The Rotten Tomatoes ratings system can say a lot about a show. A low critics’ score but a high audience score often means that the TV show is silly fun, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. Rotten Tomatoes critics have praised other TV shows that audiences have hated, and this can sometimes mean the show hasn’t found the right audience.
Hulu’s new thriller All’s Fair debuted at 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a rare result, though it is not the first TV show to have this score. Several TV shows have a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score, but they do not all deserve this rating. Some were released at the wrong time or were miscast, while others have simply been overlooked and have plenty of good elements.
Hunters
2016
A character raising his hand and looking concerned
SyFy does not always have a reputation for producing critically acclaimed shows, but the channel has been home to some fantastic experimental sci-fi TV series. While SyFy shows are not all meant to appeal to a wide audience, Hunters appeared to have the makings of a great show, produced by Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator and Aliens) and featuring Julian McMahon (Charmed).
Hunters begins with the disappearance of an FBI agent’s wife, and his search for the truth leads him to discover a secret group that hunts down alien terrorists. Despite the exciting plot, which blends police drama and sci-fi, Hunters was critically panned, with reviewers feeling that the show was derivative. That said, this does not tell the entire story.
Hunters includes elements of great sci-fi shows like The X-Files and crime dramas like True Detective. While it may not be a standout in the sci-fi genre, the show is much better than Rotten Tomatoes critics thought. Audiences praised the storyline and interesting take on terrorism, giving Hunters a 60% positive rating, which is a surprising ratio for such a heavily criticized show.
Secret Agent Man
2000
Dina Meyer as Holiday in Secret Agent Man (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes shows Secret Agent Man has a critics’ score of 0% and no audience score at all. The show only had 12 episodes before it was canceled due to poor ratings, which often criticized the same elements. Reviewers found Secret Agent Man to be both predictable and outdated, evoking the worst aspects of James Bond movies that haven’t aged well.
The show is about two spies and their team’s new agent as they fight to save the world from evil while swapping wisecracks. Critics make a fair point, as the premise brings nothing new to the table, and the original description describes the spy as “suave” and his partner as “gorgeous,” with the promotional material dressing her in very different outfits from the men.
Still, these aspects of Secret Agent Man are fairly typical for TV shows at the time of filming, conforming to a narrow view of a “strong female character” while being a typical spy show that is fun to watch without being groundbreaking. Secret Agent Man is campy and silly, and works well as a guilty pleasure for viewers who don’t have high expectations.
Charlie’s Angels
2011
Abby, Eve, and Kate in the Charlie’s Angels pose
Charlie’s Angels has had several reboots, and the updated TV series came out 11 years after the movie, which received a 68% positive critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, despite an updated cast of characters with interesting backstories, the show fell flat. The 2011 series featured elements from the original show, focusing on the iconic crime-fighting trio.
The show was immediately criticized for bad acting, a confusing plot, and its attempt at a more serious take on the original series, which was popular for its campy tone. The Charlie’s Angels reboot was canceled so quickly that the final episode of the series was never even aired in the US, and even audiences only gave it a 26% positive Rotten Tomatoes score.
Still, plenty of TV shows with bad Rotten Tomatoes scores deserve better, and Charlie’s Angels is one of them. It brings nothing new to the spy action genre, and it is far from excellent quality. That said, its 0% Rotten Tomatoes score is surprising, as it is no worse than many other typical spy action TV shows, ultimately being mindless fun.
My Big Fat Greek Life
2003
Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine, and Lainie Kazan in My Big Fat Greek Life (2003)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the best rom-coms of the early 2000s, focusing on an intercultural romance and the loud Portokalos family. Unfortunately, while the spin-off TV series, My Big Fat Greek Life, had the potential to be a fantastic and long-running family sitcom, it lacked the charm of the movie despite starring most of its cast.
My Big Fat Greek Life’s Portokalos family could have become one of the best sitcom families of all time, but the show’s creators made some odd choices. The first mistake was recasting John Miller’s character and changing the names of the central couple. This was a seemingly inexplicable decision that started the show on a confusing note.
That said, the show did not deserve its 0% score. My Big Fat Greek Life began with high ratings, which then dropped. It picks up from where the wedding ends and keeps the movie’s warm and funny tone. However, it may be more popular among viewers who have not seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as they can watch the show without comparing the two properties.
South Of Hell
2015
Mena Suvari dressed in black and looking over her shoulder
Rotten Tomatoes critics might have given Mena Suvari’s supernatural horror drama South of Hell a 0% rating, but audiences gave it 47%, suggesting that there were aspects of the show that were not quite as terrible as its critics’ score suggested. South of Hell shares elements of the best supernatural horror shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Wynonna Earp, but it has a twist.
Suvari plays Maria, a demon hunter who is inhabited by a spirit named Abigail. Abigail feeds on the demons that Maria exorcises, and the show addresses the idea that we all have a dual nature, exploring how far the characters are willing to go to control their own lives. The premise is interesting, and it had the potential to be a great show.
Unfortunately, while South of Hell had some great ideas and flashes of great direction in some of the action scenes, the show was canceled after eight episodes. Reviewers felt that the tone was uneven as South of Hell tried to combine the humor of shows like True Blood and the existential drama of Buffy, without pulling either off effectively.