Sitcoms are a beloved TV genre and it can be hard for audiences to say goodbye to them. However, as much as people would love to follow their favorite characters forever, it's easy for shows to go off the rails after they've reached their stopping point.
Sitcoms tend to have very straightforward premises that are hard to maintain for more than a few seasons. For example, shows set in high school, like Glee, usually stop making sense after the main characters graduate. The same happens with shows around families, where most characters eventually outgrow the plot. Unfortunately, most successful sitcoms continue as long they still seem profitable and that's when things get messy.
Updated on May 30, 2023, by Andrea Sandoval: While people love sitcoms, the genre has a tendency to overstay its welcome and lose its integrity. We updated this list with more sitcoms that went off track along the way.
15 Sex And The City
6 Seasons, 94 Episodes, and 2 Films
Sex and the City was an iconic sitcom in the early 2000s, and everyone loved to see the spicy and hilarious adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte in New York City. The show used to be controversial and transgressive, exploring the sexuality of women in a decade when this was still considered taboo. The series should've ended sooner, but it didn't know how to quit.
The franchise's two movies, Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, were complete disappointments. The first one revolved around Carrie's romance with Big, undermining the series' feminist principles. In the second movie, the four women traveled to Abu Dhabi. The sequel was criticized for its insensitive treatment of the culture. Furthermore, the series revival on Max, Just Like That, completely failed to meet audience expectations. This sitcom franchise was unrecognizable by the end.
14 Glee
6 Seasons, 121 Episodes
Glee was one of the most popular and loved sitcoms in the 2010s. It was so famous that the main cast even toured around the United States. However, what started as a fun, charismatic parody ended in a complete disaster.
The first three seasons of Glee followed high schoolers, both popular and losers, as they struggled with social pressures and became a part of the Glee club. When the main cast graduated from high school, the writers introduced a new cast of characters, while still following the old group. The plot was all over the place, and Glee lost its charm.
13 Scrubs
9 Seasons, 182 Episodes
Scrubs followed the lives of the staff at Sacred Heart Hospital, particularly medical intern J.D. Dorian, the show's narrator. However, many shows go off the rails when they make big changes to their casts, which is what happened to Scrubs.
While the first eight seasons revolved around J.D. and his colleagues throughout their many stages as doctors in training, the ninth season followed Lucy, the new narrator of the show. Instead of focusing on Sacred Heart Hospital, it took place at Winston University, where it depicted the lives of medical students. Fortunately, since this season was supposed to set up a spinoff, Scrubs makes a lot more sense without its final season.
12 Malcolm In The Middle
7 Seasons, 151 Episodes
Malcolm in the Middle is one of the best family sitcoms ever created. It follows Malcolm, the genius middle kid in a working-class family, who struggles with his authoritative mother, irresponsible father, and chaotic siblings. Always hilarious, it created some of the most iconic scenes in television history, from Malcom's sex ed talk with his mom to his little brother Dewey dancing the night away to Abba's "Fernando."
However, the show lost its way in later seasons. Instead of relatable family humor, Malcolm in the Middle started to rely on absurd humor. For example, in the earliest seasons, oldest brother Francis was the stereotype of a rebellious and uncontrollable teenager. However, in later seasons, Francis ended up working as the foreman of a ranch owned by a German couple, an intentionally alien setting for most viewers. Malcom still had its moments but it was too weird for many fans.
11 How I Met Your Mother
9 Seasons, 208 Episodes
How I Met Your Mother started out strong with a great premise: how Ted Mosby met his children's mother. However, it's hard to extend this premise too far, which didn't stop writers from creating nine seasons out of it. It started like an adorable dynamic within a charismatic cast and ended up with characters and the plot going completely off the rails.
How I Met Your Mother's ninth season is the worst of all since it follows Barney and Robin's wedding, which only lasts three days. It's clear that the show should've ended way sooner. With an ending that undid much of the show's character development and introduced the titular mother only to kill her, it still upsets fans.
10 Modern Family
11 Seasons, 250 Episodes
Modern Family is one of the greatest family sitcoms, but like many comedy shows, it lived past its prime. In the first few seasons, much of the family was composed of either kids or teenagers, which formed the basis for many of the jokes.
However, as Modern Family progressed, the characters grew up, and it became harder to keep its wide ensemble cast. Since many characters were already adults, their broad characters didn't make sense anymore. For example, as Hailey grew older, she should've developed more common sense, but the writers kept depicting her as a clueless teen. This was adorable when she was younger but insulting as an adult. It's hard to let characters grow, but it's also very satisfying.
9 Two And A Half Men
12 Seasons, 262 Episodes
While Two and a Half Men aged poorly, there's no denying this sitcom's popularity throughout the 2000s. People were in love with the absurd yet lovable dynamic of the indifferent and rich brother with his pathetic but well-intentioned sibling. Furthermore, at the beginning of the series, Jake was the adorable and smart if lazy kid who earned the audience's heart.
