParodyDisplacement.Western Animation: The Modifyers is a rejected pilot that gained a lot of popularity when it was uploaded to the internet in 2010. In the years since, however, if someone stumbles upon a picture of the characters, they're far more likely to think of Zone's fan-made porn parody more than anything else.
Horrible.Live Action TV: Sett på maken ("Look At That!") was a botched attempt to make a Norwegian version of the British satirical puppet show Spitting Image. Unlike its inspiration, Sett på maken was very poorly received by audiences and critics alike, to the point where the second episode (of the 12 that had been filmed) was scrapped hours before it was supposed to be aired. The series was intended to return after a few weeks, but nothing ever materialized, dooming it to One-Episode Wonder status.
Recap.Stargate SG 1 S 6 E 20 Memento: Reasonable Authority Figure: Ashwan, despite being a One-Episode Wonder, is arguably one of the biggest in the series. He overrides Kalfas' ordered strike on the helpless Prometheus, before consistently being helpful and courteous to SG-1 and the crew of the Prometheus in their quest for Tagrea's stargate, ultimately putting his own life on the line to aid a Gunship Rescue by the Prometheus and gives a Rousing Speech to convince Kalfas's followers to let the team go and support opening relations with Earth.
Manga.Bakuman: Nanamine's style of editing and creative process could be an even bigger Take That! or Deconstruction of fan-pandering. His manga's ratings drop lower and lower because of taking too many suggestions from his select fan-pool, to the point it becomes a cluttered mess and eventually gets ten-weeked. This is later revealed to be the result of many of the contributors being anonymous and unpaid, and while it is not difficult to get them to collaborate for a one-shot, Nanamine cannot manage them and keep the story consistent over a long period of time.
Film.The Three Stooges: Jerks of All Trades, a 1949 TV show that never went past the pilot stage. Columbia had stipulated in the Stooges' contract that they were not to perform in a TV series that could compete with their short subjects, and threatened to cancel their contract and sue them if they tried to sell the show. As a compromise, Columbia sold a package of 30 shorts to ABC (the network the pilot was intended for), making it the first time the shorts would air on television.
PromotedFanboy.Western Animation: An episode of Tiny Toon Adventures, "Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian", was written by Renee Carter, Sarah Creef, and Amy Crosby, who at the time were only 13. As this article from the time reveals, they had sent the script to the show on a lark and by sheer blind luck, the script was actually read and sent along to Steven Spielberg, who decided to run with it. The show called attention to it both within the script (including a gag where Buster argues with the girls about his fear of planes) and in the promotion leading up to it.The episode's Credits Gag: "Please Mail Your Unsolicited Manuscripts Along With A Self-Addressed Envelope To: Some Other Show!"
Trivia.Cheat Slayer: The manga was cancelled after a single published chapter due to its extremely poor reception from readers.
TheProblemWithLicensedGames.Western Animation: Voltron VR Chronicles was an embarrassingly short (1 hour of gameplay to be precise) VR game that was meant to be the first of a five-part series. Its short length, uninspired gameplay, and the niche nature of VR products, in general, ensured it was a One-Episode Wonder. Not even the focus on fan-favorite Lance could convince people to buy it.
UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom.Western Animation: Everything that went wrong in the Kissyfur episode "The Birds And The Bears", from the cubs taking Gus' paddlecab for a spin which eventually leads them through dangerous rapids to the gators taking control of the paddlecab and using it to capture the cubs, all happened thanks to Donna's rebellious behavior. She even gets called out for it when she and some of the other cubs are captured by the gators. Lenny: It was your dumb idea to fool with the paddlecab, Donna! Duane: Yeah, it definitely wasn't a cool thing to do! Stuckey: Not cool at all!
WesternAnimation.Mr Incredible And Pals: In-universe. The show only had one episode produced before Supers fell out of favor with the public and were forced to go into hiding, at which point the pilot remained unaired and the show was cancelled. Given what we see, it's probably for the best.
Trivia.Youre In The Picture: Only applies to the original You're in the Picture format, which lasted for just one episode despite a second one being reportedly taped. The second broadcast episode was a half-hour monologue/apology by Gleason, after which the series was rebranded to The Jackie Gleason Show and changed format.
Recap.Strong Bad Email E 126 Best Thing: In-universe, Limozeen: But They're In Space! was cancelled in the middle of airing the pilot, with the animated characters discussing the cancellation.
