Sometimes shows start off great but then, for whatever reason, change their format. We wanted to know what people felt were the worst culprits for TV shows that started off amazing but became unwatchable later on. As always, the internet’s answers didn’t disappoint.
Before I dive in, I’m going to give a little disclaimer here. This list is hardly exhaustive. So many shows out there started off amazing but faded over time. We narrowed it down to 12 of the most common answers to this question.
Heroes
“Save the cheerleader, save the world!”
Heroes started out amazing in the first season. It kept us guessing at every turn and showed superheroes in a way that hadn’t really happened before on TV. We had such high hopes for Heroes!
Sadly, season 2 didn’t keep the same feeling going – leading to extremely disappointed fans.
How To Get Away With Murder
A lot of people think How to Get Away With Murder should have been a limited-run, single-season show. The concept was really good – but it just didn’t work as a multi-season affair. Especially not six seasons!
The Walking Dead
This one may be controversial because a lot of people really like the show and series but The Walking Dead didn’t maintain the quality it had in the earlier seasons. Most folks say it went downhill after season 6… Yet The Walking Dead somehow kept going for another 5 seasons.
Sliders
If you missed Sliders I can’t blame you. It’s a pretty obscure mid-90s sci-fi show. In a nutshell, the plot of Sliders is that the cast slides into alternate worlds. This plot was amazing for the first two seasons. Then the studio decided to fire the creator/producer and completely ruined the show.
Glee
I’m happy to see I’m not alone with this one. Don’t judge, I really enjoyed the first season of Glee! The idea of this group of misfits coming together, finding their place, and singing showtunes had all the feel good vibes my life needed at the time. I wasn’t alone in my love for Glee; the show exploded.
Thanks to that surging popularity Glee kept running. And running. It didn’t take long before it started grasping at straws to stay fresh. They never managed to make it work in the long run and the show really went downhill after season 2.
Game of Thrones
You thought I was going to leave this one out, didn’t you? I don’t know if I even need to explain this one at this point, but here goes: Game of Thrones arguably has the best first season of a show ever made and one of the most disappointing endings. Unlike other shows that have a clear moment of decline, though, GoT slowly got worse over the series’ run.
Once Upon a Time
This one had so much potential! Once Upon a Time is a serialized retelling of classic fairy tales. The exact point this show went downhill is subject of debate but most people agree it declined after season 3.
The Flash
Another show that started off really cool, The Flash just kept running (ha!) for much longer than it should have. Seasons 1-2 were amazing; great writing, cool characters, and they really kept us guessing. Season 3 was a little lacklustre by comparison, but the show really suffered in season 4.
Some argue that season 5 was better (and that’s probably why the show got 7 seasons) but too many gave up during the 4th season to notice.
Scandal
Scandal is the subject of so much controversy online when it comes to whether or not the later seasons are worth watching. Die-hard series fans argue it’s all worth it, but most agree that anything past season 3 is a waste of time.
Prison Break
I’ll take any opportunity to criticise Prison Break’s peculiar decision to continue past season 1. I’ll maybe give them season 2, but beyond that the show got really silly. Like most fans, I agree it would have been better off as a single-season mini series.
Bones
It’s the fate of almost all police procedural shows to eventually get stale and sadly Bones is no exception. I mean really, how can you keep a show on the air for 12 years and have it stay fresh.
What’s most shocking about Bones, though, is many people agree it didn’t become unwatchable until around season 10. That’s a pretty good run!
13 Reasons Why
A lot of folks didn’t like this show at all, but even fans agree it should have been a one-season show. Season 1 followed the book, which has no sequel. Rather than just tell that story, the writers opted to leave a few plot points open so they could do a season 2.
Apart from the poor writing, many argue the depiction of complex safety issues in the second season is even more irresponsible than the first.
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This post was produced by Swoon Hub.
Agee with most on this list but definitely not GOT.
You think so? As far as I remember, the game of thrones ending was basically a huge middle finger to the fans. Its legacy is the show that started off strong and fell hard, it was certainly difficult to watch the last season.
The finale was definitely a bust. Before the last season though each of the previous seasons had you waiting on the next.
Disagree with GOT being on this list. Admittedly, some episodes were extremely difficult to watch (the young girl being burned alive while screaming for her mother was so over the top). But the death of the Mother of Dragons was inevitable after she lost it and murdered thousands of innocent lives. It couldn’t end any other way.
Under The Dome went sour pretty quickly. . .
The Flash was great! It ran 9 seasons, not 7, and I would’ve kept watching, if it had kept going. It had some ups and downs, but ultimately, it was a really fun show!
totally agree, one of my favorite shows
Crossover shows is the killer in my book. I hate it when a show I am watching has a crossover evert. When that happens I stop watching the show.
GOT went downhill after the series used up all the source material. D and D were just lazy writers who had nowhere to go.
GOT, yeah S8 was a disappointment, however all the Seasons were GREAT.