There is a major reason why TV shows are becoming increasingly abundant: people love them. No matter what genre they are, these shows quickly become part of our daily lives, keeping us company with their episodes while connecting us with others by providing talking points. The audience of each TV show gets involved with their characters' stories,celebrates the couplesthat emerge and turns to social media to express their opinions at the end of each episode.
Certainly, movies also manage to do this, but since TV series are made up of several episodes, and even seasons, they make people talk about them for longer periods of time. In general, we all love to get lost in these shows that pull us out of our reality for a while, especially on those days when we are not in the best mood. TV series are always there to keep us company in our dark moments, and a few minutes into a new episode, we forget about that situation that bothered us all day long.
In order for each episode of our favorite show to hit our screen, dozens, and sometimes hundreds of workers have to work on it. From actors to directors, producers and every single member of the crew. And, as in any job, these teams also have their fair share of problems. Generally, problems on a film set get solved behind closed doors, and never make it to the media. However, over the years, many TV shows have made headlines for different issues arising on set, from quarrels between cast members to far more serious allegations. Here are 10 shows that were exposed for their toxic sets.
10Dr. Phil
The talk showDr. Philhosted by Phil McGraw ran for 21 seasons beforewrapping up this year. However, after several years in which it only made headlines for its popularity and the content of each episode, in early-2022, it hit the news for a completely different issue: the poor treatment of its employees. According to testimonies from several people who had worked on the show, verbal abuse and racism were rampant on set, and workers were very used to endure this from several of the producers.
Furthermore, they claimed that, on many occasions, the show’s guests were poorly treated, made fun of or even manipulated to alter their story so as to improve the show’s material. When all these testimonies surfaced, McGraw and Carla Pennington, the show’s executive producers, addressed them through their lawyers, adamantly denying all the former employees' claims.
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9America’s Next Top Model
At one point in time,America’s Next Top Modelwas the favorite show of many, many people. This reality TV series in which numerous girls competed for a shot at the modeling industry was created and hosted by Tyra Banks, and aired for 24 seasons, concluding in 2018. In this case, much of the show’s problems could be appreciated on screen, although the spotlight was only drawn to this in recent years.
Throughout the show’s run, contestants were subjected to challenges in which they were endangered, and on many occasions, the judges' reviews were very demeaning, and even discriminatory. In addition, there have been testimonies of sexual harassment against male models on the show that were not handled the way they should have been. In 2020, perVariety, Banks briefly commented on these issues on Twitter, acknowledging the fans and thanking them for their feedback.
8Community
Communityis a sitcom that, over the course of its seasons, won over an audience that still remembers it fondly to this day. This show, which aired from 2009 to 2015, was created by Dan Harmon drawing on his own experiences as a community college student, and it garnered a slew of nominations and awards over the years. A great deal of the on-set issues with this show revolved around two specific individuals: Harmon himself and Chevy Chase. The show’s creator was not the easiest person to get along with on set, and his erratic behavior and discussions with several employees led to his dismissal by NBC after the show’s third season. Still, Harmon returned as showrunner for the show’s fifth season.
As for Chevy Chase, the actor was involved in several conflicts on set, not only with his fellow cast members, but also with Harmon and the rest of the crew. On many occasions, Chase reportedly made racist comments, and stormed off the set during scenes he didn’t want to do. Eventually,the actor was firedfrom the project and his character was killed off the show.
7One Tree Hill
For nine seasons,One Tree Hillwas among young audiences' favorite shows. However, like all the other productions on this list, this TV series starring Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty was embroiled in several controversies. This time, regarding the show’s creator, Mark Schwahn. Many actresses in the cast and even women writers were subjected to harassment and assault by Schwahn.
Eventually, writer Audrey Wauchope accused him of sexual harassment and, as a result, a number of actresses and crew members signed an open letter discussing the man’s inappropriate attitudes on set, claiming that they were emotionally and psychologically manipulated by Schwahn, and that they did not speak out when the show was on the air out of fear of losing their jobs.
6Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayeris one of the most iconic shows of all time, and the one responsible for launching Sarah Michelle Gellar’s career to stardom. This TV series was the brainchild of Joss Whedon and aired for seven seasons, ending in 2003. Many years went by since the end of this show, but in 2021 it made headlines again after Charisma Carpenter, one of the actresses in the cast, made statements about Whedon’s abuse of power and the toxic environment he fostered.