ShowWithinAShow.Web Animation: In the Strong Bad Email "best thing", Strong Bad claims the best thing he's ever seen, done, or eaten is Limozeen: But They're In Space!, a One-Episode Wonder Band Toon about his favorite hair metal band, Limozeen.
AsHimself.Live Action TV: The One-Episode Wonder TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack featured (and would have continued to feature) Ron Silver "As Himself". Despite playing a NASA assassin on this show, Silver was still an actor and at one point, a character points out that "he was the bad guy from Timecop".
Trivia.Soulja Boy: Soulja Boy: The Animated Series only lasted one episode.
Trivia.Game Toons: Of all the video game-based animations of the channel, only seven of them formed into actual seriesthose being... Among Us, Minecraft, Friday Night Funkin', Squid Game, Poppy Playtime, Pibby, and Rainbow Friends, with three of the seven having their own pages on This Very Wiki. Fall Guys Logic only had two episodes, and the rest of the them are just one-shots.
Trivia.Rabbit Stew And Rabbits Too: As mentioned previously on the main page, there were meant to be more shorts starring these characters, but the animation studio at Warner Bros. closed down so only one was made.
Trivia.Caddicarus: Today's Special, meant to be an in-depth review feature of a current game. He later stated that being so critical the first time through ruined his enjoyment of the game, and the time-pressured experience resulted in a rating he later disagreed with, so he abandoned the idea. It was later revived in 2017 under a new name, simply titled Caddy.
Trivia.Lookwell: A pilot episode that was never picked up for series, NBC burned it off in the summer of 1991 (July 28th, to be exact). The legendary Brandon Tartikoff had been a huge fan of the pilot but he had left NBC by the spring of 1991, when the time came to make a decision on whether to pick up the show for the fall season, and his replacement Warren Littlefield was decidedly not a fan. Co-creators Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel have said that, in retrospect, this might have been for the best, as they had no idea how they would have been able to write a comedy mystery series on a weekly basis.
Trivia.Mockingbird Lane: The pilot episode was as far as this series got before NBC cancelled it.
YMMV.Voltron Legendary Defender: Voltron VR Chronicles is an embarrassingly short (1 hour of gameplay to be precise) virtual reality game that was supposed to be the first of a five episode series. Its short length, uninspired gameplay, and the niche nature of VR products, in general, ensured it was a One-Episode Wonder. Not even the focus on fan favorite Lance could convince people to buy it.
Trivia.The Naked Brothers Band: Supetastic 6, a one-off Alternate Universe animated special featuring the cast as superheroes.
Trivia.Cartoonstitute: Just about any of these, save Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa.
TropesThatWillNeverHappen.Unknowable: Media That Never Experienced They Changed It, Now It Sucks! Everything on One-Episode Wonder is an example. Unless people complain about changes made midway through the episode's script.
Trivia.Madballs: Or rather, Two Episode Wonder. Only two episodes were ever made before the show was canned.
UnintentionalPeriodPiece.The90s: In 1995, Marvel put out a comic starring Billy Ray Cyrus. Many remarked that this was dated even at the time, as Cyrus, though not quite a One-Hit Wonder, was officially past his peak by that point—"Achy-Breaky Heart" came out in 1992, and nothing he put out after even approached it. It only lasted a single issue.
Awesome.Music: MTV generally doesn't get much love from music fans anymore, but their (very) short-lived MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups series managed to bring together artists from (somewhat) different genres to produce the likes of this performance, probably more well-known now than either of the parent songs. Maybe Encore. Numb was already a massive hit for Linkin Park, whereas Encore wasn't really a big deal until the mix- which, by the way, was just one song on a full LP/Jay-Z mash-up album.
AudienceAlienatingPremise.Western Animation: What could possibly go wrong with Bubsy? A lot, actually. This cartoon is based on a video game series of the same name. The problem? The original games that the titular bobcat hails from are considered mediocre at best by the general consensus. As a result, it is easy for audiences to assume that the cartoon is terrible purely because it is associated with a brand with a less than stellar reputation. It never made it past its pilot.
TheShowMustGoOn.Live Action TV: British television channel ITV Play went on with the premiere of its topical phone-in quiz show The Debbie King Show, even though it was announced earlier in the day that the channel would be "suspended" (in reality, it was shut down permanently) as part of an audit over the broadcaster's use of premium-rate phone lines. It ended up becoming a One-Episode Wonder.
Trivia.Ayanes High Kick: Ayane's High Kick is actually a two episode wonder, as it was originally planned as a six episode OVA.
