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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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HOLLYWOOD, CA – JANUARY 13: Actor Martin Lawrence attends the premiere of Universal Pictures’ ‘Ride Along’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on January 13, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – JANUARY 13: Actor Martin Lawrence attends the premiere of Universal Pictures’ ‘Ride Along’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on January 13, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images) /

11. Martin (FOX)

Series run: 1992-1997 (5 seasons/132 episodes)

There are certain shows that get a season-long “farewell.” Then, there are those shows that just goes off the air.

Martin was in the later.

It really should have been in the former, as the show marked a turning point in African-American television. Martin was also a star-making vehicle for comedian Martin Lawrence, who would go on to co-own the comedy landscape in the ’90s with Chris Rock.

Set around a radio disk jockey (and in later seasons, a TV talk show host) in Detroit, Michigan, Martin, wasn’t really thought of as a hit sitcom for FOX, much less a pop culture icon. Around the time Martin premiered, African-American television was still centered around family sitcoms like The Cosby Show, with a few outliers.

However, Martin tapped into the changing culture of the time, and the series characters would become household names. Martin helped give Fox the fuel it needed to become a rating powerhouse in the decade, which is why it didn’t deserve the sudden send-off that it got in 1997.

For all the show did for the network, sending Martin on a “farewell” season was the least FOX could have done.

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