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'Squid Game' (2021) -

The creator of 'Squid Game,' Hwang Dong-hyuk, wrote the world's most famous TV show of 2021 back in 2008, when it was imagined as a film script, and finished the first draft in 2009. It took the writer and director nearly six months to write the first two episodes alone, but it was rejected by studios for a decade.

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'Squid Game' (2021) -

Hwang was reportedly in a bad financial situation and living with his mother and grandmother at one point. He also had to stop writing the script and sell his laptop due to his financial struggles, which is perhaps why the themes of money are so powerful in his show.

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'Squid Game' (2021) -

In 2021, the show became no.1 in 90 countries, and it has become the most-watched show in Netflix history. It's reportedly worth almost US$900 million in impact value, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.

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'The Queen's Gambit' (2020) -

It took co-creator and producer Allan Scott 30 years to get this show into production! Scott bought the TV and film rights to the epic chess drama novel in the late 1980s, and after that he'd rewritten the story nine times and approached several studios.

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'The Queen's Gambit' (2020) -

A slated film version was reportedly cut short by the tragic death of Heath Ledger, who was set to direct. TV networks then rejected the show, as they believed that nobody would be interested in a dull subject matter like chess.

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'The Queen's Gambit' (2020) -

In the first 28 days it was available on Netflix, the show set a record for the most viewers ever for a scripted limited-run series, with more than 62 million accounts watching at least part of an episode.

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'The Sopranos' (1999-2007) -

It's hard to imagine 'The Sopranos' on a network other than HBO since the show made HBO famous, but writer and producer David Chase had first pitched the show to other networks, including CBS. Interestingly, it wasn't the violence or explicit language that was their problem, but the fact that Tony was in therapy, as they wanted a more straightforward mob drama.

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'The Sopranos' (1999-2007) -

Of course, the fact of it not being a straightforward mob drama and its inclusion of a brutal anti-hero is what made the show an immense hit and cultural phenomenon, which only aired after Chase took it to HBO.

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'The Sopranos' (1999-2007) -

HBO gave Chase the freedom to make the show as he wanted, and the series picked up numerous awards. It's also credited with changing the entire landscape of television viewership in the 2000s!

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'Desperate Housewives' (2004-2012) -

NBC was doing well with its ratings when writer and producer Marc Cherry pitched a show focusing on a group of slightly mature women in a small community with a web of secrets. NBC reportedly passed because they believed mostly middle-aged women as main characters wouldn't be attractive to audiences. They also weren't fans of the more risqué parts.

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'Desperate Housewives' (2004-2012) -

So, Cherry took the show to ABC, a network that had been struggling after several years of bad programming. ABC decided to develop it, and it was the best decision they could have made. The show was a smash hit and brought their ratings way up.

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'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013) -

Now regarded as one of the greatest television shows ever made, 'Breaking Bad' was actually rejected before it was made. Creator, head writer, executive producer, and director Vince Gilligan had originally pitched the show to HBO because it was well-known for hosting shows with more explicit language.

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'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013) -

But HBO passed, and they were reportedly so uninterested in the idea that they didn't even bother sending a formal rejection. FX and Showtime also rejected the series on the grounds that it was too similar to other shows that were airing at the time. TNT was apparently worried about greenlighting a story about a teacher turned meth producer.

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'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013) -

AMC finally picked the show up instead, and to say it paid off is a huge understatement. Those networks surely continue to curse themselves for passing on the immense hit, which also had the successful spin-off series 'Better Call Saul.'

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'The Office' (2005-2013) -

Though the UK version had garnered a lot of positive attention, executive producer Ben Silverman had a very difficult time getting the American version made. The show was actually rejected by numerous American networks until Kevin Reilly at NBC took a chance on it.

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'The Office' (2005-2013) -

At first, 'The Office' made its debut with six episodes in the spring of 2005, but ratings were so low that NBC ordered only six new episodes for the fall, which alone was also a battle with the network. They teetered on the brink of cancelation up until Steve Carell's career took off with 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin.'

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'The Walking Dead' (2010-2022) -

You would think that a series based on a popular comic book which also incorporated reliably interesting zombies would have been fought over by networks, but executive producer Frank Darabont was actually turned down several times by various networks.

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'The Walking Dead' (2010-2022) -

The main problem that networks like NBC, ABC, and Fox had was the grotesque display of the zombies and the brutal violence in fighting them. They also didn't enjoy the price tag associated with making such a series. Fortunately, AMC took a chance.

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'The Big Bang Theory' (2007-2019) -

Though the show was eventually picked up by CBS and became one of its best-known hits, the network had also previously rejected it. The reason being that the original pilot was much different, featuring two female characters and one nerd. CBS passed, but producers noted how fans liked the characters of Sheldon and Leonard.

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'The Big Bang Theory' (2007-2019) -

The producers refocused the show on those two nerds and decided to contrast them with the character of Penny. The show still started off slowly, but CBS kept at it and it became a smash success.

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'Stranger Things' (2016-present) -

NBC, ABC, CBS, FX, TNT, USA, Fox, CW, and more made up the 15-20 networks that passed on the smash hit series when the Duffer brothers tried to sell it. They were told viewers wouldn't be interested in young kids, or the '80s setting.

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'Stranger Things' (2016-present) -

Luckily, and finally, Netflix picked it up, which the brothers also found beneficial because they liked the idea of dropping all the episodes at once. It certainly paid off, as the series is one of Netflix's biggest hits, has launched the careers of its young stars, and has picked up a number of awards along with critical acclaim.

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'Mad Men' (2007-2015) -

Creator of the show Matthew Weiner originally pitched it to HBO and Showtime, but the networks reportedly felt it was too "retro." Of course, that's part of what makes 'Mad Men' so great to viewers now.

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'Mad Men' (2007-2015) -

Back in 2007, AMC wasn't doing much original programming, so they really took a chance on this series. Of course they've never regretted it, since it became an Emmy-winning smash.

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'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997-2003) -

Joss Whedon's first stab at Buffy, a 1992 film starring Kristy Swanson, didn't impress anyone, and Whedon only continued with the series concept because producer Gail Berman convinced him there was potential there.

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'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997-2003) -

Still, rebooting 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was difficult, as FOX and NBC both rejected the pitch. It was only thanks to the fledgling WB network taking a chance on the show that the now-beloved series ever made it to air.

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'Orange Is the New Black' (2013-2019) -

This series changed the way people watched TV by dropping the full season all at once, plus it shone an iconic new light on the prison population. But creator Jenji Kohan initially struggled to find anyone to pick it up.

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'Orange Is the New Black' (2013-2019) -

Even once Netflix finally picked it up, it wasn't a sure thing because most of the actors were unknown at the time. Of course, now they're beloved by fans around the world.

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'South Park' (1997-present) -

When Trey Parker and Matt Stone pitched their 'South Park' pilot 'The Spirit of Christmas' to Fox and MTV, they were immediately rejected on the basis that the show wouldn't appeal to adults with its child protagonists, and that it wasn't diverse enough.

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'South Park' (1997-present) -

They had actually got the meeting thanks to Fox executive Brian Graden, who believed so much in the show that he left his job to follow it wherever it could get picked up, which ended up being Comedy Central. It was still a bumpy road to popularity, but now it's widely beloved.

Sources: (Bloomberg) (Stylist) (Mental Floss) (Digital Spy)  (Ranker) (TheRichest)

See also: The best TV sitcoms of all time

© NL Beeld