CruelAndUnusualDeath.Western Animation: Though there were quite a few different deaths in the One-Episode Wonder Korgoth of Barbaria, nothing matches the death of a Giant Mook named Scrotus, who gets interrupted in the middle of a wonderful To the Pain/Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon speech. After the title character is unimpressed by the overly long speech, he proceeds to dish out a brutal murdering by ripping half of the mook's skin off from the ponytail straight down, tossing a full glass of alcohol into the godawful wound, then setting the alcohol on fire.
YMMV.How To Play Brawl Like A Man: Ensemble Dark Horse: It's in character for the Muscle Sage to call himself "the fan's favourite character" but that doesn't change the fact the he's actually right for once. Let's Play Subspace Emissary Like A Badass was supposed to be only be one episode.
Trivia.Platypus Comix: "Rice Cub" ends by asking the reader to tell Peter if he or she would like to read a sequel. Even though some people answered that they would, Peter evidently never found the time to make one.
TheOfficeUS.Tropes F To O: The pilot for proposed Dwight Schrute spinoff The Farm, rejected by NBC, was re-worked into a 9th season episode of The Office appropriately titled "The Farm".
WebVideo.Spaz Attack Commentaries: Eric was only in the first half of the Dino Crisis commentary before he left to join the military.
Trivia.Gobblety Tobblety: The series itself appears to be entirely cancelled, leaving the pilot as its only episode.
VideoGame.Wuppo: An easter egg hidden in the demo version of the game is a reference to Dragon 218, a earlier work by the developers with a single episode.
Trivia.The Moxy Show: The Moxy & Flea Show only aired a pilot episode before being cancelled.
YMMV.Total Xtreme Island: Doc was this in SPADES! He's by far the most popular one-episode character in the entire cast, and Zetsu is also fondly remembered for his relationship with Tempest. They were popular enough to become ascended extras and return in the rest of the loser episodes.
YMMV.X23: Older Than They Think: A year before Laura Kinney, there was Avery Connor, also a teenage Opposite-Sex Clone of Wolverine with his healing factor and fighting ability, but not his Adamantium claws. She appeared first (and only) in Greg Rucka and Yoshitaka Amano's picture-novel Elektra & Wolverine: The Redeemer.
YMMV.What A Cartoon Show: While a couple of shorts got sequels, nearly every one that wasn't Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo or The Chicken from Outer Space became a one-shot cartoon, and everyone has their favorites.
YMMV.The Simpsons: Fille Fatale: Jessica Lovejoy has a massive fanbase for someone who only had a speaking role in one episode, thanks to her Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon demeanour and attractive design. She is the most outright evil of Bart's love interests, and one of the most popular among fans.
Series.Z Nation: Spiritual Successor: To Zombieland. With the actual attempt at making a series out of the aforementioned film having become a One-Episode Wonder, it's as close to a Zombieland series as we're going to get.
PoorlyDisguisedPilot.Live Action TV: When the 1961, Jackie Gleason-helmed game show You're in the Picture turned out to be an outright flop, it was quietly cancelled. In its timeslot the following week, Gleason, on a bare stage, instead delivered a half-hour, self-deprecating monologue "apologizing" for the previous week's program, and reminisced about other notable flops he had been involved in. After receiving better ratings and reception than the show itself, CBS allowed Gleason to fulfill the series' commitment by producing the remaining episodes as an informal, one-on-one interview series.
Trivia.Curbside: The pilot is all there is of this series because not only was it never picked up, but it didn't even air.
Trivia.Familia Tipo: Only one episode was ever produced, and it was released on a rare VHS rather than being aired on network television.
ReferencedBy.Combattler V: Daimos also shares the same villain line-up as Combattler. Garuda is Richter, Miia is Raiza, Girua is Balbas, and Narua is Georiya. King Olban is also Daimos's equivalent of Oreana and Empress Janera.There was also that one time when Combattler had to use Daimos-like motion controls instead of its normal controls (after Hyoma had to pilot the robot without his arms because they were blown off by Garuda). Combattler's GranDasher mode also looks a lot like Daimos's Tranzer/Transer mode pre-transformation.
DisasterDominoes.Live Action TV: This happens in one sketch on the One-Episode Wonder sketch show Out of the Trees written by Douglas Adams and Graham Chapman. A young couple pick a flower from a peony shrub, and this sets in motion a chain of events that ends with the world blowing up.
Trivia.K 9 And Company: Though aired as a one-off special, it was planned to be the first of an ongoing series. A change in management at the BBC prevented this from coming to pass.
