ultra-rare WB pilot "Martin and Claudia"

I think this is one of the most fascinating pilot finds. I have a few theories as to why it wasn't picked up. One theory put in the comments of the video was the pilot was simply lower priority and slipped through the cracks before it even could become a show. I think differently, I'd like to enter with a more tinfoil hat approach cause I think at times it can create a more interesting story, even if the commenter's explanation is more plausible. These two still have a level of plausibility IMO though, but we will never truly know.

Theory 1:
This was my first thought upon watching the video and reading the comments below. Since Martin and Claudia is a pilot that was created as an alternative to Will and Grace, it borrows many similar elements to Will and Grace. However the elements that M&C borrows are too similar, from primary set, premise, and characterizations. There's some set differences between the two show. For example, I wasn't fully able to tell if Martin was meant to be gay (I think no, but it was still difficult), while one of the big selling points of Will and Grace was its gay main character. However it's not enough for the obvious connections to still be drawn. Perhaps picking up Martin and Claudia was deemed "too risky" by The WB and instead of reworking the show to be less similar to Will and Grace, the network decided instead it would be more simple to simply just not pick up the show and bury everything about its creation. This to me best explains not only why the show wasn't picked up, but why there was/is barely any internet information prior to Media Garage's upload of the pilot.

Theory 2:

My other theory is still somewhat interesting, but a little less interesting than the above. At the time the pilot was filmed, the WB's flagship shows were Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's spinoff Angel, Beverly Hills, 90210, Charmed, Ally Mcbeel, and Dawson's Creek. Basically a bunch of teen dramas and fantasy/sci-fi series. Thus, The WB didn't pick up Martin and Claudia simply because it didn't fit in with the rest of their channel's lineup. It probably would have failed to catch an audience because it was so out of scope with the age demographic the rest of the shows aired towards. Boring but makes a lot of sense. Ironically, if aired today, Martin and Claudia may have gotten a better chance with a teen audience given how popular sitcoms like Friends and Seinfield are with gen Z audiences.

In a world where Martin and Claudia got picked up, what would it's reputation be? Would it be remembered like Friends, a show that despite seeming like a clone at first glance, ends up just as successful, if not more successful than it's contemporaries? Would it have been remembered as a cult classic that didn't get a chance? Or would it have been remembered as a clone that couldn't hold a candle to the original? This and the lack of info on it is why I find Martin and Claudia so interesting, despite being an unaired clone of a much more well known show, it somehow manages to still stand out on its own.