You know that feeling when you discover a great TV show that really pulls you in and captivates your attention? Then once you blast through that initial first season you quickly realize there's even more to enjoy? Yeah; it's a pretty special moment.
But as the old adage goes: all good thing must come to an end. And the excitement of a fresh, new TV series can only be sustained for so long. Soon what was fun and riveting just becomes boring and stale. We've all experienced this sharp downward descent with one show or another at some point. With that said, let's take a look at some of the TV series that started off strong, but went on a little too long for their own good.
1. The Walking Dead
AMC's The Walking Dead made zombies into a mainstream interest in a way that no other media did previously, or really has since, for that matter. The Walking Dead lured us in with a world that was gritty, brought to ruin, hopeless, and absolutely terrifying. Watching characters like Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, and Glenn Rhee, who all originated from differing backgrounds, coming together to survive as one was compelling and fascinating. The zombies, or walkers as the show refers to them, were entirely unnerving, with skin flaking off and bone and sinew showing in full-on gory detail. The cherry on top was tight writing that kept us invested with each newepisode.
But even something as strong as The Walking Dead can only sustain itself for so long before the foundation begins to crumble. And crumble it did.
The show changed a lot after the season 5 mark, for a few key reasons. The writers had a tendency to kill off main characters, and while this was a staple of the show that proved that no one was ever truly safe, taking such a bold risk removed many fan-favorites from the lineup for good. Considering that The Walking Dead is heavily reliant on its likable cast, a large majority of viewers tuned in to watch the emerging storylines for certain characters. Once those characters were gone, for many the experience became less engaging. On top of this, the show reached a point that many fans felt was a good stopping place from a story standpoint, for reasons I won't disclose here.
Now that the series is finished with its eleventh and final season, it's safe to say that The Walking Dead is a lesson in stopping while you're ahead. On a related note, AMC has aired multiple spinoffs, including Dead City, Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live.
2. Supernatural
Two brothers in the business of hunting down demons, ghosts, remnants, and other spectral beasties is an inherently interesting premise. I mean, it worked for Scooby Doo. But what about a show that went a whole lot darker into the mysticism of things and a lot less heavy on the scooby snacks? Well, then you get Supernatural.
Supernatural is the most popular show to ever air on The CW, and is most likely responsible for the edgy and dark tone that many of the other series on the network adopted. It was well received upon launching its pilot episode in 2005; in fact, it was SO well received that it went on for, cue drumroll please: 15 seasons. Well-received or not, it isn't often that even the most successful TV shows go on for that long, so what made Supernatural an exception to the rule? And was it warranted?
Yes and no. Considering that the show was originally supposed to come to an end in 2010 with season 5, it was apparent even then to the showrunners that the story they wanted to tell was pretty much already done and dusted. But fan outcry has a way of changing things. Because of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles' portrayals of Sam and Dean Winchester respectively, fans were absolutely taken with the characters' brotherly chemistry almost more than they were with the supernatural stories. Showrunner Eric Kripke originally had a five-season plan for Supernatural, and he beleived that the series was best suited to end at that point. But thanks to fans not wanting to see it go and the ratings being at an all-time high, The CW saw fit to keep it going.
That being said, there were also plenty of fans who were not happy with seeing the series continue past this point, and have stated that the show felt like it lost the original spark that made it so intriguing. The departure of Kripke after season 5 also drastically affected the tone of the show. Now that the series has wrapped with 15 seasons under its belt, Supernatural may just very well be the best cautionary tale of what happens when you allow fans to steer the direction of a story beyond what the showrunners originally intended.
3. Lost
Probably considered one of the most popular TV shows to have aired, Lost ran from 2004 to 2010 with a whopping six seasons. The series was praised for its unorthodox blending of genres and unique storytelling. Taking mystery, science fiction, and a dash of horror, Lost made itself stand out from the crowd at the time with a narrative that was hard to categorize, and audiences loved it. Couple that with a ridiculously large cast over the course of the series and well-written characters, and Lost was seemingly a perfect storm.
Though even a show this popular wasn't resistant to viewer fatigue eventually. By season 4, many Lost fans seemed to agree that the show should have called it quits about then. Similar to Supernatural, showrunners J.J. Abrams, Jeffery Lieber, and Damon Lindelof originally planned for the series to run for only four seasons before it ended. However, its sheer level of popularity prompted the team to keep following the thread, and before long it would be extended with two more seasons.
Any series with heavy elements of mysterious intrigue must eventually follow through on its promises. Have too little mystery and the show is boring to watch. Have too much and you run the risk of not having satisfactory answers when the truth finally does come out. Fans seem to agree that Lost teetered more towards the latter problem near the end of the series. It may have been better to get out ahead of that.
4. Game of Thrones
You knew this one was coming, didn't you? It's quite the elephant in the room. But other than that . . . controversial ending, just how many seasons of Game of Thrones was too many?
George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire was adapted to TV in 2011 and took the world by storm, bringing fantasy to the mainstream in ways that J.R.R. Tolkien could never dream of. Millions of viewers tuned in weekly to see what kind of high drama and draconic spectacle was being served up. It seemed that no matter what the writers did, Game of Thrones would remain beloved regardless.
But this wasn't the case. By season 6, fans had a feeling that the series should have stopped while it was still flying high (yes, that was a dragon pun).
The first season to the fourth season are usually regarded as the most faithful to Martin's books, which is why good chunk of viewers began watching the show in the first place. The series kept close to the source material and it paid dividends. As the series stretched on, it reached a point where the original story had stalled out, and Martin wasn't putting new books out fast enough for the writers to draw from them. Because of that, they had to fill in the gaps that Martin hadn't, and still hasn't, filled in. This is where seasons 5 and 6 start to deviate from the core concept. These seasons were still appreciated by the fandom, but are not as highly regarded as the previous ones.
Game of Thrones started to run into more problems at this point, with the series finale angering a lot of viewers. Whether or not you think Game of Thrones is deserving of the flack it has received since its crescendo, there is something to be said about not sticking with the source material, at least when you can. But what's done is done, and it was good while it lasted.
Less is more
It's natural for us to want more of something we like. But as we can see, that's not always the right call. Sometimes something is better enjoyed as a brief delight rather than a drawn out indulgence. Or perhaps you simply don't care and just want to grace your eyeballs with as much of your favorite show as possible while knocking back a tub of Ben & Jerry's in your jammies. More power to you, you little hobgoblin.
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