Following Carpenter, Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg also came out to testify about the show’s poor working conditions. Late last year, the show’slead actress spoke outin regards to the issue, supporting all the victims of Whedon’s abuse and mentioning, once again, how toxic and misogynistic the set was, where women were frequently pitted against each other in an attempt to break them apart.
5Criminal Minds
Criminal Mindsis one of the most popular police procedural TV shows in the history of television, and one of CBS' most popular projects. This production aired for 15 seasons until 2020, and it was brought back to life last year by Paramount+. In this case, much of the toxic environment surrounding the show had to do exclusively with director of photography Greg St. Johns, one of the project’s longest-serving crew members.
Throughout the show’s run, several male crew members reported being groped and even assaulted by this filmmaker, and several of them claimed to have been fired by St. Johns after they tried to complain about it.
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4Desperate Housewives
Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, and Nicolette Sheridan were the actresses cast to star in Marc Cherry’s TV seriesDesperate Housewives. This production aired from 2004 to 2012, and throughout its run it made headlines for alleged fights between the cast actresses. These rumors were reignited in 2019, after Huffman was caught up in a legal scandal for paying a huge sum of money to boost her daughter’s college admission score.
At the time, the show’s creator and Longoria wrote letters supporting Huffman that were submitted to the court, both of which referenced a particular cast member who was abusive to the rest of the staff, to the point where working with her became nearly impossible. Although neither of them named the actress in question, there were rumors that it could be Hatcher.
In addition to the actresses' poor on-set relationship,Desperate Housewiveswas also involved in a scandal when Sheridan sued Marc Cherry for physical assault and sexual harassment after her character was removed from the show in its fifth season, although this lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
Nickelodeon has had its fair share of scandals, and much of those had to do with Dan Schneider, one of its biggest contributors. Schneider was the mastermind behind some of the network’s most popular shows, such asThe Amanda Show,Drake & Josh, andiCarly, among many others. The latter production starred Miranda Cosgrove and featured Jennette McCurdy among the cast members. In 2022, McCurdy released her memoir, in which she talked about her time on the show and the inappropriate behaviors that Schneider had with her, saying that Nickelodeon reportedly offered her money to keep her from revealing her experience.
McCurdy was not the only person who reported Schneider’s harassment and mistreatment, other actresses and even employees who worked with him have also denounced this. Schneider and Nickelodeon parted ways in 2018, and after a few years, the producer stated his willingness to return to television and once again denied the testimonies against him in an interview.
2The Ellen DeGeneres Show
For many years,The Ellen DeGeneres Showwas one of the audience’s favorites, a show they would go to to enjoy Ellen’s witty remarks and funny interviews. However, in 2020 this popular project made headlines for something quite different after several former employees' testimonies were made public, claiming to have been subjected to discrimination, racism, and microaggressions by several of the show’s executive producers.
At the time, DeGeneres stepped forward and stated that she had no knowledge of these events, but felt very sorry for the situation. Eventually, the case was investigated and three executive producers were fired. However, shortly after the controversy, Ellen announced that the show was coming to an end after its 19th season.
1Grey’s Anatomy
Rounding out this list is one of the shows that has been most embroiled in controversy since its on-screen run began,Grey’s Anatomy. This medical drama by Shonda Rhimes premiered in 2005 and was renewed for a 20th season this past February. The scandals surrounding Grey’s Anatomy through the years have been many, but one of the earliest had to do with actor Isaiah Washington using homophobic slur against his castmate T. R. Knight. Following this, and a fight with Patrick Dempsey, the actor was fired from the show. It is worth mentioning that Dempsey, for his part, has also been accused of being difficult to work with during his time on the show.
On many occasions, Katherine Heigl was very critical of the TV series, and in fact, she had several run-ins with Rhimes regarding the material they gave her character and the overextended shooting days. Eventually, the situation became too much for Heigl to handle, and she decided to step away from the show at the end of its sixth season. She was not the only one to leave the show under controversial circumstances related to Rhimes: T. R. Knight leftGrey’s Anatomya year before Heigl, following what he called a “breakdown of communication” with Rhimes (viaEW).
