;
Made by Maddie (September 13, 2020) :A
Nickelodeon animated series developed by Silvergate Media for preschoolers (originally titled
Fashion Ally) about 8-year-old Maddie (voiced by Alyssa Cheatham) "as she uses her imagination and design ingenuity to turn every problem into a positive with the perfect fashion fix." around New York City. Despite a promo advertising the show, it was pulled from the schedule on September 4, 2020, following scrutiny over similarities between the program and the
Matthew A. Cherry Oscar-winning animated short,
Hair Love. In March 2021, Brian Robbins, President of
ViacomCBS Kids & Family, was reported by
Deadline Hollywood as saying "We'll probably have an announcement soon about the strategy for
Made By Maddie but I'm not ready to tell you yet." On August 17, 2021, the trademark for the series was changed to abandoned. ;
Made in Kentucky (2018) :MTV reality show following young people and their shenanigans in Kentucky. ;
Madison High (2011) :Disney Channel live-action spinoff of its
High School Musical series of
television films. The show would have featured an all-new student cast, while
Alyson Reed would reprise her role as
Ms. Darbus. Instead of the sitcom format used for contemporary live-action Disney television series,
Madison High was to have a
musical comedy format similar to the
High School Musical films, featuring new original songs. Its premise was Ms. Darbus launching a "revolutionary" theater program at a different school. ;
Mail Order Family (intended for 2017) :An ordered NBC sitcom about a widowed American single father who marries a
mail-order bride from the Philippines. Executive producer and co-creator Jackie Clarke based the series on her own experiences growing up with her Filipina stepmother (which was previously a web
animated series, which was covered in a segment of the radio show
This American Life), and intended to portray the character as a strong woman who helped her overcome the death of her birth mother. Less than three days after announcing the project, NBC decided not to move forward with a pilot after protests from the Asian-American community and advocates for trafficked women and mail-order brides after a
Change.org petition protesting the project garnered nearly 10,000 signatures. NBC released a statement stating, "We purchased the pitch understanding that it would tell the creator's real-life experience of being raised by a strong Filipina stepmother after the loss of her own mother...The writer and producer have taken the sensitivity to the initial concept to heart and we have chosen not to move forward with the project at this time." Dr. E. J. R. David and Dr. Alicia del Prado, co-chairs of the Asian American Psychological Association's Division on Filipino Americans, wrote a column in
Psychology Today about what lessons could be learned from the handling of the show, mentioning how future efforts should collaborate from people from the related community and not "trivialize, make light of, or laugh at serious real-life issues" such as human trafficking or buying human beings. ;
Mainly For Men (1969) :A
BBC magazine program aimed at men. The pilot was made in 1969, but went unaired until 1992 on the
TV Hell program as an example of some of the worst television ever made. ;
Manchester Prep (Fall 1999) : Thirteen episodes of this 1999 American Fox drama series based on
Cruel Intentions were ordered, but conflicts started between
Columbia TriStar Television and Fox due to network executives' uncertainty about the long-term viability of the project, and their discomfort with its themes of teen sexuality and incest.
Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox parent
News Corporation, was reportedly outraged after seeing a preview of a scene in which a young female character is sexually aroused by a horse. The series was canceled during filming of the third episode and was moved to the studio's
home entertainment division, where the two completed episodes were edited together into the
R-rated direct-to-video film
Cruel Intentions 2 (2000), with additional scenes being filmed to close the story and add sexual content and nudity. The series was to be a reimagining of the 1999 film, but the film version was changed to a
prequel, resulting in
Sarah Thompson's character being changed to a new character and all of
Sean Patrick Thomas's scenes being cut for
continuity reasons. The film is now known primarily as the first major vehicle for actress
Amy Adams. ;
Man vs. Beast (British version, November 1, 2003) :British channel
ITV commissioned a six-part series based on the controversial Fox special of the same name. It was withdrawn on October 30 after protests from
animal rights groups. ; '''' (July 26, 1993) :This Brazilian miniseries produced by
Rede Manchete in 1993 satirized the former president of Brazil
Fernando Collor, but was canceled before its debut scheduled for July 26, 1993, due to a lawsuit filed by Collor alleging possible
irreparable damage to his honor. A court decision in favor of Collor a few months later banned the debut, but the ban was subsequently lifted by the court on appeal; despite this, Rede Manchete owner
Adolpho Bloch decided in February 1994 not to show the miniseries on his network, saying he wanted to avoid further conflict with Collor. ;
Marie (September 14, 2009) :This American daily
talk show from
Las Vegas, hosted by
Marie Osmond and
syndicated by Program Partners, was cleared in 80% of U.S. markets; however, the show's distributor withdrew it from distribution on July 31, roughly six weeks before the show's debut. Some of the stations that picked up the program had also changed their mind and withdrew their commitments.
