Becoming a success in the competitive world of television is a validation of the work and creativity that goes into producing a TV show. Yet, that popularity is a double-edged sword as it leads to decisions that seem like they are good for the story, but end up having the opposite effect. Several TV shows that gained critical and audience acclaim have, in some instances, found themselves unable to live up to their own hype.
Over time, success can dilute what makes a TV show refreshing as storylines are stretched to keep up with demand. Ultimately, these series became unrecognizable and lost that spark that made them special by the time they concluded. Despite the challenges that these popular TV shows have faced during their runs, their legacy as some of the best of the best is forever etched in audiences’ minds.
Riverdale (2017)
Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Kevin standing together in an episode of Riverdale
Inspired by the characters from the Archie Comics, Riverdale premiered to critical and audience acclaim. The first season of the show, in particular, delivered a layered storyline with a clear mystery and end goal. As the show went on and became even more popular, it lost its first two installments’ charm. Riverdale simply became unhinged.
In Riverdale season three, the show’s tone changed. Instead of the relatable teen drama coupled with an engaging mystery that it started with, it got convoluted plotlines and character arcs that added nothing to the story. Granted, the series was embracing its campy roots, but what resulted was a show that failed to recapture why audiences fell in love with it in the first place.
Heroes (2006)
Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in Heroes, dressed in the cheerleader outfit, staring up at the sky
With a storyline about ordinary people who suddenly gained superhero powers, Heroes seemed like a sure hit. Season 1 was a critical success and generated media buzz. However, it all began to disintegrate, as Heroes season 2 greatly suffered from the 2007-08 WGA strike. The series that was once cohesive became rushed and often left storylines hanging.
Heroes Rotten Tomatoes Score
Season
Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
1
82%
93%
2
50%
66%
3
50%
51%
4
29%
52%
Although the later seasons of Heroes tried to return to the first installment’s grounded storytelling, it never really recovered. Heroes Reborn served as an attempt to continue the original series’ legacy, but the show had already been undermined by doing too much too quickly.
The Big Bang Theory (2007)
Kaley Cucoo’s Penny and Johnny Galecki’s Leonard sit on a couch together in The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory might have featured overused sitcom tropes, but that didn’t stop the show from becoming a huge success and being popular enough to span two spinoffs. The problem with The Big Bang Theory is that it ran for too long. Storylines like Sheldon’s quirkiness that were once fun to watch became repetitive and, quite frankly, boring.
Due to its success, the series was under pressure to deliver bigger laughs and funnier jokes. The opposite, however, happened. Instead of the sitcom developing into something better, it was apparent that its characters were pretty one-dimensional. To make matters worse, The Big Bang Theory did not end Penny’s story well. For most of the show’s seasons, Penny had reiterated that she didn’t want to be a mom, but for whatever reason, the creators decided to change that part of her arc.
The Simpsons (1989)
Homer in deep thought in The Simpsons
Debuting in 1989, The Simpsons is currently the longest-running scripted prime-time show in US television history. For years, the animated series has been part of the most-talked-about pop culture moments. Still, with longevity comes declining quality. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint when exactly The Simpsons began to go downhill, seasons 9 and 10 are a great place to start, as they featured more weak episodes compared to the show’s past moments.
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It’s now harder to ignore that the latest installments of The Simpsons don’t have the same charm, humor, or innovations of its earlier seasons. The show has also faced several controversies when it comes to how it handled Apu’s race, which its creators have not handled well. There are several storylines introduced in the show that have simply gone nowhere, begging the question of why they were even brought up.
The Walking Dead (2010)
Glenn confronts Aiden in The Walking Dead
Once upon a time, The Walking Dead was one of the biggest shows on TV. The series’ post-apocalyptic world, compelling characters, and the constant tension of surviving among hordes of zombies gripped audiences. What made the show such an exceptional addition to the TV landscape resulted in its downfall.
Character moments that held so much meaning became fillers that had no end goal. Carl’s death, perhaps, is the moment that tested audiences because there was simply no reason for his story to end that way, particularly as he was the one character who could have succeeded Rick. The Walking Dead’s big cliffhangers are what made the show special. However, those twists began to be added just for the sake of it, and it took a long time for the series to capitalize on them.
How I Met Your Mother (2005)
Robin and Ted dancing in the living room in How I Met Your Mother
While How I Met Your Mother is a comedy, it was held together by its core mystery of who the mother was. For nine seasons, audiences were invested in uncovering this puzzle, only to be disappointed in the show’s season finale. How I Met Your Mother’s ending wasn’t perfect, but it could have been if it only acknowledged the show’s evolution.
With that in mind, there’s no denying that the show’s polarizing conclusion has taken on a life of its own and overshadowed its legacy. If How I Met Your Mother’s last episode had been a bit longer, that would have given it ample time for the series to tie up any loose ends and give its characters fitting endings.
Dexter (2006)
Dexter revolutionized how characters on TV are portrayed. A forensic scientist by day and a serial killer by night, Dexter consistently walked the tight rope between right and wrong. Although Dexter seasons 1 to 4 were excellent. The show’s fifth season is when everything began to crumble. Henceforth, Dexter began to suffer from narrative issues like the abrupt departure of key characters and Dexter making bad decisions he wouldn’t have entertained in the past seasons.
Despite those issues, Dexter went on for three more seasons and was thankfully saved by the cliffhanger in season 6. Because of this, Dexter retained some of its magic, but it was a little too late. Ultimately, the series suffered from these mistakes and ended in a way that fans of the show were not happy with.
Supernatural (2005)
Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki as Castiel, Dean Winchester, and Sam Winchester in SupernaturalCredit: MovieStillsDB
Supernatural’s first five seasons serve as a perfect example of fantasy TV done right. Initially, the series was only meant to run for 5 seasons, which was Eric Kripke’s plan, but the meteoric success of the show meant that it went on for an additional 10 installments. When it comes down to it, Supernatural overstayed its welcome.
If it had ended in season 5 after the apocalypse, then several unnecessary plotlines would have been avoided. Although Sam, Dean, and Castiel held the show, over time, the writing became inconsistent and the storylines repetitive. A sore spot for fans of the series is how it ended. Dean’s death in Supernatural’s finale was anticlimactic, given every villain he and Sam had defeated in the show’s previous seasons.
The Boys (2019)
The superhero subgenre is one of the most overcrowded spaces. So, naturally, a series has to be truly remarkable to carve out a name for itself. Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys did just that. The action series’ dark humor, absurd scenes, and superhero satire made it an audience favorite. Due to its success, The Boys expanded into spin-offs like Gen V and The Boys Presents: Diabolical.
The Boys hasn’t shied away from mocking corporate greed. So the fact that it now has multiple spinoffs erases its message. While the spinoffs build a larger universe, they also risk diluting the main story and splitting the attention between too many characters and plots. So far, The Boys spinoffs have been successful, and unfortunately, the series will be ending with a fifth season, preventing audiences from becoming too tired of its gore and shocking scenes.
Game Of Thrones (2010)
Game of Thrones is arguably the best fantasy TV show of all time. Even series that have tried to become the next fantasy hit simply cannot live up to its legacy. For a while, Game of Thrones worked because it was a direct adaptation of G. R. R. Martin’s books. Once the show had used the source material in its entirety, it did not know how to continue the story.
The perfect example of this is Game of Thrones season 6, where countless moments were spent showing Cersei drinking wine on her balcony. Seven years later, audiences still lament how the series ended, as it once showed so much promise. Story arcs like Daenerys’ were cut short, when for its past seasons, the series had spent a respectable amount of time fleshing out its characters.