12 Miles Of Bad Road

HBO is not a network known for ordering series and then not airing them after episodes have been filmed. Unlike on the regular networks where shows are green lit then dropped on a daily basis, HBO tends to be very deliberate with their series selection and if they decide to get into business with a show then that show will at the very least get a chance to air before a decision is made on whether it should be yanked or not. However, that was not the case with 12 Miles of Bad Road. This show came from the mind of veteran TV writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (Designing Women), starred Lily Tomlin as the matriarch of a dysfunctional wealthy Texas family and featured Mary Kay Place, Gary Cole and Eliza Coupe in supporting roles. Sounds like a winning formula for a high-minded, mature comedy-drama, huh? Well apparently once the executives over at HBO got a look at the finished product they were so unimpressed that they took the unprecedented move of removing this show from its schedule despite already including it in promo spots that featured all of the shows that the network planned on airing in 2007. Not ready to give up the ghost, Bloodworth-Thomson and her production partners shopped the show around to other networks while also giving copies of the finished episodes to TV reviewers to prove to HBO that the network was wrong in its decision to drop the show but none of the networks were interested and critical responses were less than glowing. Even the show’s star thought the show was a disaster with stories coming to light of Tomlin looking for a way out of her contract.