Rolling Stone has a great article today, about how and why some of the most promising TV series haven't made it to our screens, including How and Why.

In the past year alone, networks have passed on series by Deadwood auteur David Milch, Being John Malkovich screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, and comedy gods Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels and Paul Feig. Why do so many shows never make it to your TV? What have we been missing?

[...]

In the half-hour single-cam pilot that Charlie Kaufman (screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) shot for FX, the brilliant John Hawkes plays a TV host who loses his gig and has to move to a smaller market, where he works for a younger guy (Michael Cera) and with a new crew. Sally Hawkins played his wife, and Catherine Keener was set to guest-star. Trade website Deadline Hollywood reported that FX didn't appreciate its unusual tone and felt it "would not mesh well with the rest of the lineup." Kaufman is rumored to be shopping the show to other networks. (Source)