Like all other businesses, television networks aim to please their customers and maintain their reputation. There have thus been cases of episodes being pulled before being aired because they had offensive content. Even though television episodes normally cost a lot of money to make, executives often figure that it’s better to shelve the controversial pieces of storytelling than have to deal with backlash or legal implications later on.
Sometimes, other reasons contribute to a completed episode not getting aired. A story might have been told in good faith, only for new global events to make it seem inappropriate. There are also cases of episodes being shelved because of behind-the-scenes set factors. In the age of DVDs, a few of these episodes were made available in physical format, but today, it’s becoming even harder to find them.
Here are 10 notable examples of TV episodes that were completed but never aired.
‘Hannibal’
Meant to air on June 06, 2025, “Oeuf” wasabout children being brainwashed into killing their families. It was pulled five days before it aired, with the initial assumption being that it was all because of the Boston Marathon bombings. However, it later emerged thatthe tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was the real reason.
Young Souls Getting Corrupted
Hannibaloften went to dark and disturbing places, but“Oeuf” would have been too insensitive, given what had transpired in the real world. Even though the episode had nothing to do with school shootings,the presence of child killers would have struck a nerve in some viewers. The network thus did the right thing by respecting the social climate. Unedited versions of the episode later popped up on platforms like iTunes and Amazon Video.
9"Snuffy’s Parents Get a Divorce"
‘Sesame Street’
In “Snuffy’s Parents Get a Divorce,”the parents of Aloysius Snuffleupagus get divorced, leaving the young character confused and worried about the future. Despite being completed, the Season 23 episode was scrapped becausetest audiences consisting of young viewers were baffled by the eventsand did not seem to understand important concepts about divorce.
Too Deep for Children
Sesame Street
As one of the world’s most popularkids' educational shows,Sesame Streethas always had a history of addressing difficult topics as part of its curriculum goals.The decision to tackle divorce was arrived at after the US Census Bureau reported that 40% of American children had seen their parents go their separate ways. It’s a shame this particular episode didn’t air, but the choice to throw it in the bin made sense, considering it was the only one that didn’t do well with test audiences. Thankfully, it wasn’t a lost investment.“Snuffy’s Parents Get a Divorce” was made available to the public through counseling services, family courts, and parenting and child care programs.
8"Partial Terms of Endearment"
‘Family Guy’
Family Guy hascrossed many sensitive linesover the years, but for “Partial Terms of Endearment,” the network felt things had gone overboard. In the episode, Lois agrees to be a surrogate parent, andwhen the real parents die before the baby is born, she contemplates abortion.
Too Sensitive, Even by ‘Family Guy’ Standards
Family Guy
Abortion is indeed a sensitive topic in America, so Fox executives were right to keep the episode in the vault. At the time, the network’s president, Kevin Reilly, explained that there were fears about the episode causing negative financial effects. Hebelieved some advertisers would have pulled out, which wasn’t worth the risk. However,series creator Seth McFarlane disagreed with the decision, arguing that the only problem was people’s hesitation to discuss these kinds of topics. Luckily, curious fans got to see the episode on DVD.
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‘2gether: The Series’
2getherstarted as a movieparodying the popular boy bands of the 1990s, such as NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and New Kids on the Block. It then spun off into a popular MTV series. Unfortunately, the episode"Fat" never aired due to the unexpected cancellation of the show following the tragic death of Michael Cuccione, the actor playing Jason “QT” McKnight, the youngest member of the fictional boy band.
Fate’s Cruel Hand
2gether: The Series
“Fat” was meant to be the sixth episode of Season 2. Even though many shows have navigated through the deaths of cast members by simply writing the tragedy into the storyline,Cuccione was a beloved member of the cast, hence the sitcom would have felt empty without him. His death affected fans deeply, his funeral attracting scores of people. Given how popular Cuccione was, there’s a high chance that ratings would have tanked without him.
