TV fans are not holding back in an Ask Reddit post that poses the question, “Which show starts as a 10/10, but ends as a 1/10?” The replies range from obvious choices such as Game of Thrones to classics like Happy Days, which inspired the TV term, “jumping the shark.”
[Note: some light spoilers ahead.]
When it comes to TV, the range in quality is extremely diverse. Some series have ebbs and flows, while others remain excellent from start to finish. It can be difficult to wrap up a seasons-long story, but there are plenty of shows that stick the landing. Unfortunately, the series listed below do not fall under that category.
From ruining characters to writing dull storylines, here are some shows that started strong but crashed and burned.
1. Once Upon a Time
“I LOVED the first two seasons but literally couldn’t watch after that.” —u/Virtual-Witness9579
2. Pretty Little Liars
“The way it ended was straight up insulting to everyone who spent years loyally watching that show.” —u/WebkinzMurderer69
3. Weeds
“Weeds absolutely collapsed after about the 3rd season and somehow kept going.” —u/professorfunkenpunk
4. Game of Thrones
“The worst thing about the final season of GOT is that every single plot thread is closed in such an unsatisfying way that it destroys any rewatching potential the show had, because you know every single plot thread and character arc ends up in a sh*t heap.” —u/Raidertck
5. Killing Eve
“S1 and S2 were divine. S3 was kinda okay, but was all over the place. S4 had its moments, but was ultimately just pure sh*t.” —u/mintyyfressh
6. True Blood
“The first two seasons were amazing, and then it began a slow but steady decline into ‘what the f***’ territory.” —u/AutoDefenestrator273
7. Westworld
“Such a sharp decline. My god. It was god tier in season 1.” —u/Flincher14
8. Shameless (US)
“It started out great. Solid storylines, great characters, and character development. It was funny and silly at times, but also extremely deep and sad. Great performances throughout … It had its ups and downs until season 6, but still pretty solid and enjoyable.
But around season 7 or 8, it became almost unbearable. Characters became caricatures of themselves. They changed completely just to fit certain forced storylines, while others that had been developed for a while were abruptly dropped.” —u/Historical-Ad8502
9. That ’70s Show
“They committed the most obvious blunder they could possibly commit: bring in a brand new lead to stuff into the departing lead’s role, ignoring how ludicrous that is. The only way they could have had a reasonable chance would be to pick a new lead from the existing characters.” —u/cpt_justice
10. Heroes
“Season 1 was magic, then it fell off a cliff.” —u/Weldobud
“I heard this so much about Heroes, so I decided to watch the first season, and then I just stopped. Now I always remember it as a great show.” —u/yay-its-colin
11. Riverdale
“Wasn’t 10/10, but it walked a perfect line between kitsch/tongue in cheek/teen drama. Then it went into weird soap opera territory. Archie starting greased teenbeat ISIS is when I tapped out.” —u/Chucknastical
12. Glee
“Started off as a witty satire of high school dramas, with a tone similar to Cobra Kai. Around season 2, it became a high school drama. And then it dragged on after all the original cast had ‘graduated,’ and I don’t even remember the ending.” —u/MoobyTheGoldenSock
13. Orange Is the New Black
“It was great until they killed Poussey, everything really fell apart after that IMO.” —u/Advanced_Reading_477
14. Happy Days
“That one totally jumped the shark.” —u/OmegaWittif
15. The X-Files
“I absolutely adore the first like 4-5, maybe even 6 seasons, but point-blank refuse to watch the rest of it. It’s so bad it hurts.” —u/abfukson
16. The Umbrella Academy
“I hate the new season so much. It’s full of plot holes, they ruined some of the characters, and it’s just suuuper rushed.” —u/MayoriFuji
17. Dexter
“Dexter, the only show to f*** up its ending twice…” —u/Copperjedi
18. How I Met Your Mother
“The finale is so bad that it almost seems intentional.” —u/squidward_smells_
“They had a finale planned out from the beginning and stuck to it, even though it completely screws over the show they actually made. That was dumb.” —u/cpt_justice
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
