People Explain Which TV Shows Were Great At First And Later Became Unwatchable

The Walking Dead

"The Walking Dead."

"First few seasons were great with pretty good pacing. Later seasons devolve into telling one story at a time. They’d have a cliffhanger of a character maybe dying and do 3 weeks of other stories. By the time it gets back to the cliffhanger you have no idea what’s happening. That and it got repetitive."

THE_BANANA_SHOW

See?! What did I tell you? After a splendid first season – one that could have been a standalone miniseries at that – the rest of the series just failed to live up to its initial promise.

Glee

"I watched every new episode of Glee when it came out and was slightly obsessed with the show. But as soon as it finished it all crumbled. The show makes no sense, is not good, and I could never rewatch it."

Aeilion

I just couldn't get into it. I found it grating. And the fact that the quality noticeably slipped afterward did not make my friends happy.

Heroes

"Heroes: biggest drop in quality after season 1."

scruntyboon

To be fair, the writer's strike really hurt that show's future. It never stood a chance after that – and my God, did I hear that that second season was horrible.

Happy Days

"Happy Days! Once Fonzie jumped the shark, while waterskiing and wearing his jacket, the show just got progressively worse."

Medicivich

This is the classic answer to this question. Gen Xers like me even use the term "jumping the shark" to refer to things that were once great but now suck.

The Blacklist

"The Blacklist. So many loopholes and a never ending plot. I mean, the female hero (forgot her name) was wanted and had her pictures broadcast nationwide live, but a couple of weeks after she can do undercover work."

[deleted]

I couldn't even stand the first episode. I quit right after that. I could tell the quality was questionable.

Arrow

"Arrow. It's what happens when you try to make so many seasons for a show meant for only a few."

Mize97

This is true about lots of shows. The writers and executives just don't know when to quit.

Once Upon a Time

"Once Upon a Time. The first 3 seasons were good! And then after that they just kept getting worse."

[deleted]

People actually liked that show? I know, I know... I'm the worst. I just didn't see the appeal and it heard it got so ridiculous.

Weeds

"Weeds."

"A hilarious and intriguing show that slowly grew to be about a bunch of unlikable a-holes making bad, selfish decisions. When there's no one with any redeeming characteristics, there's no one for the audience to get behind."

rushandblue

It started out great but really started to go off the rails with characters making increasingly nonsensical choices. Nancy marrying the Mexican drug lord was the beginning of the end.

That '70s Show

"Not the worst offender, but That '70s Show tanked pretty hard once Eric left. He was sorely needed to make the chemistry of the group work."

Cleverbird

Yeah, the way these characters continued to stick together even after that was just embarrassing.

House of Cards

"The first two seasons were amazing. After that it started to get progressively worse."

[deleted]

I would argue that even the second season began to stretch the limits of credulity. I lost interest after the fourth season (and both the third and the fourth seasons were a slog for me to get through).

There is some amazing television out there – I am currently making my way through Six Feet Under again – but there is even more disappointing television that should never make its way into your eyeballs.

Sorry if you've suffered.

Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!