4) The Farm
With The Office well past its best days and soon to wrap up with its final season, the producers were keen to keep the spirit of Dunder Mifflin alive. The spinoff they came up with was to be called The Farm and feature Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute getting into wacky adventures as he ran his family’s old farm.
To set up the show, a backdoor pilot was inserted into The Office’s ninth season. The problem was that audiences hated the episode – fans and critics alike blasted it for its cartoonish humour, which was at odds with the usual tone of the series. As such, the network decided to pass on the show and The Farm never went into business.
It’s intriguing to think, though, what would have happened if the series had actually come to fruition. Lots of pilots don’t find their feet straight away, so perhaps there was a good show in there somewhere.