Cancelled Before They Began: The Greatest American Hero, Wayward Sisters, and More Recent Pilots That Did Not Fly

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

This past Pilot Season saw several sci fi / fantasy shows in development that were passed over and will likely never go to series such as Lost Boys (CW), Cipher (Syfy), and Triangle (ABC). You can read more about those at this link and below is a look at pilots from the the prior two years that did not get picked up.

The Greatest American Hero (ABC)

Description: Inspired by the 1980s TV show the comedy centers around Meera, a 30-year-old woman who loves tequila and karaoke and has spent her life searching and failing to find meaning, much to the chagrin of her traditional Indian-American family. An inexplicable event occurs that will change the course of Meera’s life forever: She is entrusted with a super suit to protect the planet. Meera may have finally found purpose, but the world has never been in more unreliable hands. THR

Starring: Hannah Simone, George Wendt, Gia Sandhu, Zenobia Shroff

Comments: This one could have been a ton of fun like the original series was when at its best especially if they had done it as sequel where the new heroine picks up the baton from Ralph Hinkley, the lead from the original show (I can’t say for certain that they did take that approach, though). As tired as we are of reboots, this might have been a good one to bring back, but apparently ABC wasn’t feeling it and decided to ground this superhero comedy.

Tremors (Syfy)

Description: The pilot for this series picks up almost thirty years after the events from the first movie. The subterranean worms (aka “Graboids”) have not been seen in a long time, but suddenly make a reappearance in Perfection, Nevada. An aging Val McKee returns to his former town to help out, but can he overcome alcoholism and a hero complex to defeat the creatures a second time?

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Hunter Parrish, Toks Olagundoye, P.J. Byrne

Comments: This pilot seemed to have a lot going for it with Kevin Bacon returning to the franchise and Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) onboard as director. But it also looked like it would ignore the other sequels and the 2003 short-lived TV series that have developed a notable cult following. Plus, Michael Gross was nowhere to be found in the production and he has since become the face of the franchise. Still, the trailer looked promising and it would have been nice to see Kevin Bacon on the Graboid hunt once again. I’m not certain it would have worked as an ongoing series, but I sure would like to see the pilot (I discuss this one in more detail at this link).

Wayward Sisters (CW)

Description: Wayward Sisters tells the story of Supernatural fan-favorite recurring player Sheriff Jody Mills and a group of troubled young women, all of them orphaned by supernatural monster attacks and tragedies. Under Mills’ protection, they emerge as a supreme monster-fighting force. THR

Cast: Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Kathryn Newton, Katherine Ramdeen, Clark Backo, Yadira Guevara-Prip

Comments: The CW has been toying with a Supernatural spin-off for a while and it seemed like they hit on something with this one (the pilot aired as an episode of the series this season in January 2018). But the network decided to pass on it with president Mark Pedowitz claiming “we did not feel creatively that the show is where we wanted it to be”. Fans started a petition to save the failed show, though, which surpassed 80K signatures. But that was not enough to convince the network to change its mind and go forward with the series.

The Machine (Syfy)

Description: In a future world, the emergence of artificial intelligence leads to a conflict between humans and technology that could decide the fate of the human race.

Starring: Bridger Zadina, Olly Rix, Katee Sackhoff, Lance Henriksen, Indira Varma

Comments: Based on the 2013 film of the same name, this was shaping up to have a lot of potential, especially with Sackhoff and Henriksen joining the cast. But Syfy is a shadow of its old self these days and may eventually succumb to the Peak TV crunch.

Mission Control (CBS)

Description: NASA personnel juggle their personal and professional lives as they work on a critical mission of near-space exploration.

Starring: Ellen Wroe, Peyton List, David Giuntoli

Comments: This one came from Andy Weir of The Martian fame, and sounded like it could have delivered a good speculative fiction series that championed space travel in a time when the country has lost interest in that endeavor. However, I didn’t like the idea of this one landing at sci-fi-averse CBS, and had a hard time seeing it fitting in with their routine lineup of sitcoms, procedurals and reality shows. Hulu released the similarly-themed The First last Fall which starred Sean Penn, but it was cancelled after one season.