![]() No doubt inspired by the runaway success of Empire, Fox partnered with creator Lee Daniels for another musical series, this one centered around three young singers chasing the American dream. Before word of mouth even began to get around about this under-appreciated series, the lip-syncing drama had already been sunk. Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix/Everett CollectionĪudiences (or at least a Netflix-sized audience) didn’t quite warm up to this ambitious, dance-heavy series about a group of interconnected love stories in Los Angeles. The show’s uninspired murder mystery didn’t help, nor did its endless parade of covers masquerading as original songs. Have you ever felt deceived by a television show? That’s how most viewers probably look back at this bait-and-switch country music drama, which featured Susan Sarandon at the forefront of its marketing… only to kill her off in the first episode. Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox/Everett Collection 1 Billboard hit “How Do You Talk to an Angel,” and a post- Days of Our Lives/pre- NYPD Blue Charlotte Ross, but little else during its 12-episode run. This short-lived Fox drama about the titular band gave us the No. ![]() A genial Bochco harbored no ill will, acknowledging that ABC had been “terrific” by keeping the show on, even though its dismal ratings triggered make-goods for advertisers. 80 out of 101 programs that season - and then-ABC chief Bob Iger pulled the plug. The Nielsen numbers, however, delivered only low notes - the series ranked No. This infamous 1990 crime drama/musical hybrid, hailing from Steven Bochco, was ambitious, to be sure, punctuating its procedural aspects with rock, blues, gospel and pop numbers. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Television / Courtesy of Everett Collection ![]() Though if you wanted to see Jackman strut his way through a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” this was the show for you! CBS swiftly dropped the axe after just two episodes. Based on a vastly superior British show, Laughlin had its cast sing along to popular rock hits, but the numbers were jarring, and critics and viewers were not applauding. If not handled just right, musical TV shows can easily veer into campy self-parody, and that was unfortunately the case with this glitzy CBS misfire, featuring Hugh Jackman as a swaggering (and singing!) casino mogul. Image Credit: Sony Pictures Television / Courtesy of Everett Collection (Press PLAY on the video above to have a listen.) 1 smash - although not until it was covered by Heart three years later. But the musical sitcom did mark John Stamos’ first post- General Hospital role, and the tunes were pitch-perfect for MTV’s Golden Age. This Bill Bixby-directed 1984 fever dream about a pop act on the rise was so crummy that CBS couldn’t bring itself to air more than half of its dozen episodes. Image Credit: CBS / Courtesy of Everett Collection 1 on the Billboard charts in our hearts, then hit the comments with your favorites! Review TVLine’s ranking of musical shows to find out which series was No. Finally, educational/children’s programming like Sesame Street was not included. Note: To make our rankings, the show’s characters had to have regularly broken out into song in musical numbers that were either real ( Empire, Nashville) or imagined ( Eli Stone, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), be they original tunes or covers à la Glee. The series must have also aired at least one season, so Rise of the Pink Ladies, which is still in the midst of unspooling its freshman run, didn’t make the cut. The below list includes current entries ( High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and past ones ( The Monkees), and ranges from quality musical shows ( Flight of the Conchords) to ones that missed the mark (we’re looking at you, Cop Rock). But the aforementioned series are hardly the only ones to have their casts belt out high notes, as evidenced by TVLine’s ranking of musical shows, from worst to best. ![]() With the recent releases of Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & the Six, Hulu’s Up Here and Paramount+’s Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, musical shows have taken over the small screen with catchy melodies. The sound of song is in the air - or more precisely, all over TV.
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