The 1992 David Lynch TV series cancelled after three episodes: “They really hated it”
David Lynch’s surreal sitcom On the Air was cancelled by ABC in 1992 after only three episodes were broadcast in the United States. The programme, made after the success of Twin Peaks, struggled to find an audience and illustrated the limits of network television’s appetite for Lynch’s unusually eccentric style.
Created with Twin Peaks collaborator Mark Frost, the series followed the chaotic production of a 1950s-style variety show and relied on absurd humour, slapstick and deliberately offbeat characters. Seven episodes were produced, but only three initially aired in the US; Lynch later said the network “really hated it”, while the remaining instalments were shown elsewhere.
- ABC cancelled Lynch’s On the Air after three US broadcasts.
- Seven episodes were made, but four were initially unaired in America.
- The sitcom’s surreal humour proved too unconventional for network television.