6"To Set it Right"
‘The Lieutenant’
In the ‘60s,The Lieutenantwas quickly establishing itself as a must-seemilitary-themed drama. However, the episode, “To Set it Right,” triggered plenty of controversy and resulted in the series being shelved entirely. In it,a white serviceman and a black serviceman (both stationed at Camp Pendleton) are forced to settle their issues via a boxing match.
Behind-the-Scenes War
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenantwas developed in collaboration with the U.S. Defense Department, butrelations became strained following the choice to depict racist men in uniform. Producers were warned that the airing of the episode could result in the production no longer being able to use military equipment and Marine extras. Because there was already bad blood between the two camps, the episode was shelved, and the series was officially canceled a week later.
5"Bye Bye Beavers"
‘The Angry Beavers’
“Bye Bye Beavers” wasmade in response to news that the show was being canceled, and it had quite an interesting premise. In it, thecharacters discover they have been cartoons all along. Unable to accept their fate,they try begging and bribing so that they can remain on air, but it doesn’t work.
Acknowledging Real Events
The Angry Beavers
Fans would have been impressed by this geniusfourth-wall-breaking approach, but Nickelodeon executivesfeared that the episode would cause viewers to view the network in a bad light. They alsofelt that younger audiences weren’t mature enough to understand the dynamics surrounding cancellations and renewals. They were partly justified in their fears, but it would still have been fun watching this. For those curious enough, the audio is available on the German DVD and Blu-ray release.
‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’
The adventures of three anthropomorphic fast food items — Master Shake, Meatwad, and Frylock — inAqua Teen Hunger Forcehave wowed fans for years. With over 140 episodes, there is plenty to munch on. However, the episode “Boston”had to be discarded after being completed because of the 2007 Boston Mooninite panic, where a guerrilla marketing campaign for a theatrical movie tied to the show had caused a bomb scare, followed by mass panic.
Staying Away From Trouble
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Understandably,the people in charge of the content on Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block, Adult Swim, believed the episode would be despised by audiences, given the events that had occurred. There was no need to bring negative attention to the network again. More legal problems could have followed, too. After the bomb scare, Turner Broadcasting System was forced to pay $2 million in damages.
3"I’ll See You in Court"
‘Married… with Children’
“I’ll See You in Court” revolves around a lawsuit aftertwo of the main characters discover that they were secretly recorded while having sexinside a hotel room. Additionally,the episode contained more sex-based dialogue than was normal for the show, so an order to pull it off schedule was given.
Married… With Children
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2"Elephant in the Room”
‘Buffalo Bill’
Another great ‘80s sitcom wasBuffalo Bill, revolving around the misadventures of an egotistical talk show host, played by the great Dabney Coleman, and his staff at WBFL-TV, a small TV station in Buffalo, New York. It had many eye-opening episodes, but one of them was surprisinglyshelved for tackling sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace.
A #MeToo Warning
Buffalo Bill
“Elephant in the Room” was ahead of its time, andcould have opened society’s eyes earlier… years before the #MeToo movement began. There aren’t any reports regarding any other reasons why the episode was kept off-air, so the only assumption is that it went too hard while analyzing its themes. Unfortunately, no versions of it have surfaced online.
1"A Touch of Brimstone"
‘The Avengers’
Marvel is the only thing that comes to mind whenever the word “Avengers” gets mentioned, but back in the 1960s, there wasThe Avengers, a tame television imitation of the James Bond movies. It involved a suave British agent solving different kinds of threats. Each episode was highly entertaining. But “A Touch of Brimstone”was kept off audiences for including sexualized imagery and a few BDSM themes, including the character Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) in dominatrix clothing.
Morals First
Times were different back then. Society was more conservative, andmost shows often stressed family values. We bet no censorship boards would bother with such an episode right now. Viewers in the United Kingdom were a bit lucky since a stripped-down version of the episode was allowed to air, with all the controversial scenes removed. This version of the episode was also made available on Home Video.
