Original TV show names: Here's what your favourite TV shows were nearly called

Imagine that!

Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 24th Aug 2020
Last updated 27th May 2021

Choosing a name of a TV show is very important, so it's not surprising that many TV shows that we know and love actually had a completely different name before they were released.

Comedy favourites such as Friends and Only Fools and Horses could have been very different, and noughties favourite Lost would have been a completely different show, had producers stuck with their original ideas - but we aren't sure it has the same ring.

More recently, hit TV show New Girl has been on TV since 2011, but when it was created it had a much ruder working title. Find out what it could have been called below, along with nine other programmes with very different names...

Friends

We all know and love it as Friends, but the TV show could have been called something very different...

Six of One

Six Of One just doesn't have the same ring to it! Here are the cast Jennifer Aniston, Matt Le Blanc, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow. Mega-fans, you can watch Friends daily on Comedy Central (YAY!) or on Friends – The Complete Series 1-10 on Blu-ray and DVD.

NCIS

NCIS finished its 14th season earlier this year - this moment is from the gripping season finale.

NavyNCIS

Starring Duane Henry, Emily Wickersham, and Wilmer Valderrama (above) NCIS was originally going to be called NavyNCIS.

Only Fools and Horses

We know it as Only Fools and Horses with Del Boy's infamous Reliant Regal Supervan.

Readies or Big Brother

But it was originally due to be called Readies or Big Brother. Good job they went with Only Fools and Horses, then!

The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory could have been called something a lot less catchy...

Lenny, Penny and Kenny

Yep - Sheldon was very nearly called Kenny!

Saturday Night Live

US variety show Saturday Night Live is well known around the world - here's Star Wars actor Adam Driver introducing the show.

NBC's Saturday Night

Not quite the same, is it? Here's Ariana Grande's ex-fiancé Pete Davidson, who works on the show as a comedian.

Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana, was a musical comedy starring Miley Cyrus in the lead role and was named after the main character, but it could have been very different.

Alexis Texas

The lead character was originally going to be called Alexis Texas... Which means that the show would also have been called Alexis Texas!

Lost

The gripping TV show Lost, starring Terry O'Quinn as John Locke (pictured), kept people guessing the ending for years.

Nowhere

Lost could have been called Nowhere!

New Girl

Known as New Girl, the TV show starring Zooey Deschanel as kooky teacher Jess Day could have been called something else entirely.

Chicks and D---s

While New Girl was the name they finally settled on, it had a much ruder working title - and Zooey Deschanel refused to sign onto the project whilst that was the name.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Supernatural TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a hit in the late 90s and early 00s. It was named after the lead character Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Slayers

It was originally going to be called Slayers.

The Good Wife

Known as The Good Wife, the TV series starred Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart (pictured), as a top litigator and senior partner of a Chicago law firm.

Leave the B-----d

The series, which also starred Sex and the City's Chris Noth (pictured), was originally going to be called Leave the B-----d.

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