Marie eventually made it to air three years later on
Hallmark Channel. ;
Match Game (summer 2004, fall 2008) :American network Fox promoted a revival of the 1970s game show
Match Game called
What the Blank!, hosted by
Fred Willard and announced by Randy West, for Summer 2004; other than the addition of a "
man on the street" segment, the game was faithful to the 1970s format. In 2008,
TBS picked up the show as
Match Game for its late-night schedule with
Andrew Daly as host, but did not air any episodes nor mention the show in any press since then. Other networks rumored to have declined revivals include NBC and
GSN. The series eventually returned in 2012 on
The Comedy Network in Canada, hosted by
Darrin Rose; a primetime U.S. revival eventually was picked up in 2016 with
Alec Baldwin as host for ABC. ;
The Mayor (spring 2004) :American sitcom for
The WB produced by
Adam Sandler. Six episodes were ordered but it was later nixed due to the network reportedly unhappy with the show's creative direction. ;
Members Only (early 2015) :American prime time soap opera following the upstairs-downstairs drama of the powerful and wealthy Holmes family, owners of Connecticut's most exclusive clubs. It was to star
Natalie Zea and
John Stamos. The series was given a straight to series 13 episode commitment by ABC and was created by
Academy Award nominees
Susannah Grant and
David O. Russell. However, Russell exited the series just a month after it received a straight-to-series order. Only a pilot was filmed before ABC shut down production of the series, and naturally, the pilot never aired. ; ''The Men's Room'' (summer 2005) :An NBC sitcom starring
John Cho that was scheduled for midseason in the 2004–05 season, but shut down production after completing only six of its 13-episode order, none of which aired. ;
Misconceptions (June 2006) :Ordered as a midseason replacement for The WB's
2005–06 season, this sitcom would have told the story of single mother Amanda Watson (
Jane Leeves) and her teenage daughter Hopper (
Taylor Momsen) meeting the girl's biological father, Eddie Caprio (
Adam Rothenberg), a sperm donor who turns out to have fabricated all the personal details that led Amanda to choose him, but who charms Hopper despite Amanda's distaste. Six episodes were produced, but none of them aired before The WB shut down and merged with
UPN to form
The CW. The newly merged network aired only two new series during its first season on the air, the rest of its schedule being made up of established series from both networks, leaving no room for
Misconceptions. ;
Mission Control (summer 2015) :This NBC sitcom starring
Krysten Ritter and
Michael Rosenbaum was ordered as a midseason replacement for the
2014–15 season. Casting difficulties would result in the show's cancellation following the completion of the show's pilot episode, which never aired. ;
Mr. Dugan (March 11, 1979) :This American sitcom was to premiere on CBS and received substantial on-air promotion. Starring
Cleavon Little as a fledgling black
congressman,
Mr. Dugan was yanked from CBS's schedule on March 7 after members of the
Congressional Black Caucus denounced Rep. Dugan's characterization as a bumbling man surrounded by a competent staff who would fix his gaffes, after a special screening. ;
Murder Police (Fall 2013) :An American animated detective-crime sitcom from Fox created and written by Jason Ruiz and
Family Guy writer and producer
David A. Goodman and developed by Goodman and
Emily Spivey and was originally set to premiere as part of the network's
Animation Domination block for the 2013–14 schedule. However on October 8, 2013, the series was pulled. Jason Ruiz went on to create
Royal Crackers which aired on
Adult Swim from 2023–2024 and ran for two seasons. ;
My Man Can (2013) :A British ITV dating game show axed following negative reviews before any of its episodes were aired. In 2023, presenter
Melanie Sykes claimed that the show had broken TV gambling rules, but that she had been "
thrown under the bus" by a press release claiming she and co-presenter
Mark Wright hadn't understood the game. ;
Mystery Mansion (2003) : A 13-episode reality television series planned for broadcast by
USA Network. The series brought "22 strangers to a secret location to catch a killer among them and claim the $1 million bounty." It was produced by
Rocket Science Laboratories. ==N==