5 TV Shows That Made Major Plot Changes Because They Were Out Of Budget

Often happens that fans engross with a TV show and suddenly get blindsided because of an expected change. Wondering why the makers write such plotlines?

When TV Shows Run Out Of Budget

Many TV shows made significant decisions about their plot based on some intriguing factors. However, sometimes, these factors boil down to the one and only thing that is budget.

The budget of a show works significantly with every aspect of the plot and that is one of the most prominent reasons why the runners make big changes in the series. A tight budget drastically impacts the plot as it often gets slashed to make space for other stories in line. With that being said, it not only affects the production value of the show but the creativity as well. These are the five out of many TV shows that made major plot changes because they were out of budget –

The Walking Dead

Executive producer and developer Frank Darabont is the person behind bringing The Walking Dead to live out of the comic world. Apparently, many staff members and crew went nervous when he got fired due to some internal issue. Rumors in the industry echoed that it was AMC who spend their entire budget on Mad Men. With that being said, the writers and makers had to re-structure the season’s plotline. Fortunately, it somehow managed to draw viewers’ attention for some more seasons.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Not even one writer from the Star Trek: The Next Generation team echoed a good thing about its season finale. The final episode highlighted the series’ very first scene; credit goes to the makers who spent most of their budget earlier at the beginning of the season. As a result, the plot changed to Commander Riker being hit with an alien virus that left him bedridden, which depicted that the Commander only wished to revive his painful memories.

The Incredible Hulk

There would have been no better way to save money other than using a chase scene in a completely different way. This was basically the plan for The Incredible Hulk (1978). The makers decided that instead of spending the budget on filming a brand new chasing scene, they should use similar footage from Spielberg’s Duel. While the makers and production team of the show definitely saved some bucks with this experiment, they failed to escape the impulsive criticism.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

While many children loved watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the TV show was hardly any original. The makers reused many of its combat scenes and action sequels from a Japanese show of that time, Super Sentai. This was done to perform the cost-cutting task because the makers fell out of their budget and failed to process any additional expense on the show.

Game Of Thrones

GOT is known for its intriguing special effects, along with some additional specialties. But apparently, the combat and dragon scenes cost a lot to the makers. That is why in one of the conflict scenes from season 1, we cannot see the Stark and Lannister forces on the field but Tyrion. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff later revealed that they went out of money and that is why they changed the plot at the last moment.