Cancelled Before It Began: The Veil (1958)

Our ongoing look back at sci fi / fantasy TV shows that were cancelled way too soon or pilots that never made it to series.

Referred to as “the greatest television series never seen”, this anthology series was hosted by the legendary Boris Karloff and it presented supernatural tales of horror that were allegedly based on actual reported events. Karloff also performed in most episodes, but the TV audience of the 1950’s never saw it because the show never made it to the air. The Veil went into production eying a syndication run, but studio troubles plus the falling out of a co-financing deal brought the show to a stop after ten episodes had been produced. Since that was not enough to interest the syndication market or one of the networks, the series ended up just getting scrapped.

It disappeared from the public eye until fortunately resurfacing in the 00’s on DVD, giving curious onlookers the chance to finally see the series. And while not a classic, the show had its moments and at times came close the 1960 series Thriller which Karloff would have much more success with. Interestingly, only ten episodes of the show were filmed during the initial production run, but there are actually twelve episodes associated with the series. A pilot titled “The Vestris” was aired in 1958 on the anthology series Telephone Time, and the episode “Jack the Ripper” was produced by another studio but acquired as part of The Veil. These two additional episodes were included in the 2009 DVD release of the series (referred to as Tales of the Unexplained: From Behind The Veil). And since it is available now on home video, this one is definitely worth a look for Karloff fans and those who enjoyed the anthology shows from the early decades of television.

Aired: Never Aired, 1958, 1 Season Totaling 12 Episodes

Created By: Frank P. Bibas

Hosted By: Boris Karloff

Buy The Veil, Thriller, and other classic anthologies on DVD from Amazon.com: