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The Office and 25 TV shows that were never supposed to be hits

By Kareem Gantt

MALIBU, CA - APRIL 14: Actors Rainn Wilson (L) and Steve Carell attend "The Office" 100th Episode Celebration at the Calamigos Ranch on April 14, 2009 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
MALIBU, CA - APRIL 14: Actors Rainn Wilson (L) and Steve Carell attend "The Office" 100th Episode Celebration at the Calamigos Ranch on April 14, 2009 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES – FEBRUARY 20: Actors (L to R) David Gallagher, twins Lorenzo and Nikolas Brino, Catherine Hicks, Stephen Collins and Beverley Mitchell pose at a reception to celebrate 150 episodes of The WB’s “7th Heaven” on February 20, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – FEBRUARY 20: Actors (L to R) David Gallagher, twins Lorenzo and Nikolas Brino, Catherine Hicks, Stephen Collins and Beverley Mitchell pose at a reception to celebrate 150 episodes of The WB’s “7th Heaven” on February 20, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /

12. 7th Heaven

Series run: 1996-2007 (11 seasons/243 episodes)

A show about a preacher and his family? Who in the world would have thought that would be a successful show?

Apparently, Brenda Hampton and Aaron Spelling did.

Hampton was the creator of 7th Heaven, which centered around the Camden family and their life in the small town of Gleanoak, California (which, doesn’t exist, by the way). At the time, Hampton and  Spelling, the man behind Beverly Hills, 90210 and who produced the series, were looking to put something more family friendly on prime-time television, and 7th Heaven would be that show.

It was originally pitched to Fox, but they weren’t interested. So, they went to the then-fledgling WB Network, and they picked it up. There were still some worries that a show revolving around a Christian family would be a hit on prime time, but 7th Heaven proved the doubters wrong.

By the second season, the show would become its flagship program, regularly topping or coming in second  in the network ratings. 7th Heaven would also launch the career of Jessica Biel, and though it never really broke loose in the main rankings, 7th Heaven was still a powerhouse, and it captured numerous awards.

Then came the shutdown of The WB.

While shows like 7th Heaven and One Tree Hill (hint for later) were strong, the network as a whole declined, and Warner Bros., who owned the network, entered into an agreement with CBS, who owned UPN, to shut down both networks and form a new one, The CW. Shows on both networks were left in limbo, including 7th Heaven, as it was obvious that not every show would move to the new network.

Thankfully, 7th Heaven was one of the shows picked up for the new CW Network, but while it was still in the Top 10 network-wise for its 11th season, it was clear that the show was entering a decline. So, the creators decided to let the show go off on high note, as the creators achieved their goal of showing network execs that wholesome, family programming could succeed on primetime TV.

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