However, Two and a Half Men started going off the rails as the writers flanderized the characters. Jake went from naive to stupid, and Charlie was fully irredeemable. However, the moment when the show completely died was when Ashton Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen. The series should've ended much sooner.
8 The Simpsons
34 Seasons, 745 Episodes (Ongoing)
The Simpsons has been a cultural phenomenon since 1989. With over 34 seasons, it's one of the longest shows in history, but it has already jumped the shark. The Simpsons isn't what it was, and between losses in the cast and changes to its writing style, fans miss the energy the iconic series first brought to the screen.
Since The Simpsons started in the '90s, its appeal has faded away. Characters like Bart, Homer, Lisa and Ned Flanders were conceived as stereotypes, and while they've changed, it hasn't always been for the better. Ned Flanders in particular is a shadow of his formerly kind self and as the characters have been simplified, the jokes have also lost their intellectual edge. The Simpsons jumped the tracks, even if it didn't fall into a ravine in the process.
7 Family Matters
9 Seasons, 215 Episodes
Family Matters revolved around the Winslow family for a short time, but from the moment they introduced the quirky neighbor, Steve Urkel, his character took over the show. Urkel is one of the most iconic characters on TV and one of the weirdest characters in sitcom history. However, fans and critics say he's to blame for Family Matters going off the rails.
While Family Matters initially followed the different characters in the Winslow family, soon enough, Urkel became the main character. The sitcom started placing more attention on his adventures and eccentric inventions. It was a big mistake for a show focused on a Black working-class family to transform into a bizarre fantasy focused on an abbrasively annoying hero, and the writers should have seen the problems coming.
6 SpongeBob SquarePants
13 Seasons, 284 Episodes
SpongeBob SquarePants established itself as one of the most iconic cartoons in history almost immediately. Its eccentric but relatable characters, combined with a clever and ridiculous sense of humor, made a huge mark on an entire generation.
Unfortunately, after Stephen Hillenburg departed from the series, Nickelodeon refused to let the franchise go. Without Hillenburg's writing, SpongeBob SquarePants soon lost its way. The jokes felt entirely random and the characters felt hollow. The late producer left because he didn't want the show to continue past its expiration date but it stumbled on without him.
5 The Big Bang Theory
12 Seasons, 279 Episodes
As happens with sitcoms that refuse to die, The Big Bang Theory greatly deviated from its main premise by the end. In the beginning, it revolved around a socially inept but charming group of nerds who didn't know how to deal with their new neighbor, Penny.
Understandably, this couldn't last for long, but losing that relationship took away much of Big Bang Theory's humor. By the end of the series, most of the characters were in stable romantic relationships, and a lot of what made the show funny didn't exist anymore. It's clear now that The Big Bang Theory should've ended much sooner.
4 That '70s Show
8 Seasons, 200 Episodes
That '70s Show follows a group of teenagers in the '70s who usually hung out in Eric Forman's basement. Naturally, the show went off the rails when the series no longer featured Eric and Ashton Kuscher's Michael Kelso also left the series at around the same time.
That '70s Show ran into some obvious limits since were only so many jokes the writers could spin about high school characters. At some point, the actors playing 17-year-olds turned into obvious adults. By the time Jackie had dated almost every boy in the series, it was obvious the show had run out of ideas.
3 Family Guy
21 Seasons, 409 Episodes
The hilarious show about the dysfunctional Griffin family, Family Guy has entertained people for more than 20 years. It has a silly sense of humor and random storylines, and lovable if very flawed characters. However, many Family Guy fans believe it lost its way after the fifth season.
Family Guy has always featured an edgy and dark sense of humor, but at some point it became unbearable. The show now abuses its disturbing jokes, even laughing at sex crimes and inserting gory scenes that make little sense in a sitcom. The Griffins have their place in TV history but they've lost their relevance.
2 Community
6 Seasons, 110 Episodes
Community is one of the most underrated shows in ever on the air. It takes place in Greendale Community College, where a group of students of different ages reluctantly becomes friends after creating a Spanish study group. With many metatextual jokes, Community is a show with a lot of heart, unforgettable characters, and hilarious sketches.
However, the show sometimes takes its jokes too far, especially in later seasons. Community moved from absurd jokes about life at Greendale to creating bizarre scenarios that stopped being relatable. As it lost actors like Chevy Chase and showrunner Mark Harmon, the series felt rudderless. It made a good effort once Harmon returned to the show but it had already drifted off course.
1 The Office
9 Seasons, 201 Episodes
The main premise of The Office is recreating a farcical version of the average office in the United States, with the apparently boring Dunder Mifflin paper company as its home base. Edgy and strange, its as much a show about difficult and enduring relationships as it is about Michael Scott's problematic behavior.
While earlier seasons of the show followed this premise, as The Office progressed, it diverged from its path. Losing Michael was the biggest blow to the series, of course, but by the time the characters were watching their own documentary, it felt like the writers had run out of ideas. And while it was good that Dwight was a complex character and not just a dumb heel, it was also strange when he became a beloved member of the cast, only to lose his character development as the temporary manager. As good as it had been, The Office was unrecognizable when it ended.