A TV show’s title is a key part of its identity, so it’s surprising when a show changes it after it’s already aired. Studios often tweak titles to make them more appealing, but sometimes even the final title isn’t set in stone, as happened with these seven shows.
This list includes many sitcoms that were renamed to stay current with television trends. But it also features popular shows from other genres that changed titles, sometimes even during their run. Here’s a detailed look at each show, its original title, and the reason for the change.
7) Seinfeld
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld first created a 23-minute pilot in 1989, originally called “The Seinfeld Chronicles.” After some convincing, NBC agreed to produce four more episodes, forming the show’s first season. The show’s name was then shortened to simply “Seinfeld,” and it went on to become the famous sitcom we know today, running until 1998.
6) Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is a hugely popular sitcom that defined teen television in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The show remains well-known today, even inspiring a 2020 reboot. But before it was Saved by the Bell, the series actually began as Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which aired on the Disney Channel as a single season.
Originally titled Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the show first aired with a pilot episode and 13 episodes in its initial season. It was then revamped and became Saved by the Bell on NBC. Later, the original episodes were rebranded as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years, which is often how you’ll find them on streaming platforms today.
5) Two Guys and a Girl
The sitcom Two Guys and a Girl premiered in 1998 and followed two college friends and their former roommate as they managed a pizza restaurant. Over its four seasons and 81 episodes, the show went through a change: it originally aired under the title Two Guys and a Girl and a Pizza Place, which more clearly explained what the series was about.
Season 3 marks a new chapter for Berg as he starts his medical residency, and the show leaves behind the pizzeria setting. Consequently, the show’s title was shortened, removing the “and a Pizza Place” portion.
4) Ellen
I remember watching Ellen back in the ’90s – it was a huge hit and really put Ellen DeGeneres on the map! What a lot of people don’t know is that the show actually started with a different name. The first season was called These Friends of Mine, and it wasn’t until the second season that they officially changed it to Ellen. It’s funny to think how things can change even after a show gets picked up!
ABC renamed the show These Friends of Mine to Ellen after its first season to avoid being confused with the popular NBC sitcom Friends. The network felt the titles were too alike, and the show was rebranded for season two. As part of this change, the characters Holly Fulger and Maggie Wheeler were also removed from the series after season one.
3) Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek is a hugely popular science fiction series, and with so many different shows over the years, it’s not surprising that one of them had its name changed. The show Enterprise originally aired from 2001 to 2005, but for its first two seasons, it was simply called Enterprise. Producers hoped a less familiar title would attract new viewers as part of a shift in the show’s overall style. However, in the third season, episode three, the show was renamed Star Trek: Enterprise to appeal to longtime fans of the franchise.
2) Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler
The show Pennyworth, which tells the story of Alfred Pennyworth’s early life, aired for three seasons between 2019 and 2022. Originally, it was simply called Pennyworth for the first two seasons. When the show moved to HBO Max for its third season, the full title Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler was used.
1) Lovesick
Lovesick is a highly-rated original sitcom from Netflix that ran for three seasons between 2014 and 2018. Originally, the show aired on Channel 4 under the title Scrotal Recall. When Netflix picked it up for subsequent seasons, they rebranded it as Lovesick. The name change happened because Netflix felt ‘Scrotal Recall’ didn’t accurately reflect the show’s comedic and romantic nature, and ‘Lovesick’ was a better fit.
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2026-01-24 00:12