TV series that start strong...and lose their way....

[TheCat]

I've recently been re-watching House of Cards again, just finished the first series, and I've got to say it was a brilliant show, particualrly that first series (Now I know that Kevin Spacey became persona non-gratia...but that doesn't erase his brilliant performances as Frank Underwood). But as the show dragged on (even before the spacey news blew up) the show went downhill, particularly from about season 3....and sort of faded off into obscurity. Going from a show that everyone was talking about to one where most people I know haven't even seen the last series....

Anyway...got me thinking about shows that started off absolutely brilliantly, but then just ended poorly, or limped along for ages never quite recapturing their appeal....some obvious series that come to mind...

The Walking Dead - nothing was ever the same as series 1 for mine, but for a few series it held its own and was the biggest show on TV for a few years in the US.....now season 11 is so poorly written, its almost unwatchable and highly laughable in places....

Game of Thrones - as has been well commented on in social and mainstream media alive...after the showrunners were forced to move ahead of the source material, what was the biggest show on TV (probably globally) torched its legacy with the last 2 series....rushing the whole thing to a conclusion thus leaving the viewer relatively unstaisifed with the 'payoff' after years of careful build-up

After Life - the concept behind a black comedy about a main greiving for his wife was a clever blend of emtion and comedy, and Rickey Gervais shows always have some brilliantly funny, quirky characters. But now in its 3rd (and final) season, there's only so many times I can watch a man drinking wine and wallowing watching videos of his dead wife..the idea was a one series idea for mine.

On the flip side...for me series that managed to maintain quality (for the most part anyway, there's always gonna be a couple of weak episodes) for their entire run.....Breaking Bad (in fact the first series was probably the worst, so a bit the opposite!) and The Sopranos....

Any other thoughts from the crowd? On shows that started strong and faded Just a bit of fun...no judgement on anyone's tastes in TV shows please:)

[j.a.]

Went bad - The West Wing.

Never really survived the loss of Aaron Sorkin, though it tried. To be fair he never delivered a script on time or within budget plus there were myriad other tensions behind the scenes so it?s understandable that they parted ways. But even before that ratings were slipping, and it never quite lived up to the initial promise. It?s like it couldn?t decide if it was a political drama, personal soap opera or some kind of procedural. By the end so of the plot lines were just odd.

Stayed excellent - The Wire.

One of the best bits of TV to come out of the noughties. Still holds its own today. But then David Simon is a superb writer who understood the source material like no one else. Even the slightly crazy McNulty plot line of season 5 works.

[Spartacus]

Lost - obviously lost it in the end

Heroes - did anyone save the cheerleader ?

East Enders - is Den still fighting Ange ?

[Waseley]

I didn't bother with the third and now fourth series of Killing Eve. Worth checking out?

Similarly I've given up on Peaky Blinders.

It was criminal that Homeland continued after series 2.

Lots of comedies that jumped the shark, obviously Happy Days, also Roseanne and Frasier. Before my time the later series of steptoe

[TheCat]

Good shout on Homeland. With the end of Damien Lewis's storyline, so should the show have ended.

And speaking of lewis....I'd add Billions to the list. First season or two were great. Now its so convoluted, with the characters becoming comic book caricatures of their former selves....i've tried twice to recommit to keep watching...and have twice failed....

[mrwb]

All of them pretty much, hard to keep things fresh season after season. Most serious TV shows decline badly after 7 seasons or so. Excluding soaps etc obviously.

[Spartacus]

I'm curious to see where season 2 of Bel Air takes us

Season 1 was strong and raised some important issues although the final episode felt a little rushed to get everything in.

[WomblingFree]

Dexter definitely qualifies - the later series weren?t bad but it peaked with season 4 ( I haven?t seen the recent revival).

I tend to think there?s so much money in successful US shows that there?s a big incentive to keep them going even when the writers have run out of ideas. An exception: The Good Wife. I recently rewatched all seven seasons (my partner hadn?t seen it) and that stayed brilliant all the way through.

[ianr]

> Went bad - The West Wing. Never really survived

> the loss of Aaron Sorkin, though it tried.

Folk interested in Aaron Sorkin might be interested in John Wilson's recent radio interview with him, in his This Cultural Life series, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00161mc.

[DuncanW]

Scooby Doo

Went downhill once they introduced Scrappy

[tomskip]

Agree with Killing Eve. I loved series 1, but then watched first episode of series 2 and just thought "nope".

Such a shame about Frasier.

And Twin Peaks.