Every medium makes significant leaps forward over time, but there’s an extra level of innovation that accompanies television. There was a time when television was considered inferior to the cinematic experience, but storytelling on TV has entered a golden age that’s responsible for some of the best narratives and characters of recent decades.
Sadly, television can struggle with figuring out how to extend stories for multiple seasons, potentially longer than their creators originally intended. There's no shortage of television series that continue long after they’ve lost their purpose. The viewers who remain tend to stick around because of the time they’ve already invested in the programs.
Updated on 26th January, 2024 by Fawzia Khan: In the current television landscape, shows barely last a season or two before getting canceled. However, seeing how so many television shows, like Dexter or House, dragged beyond their prime and muddied the otherwise brilliant storytelling with lackluster last-minute plots, early cancellations of these shows are probably a good idea. This list has been updated with further information and images for a better reading experience.
10 Alias Went From Thrilling to Farfetched
Alias
- Release Date
- September 30, 2001
- Creator
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast
- Jennifer Garner , Ron Rifkin , Carl Lumbly , Kevin Weisman
- Main Genre
- Action
- Seasons
- 5
First Season RT rating |
84% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
100% |
IMDb Rating |
7.6 |
High Point |
Sydney's mother's reveal |
10 Television Shows You Had No Idea Received Comic Book Adaptations
Multimedia empires weren't always the norm, which made it surprising whenever a TV show received a comic book adaptation.J.J. Abrams has translated his skill of creating mysterious serialized television into modern installments in cinematic franchises. Alias was a thrilling spy drama that lasted for five seasons. One of the great things was that it brought a lot of empowered women to the screen, but by the time it reached its fifth season, not even that was enough to keep it on the rails. Unfortunately, by that time fans were so invested in the series, it was difficult to give up.
Alias prided itself in its incredible cliffhangers and its ability to leap ahead in its story and subvert expectations. This desire to frequently reset the slate became Alias’ biggest problem. Alias and its characters grew increasingly exaggerated. By the final season, the scope and stakes were so ridiculous that it was nearly unwatchable.
9 Dexter Had Unnecessary Twists Without Any Logic
Dexter
He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
- Release Date
- October 1, 2006
- Creator
- James Manos Jr.
- Cast
- Michael C. Hall , Jennifer Carpenter , David Zayas
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Seasons
- 8 Seasons
- Producer
- Robert Lloyd Lewis, Timothy Schlattmann, Lauren Gussis, Scott Reynolds, Arika Lisanne Mittman, Drew Z. Greenberg, Dennis Bishop
- Production Company
- The Colleton Company, John Goldwyn Productions, Clyde Phillips Productions, 801 Productions, Devilina Productions, Showtime Networks
- Number of Episodes
- 96 Episodes
First Season RT rating |
82% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
33% |
IMDb Rating |
8.7 |
Low Point |
Deb falling for Dexter, her adoptive brother |
One of the most frustrating things about being a fan of a popular TV show is that success can sometimes overpower a story. Plenty of series continued after their natural conclusions because they were still big draws for their respective networks. Similarly, Dexter relied on its intriguing premise to hypnotize its fans, but the drama started to go wrong when the series' main protagonist got increasingly clumsy.
A vigilante serial killer who hides in plain sight within the Miami police department is an amazing idea, but the premise had greater diminishing returns each season. Dexter’s initial four seasons maintained a relatively consistent level of quality, but each season was sloppier than its predecessor, and its finish was truly baffling. While fans who'd stayed true to the series from the start were still excited at the prospect of their favorite serial killer still out there in the world, their attempts to reunite him with his long lost son were regarded as even more disconnected from those early seasons that drew everyone in.
8 House Of Cards Shined in its Early Days
House of Cards
A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.
- Release Date
- February 1, 2013
- Cast
- Kevin Spacey , Robin Wright , Michael Kelly , Jayne Atkinson
- Seasons
- 6
- Number of Episodes
- 73
- Streaming Service(s)
- Amazon Prime Video
First Season RT rating |
87% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
65% |
IMDb Rating |
8.6 |
High Point |
Zoe being thrown in front of the train |
House of Cards Teaser Reveals Frank Underwood's Fate
A new promo for House of Cards Season 6 hints that Netflix's political drama has killed off Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood.Audiences mainly tuned into House Of Cards' later seasons for closure and curiosity about how Kevin Spacey's exit would be handled. The pivot to Claire Underwood wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but House Of Cards was one of those shows that could have easily gotten away with stopping after season two or three. Instead, they dragged it out for six long seasons.
The stakes and obstacles are ridiculous by House of Cards' finale, reaffirming that its best days were its early ones. Before the controversial events that turned viewers away from Kevin Spacey, he led the show well, and while Claire Underwood certainly has her merits, it just wasn't the same. Even the show's most committed fans jumped ship before the end. Unsurprisingly, House Of Cards ended on a weak note with little to no fanfare at all.
7 Entourage Regressed As The Show Went On
No. of Seasons |
8, 96 Episodes, with a Feature Film |
---|---|
First Season RT rating |
73% |
Last Season RT rating |
46% |
IMDb Rating |
8.4 |
Low Point |
Vince being alone |
There’s a certain novelty to Entourage’s insider look at a struggling actor’s journey into Hollywood. The parties, the relationships, and everything in-between were a great foray into a career avenue many dream of, but few pursue. Unfortunately, Entourage became known for gratuitous sex and excessive celebration instead of subversive comedy. Vinnie Chase’s journey grew stale and the characters regressed instead of progressing.
Entourage wore out its welcome and nearly became a caricature of itself. Despite having very little left to say by the end of season eight, it still released a feature film under the same title. For a lot of viewers, the series went on far too long, and the repetitive nature that made it feel like nothing ever happened wasn't solved by adding a film to the mix.
6 Heroes Had a Stellar First Season
Heroes
Common people discover that they have super powers. Their lives intertwine as a devastating event must be prevented.
- Release Date
- September 25, 2006
- Creator
- Tim Kring
- Cast
- Milo Ventimiglia , Hayden Panettiere , Jack Coleman , Masi Oka , Sendhil Ramamurthy , Greg Grunberg , James Kyson-Lee , Adrian Pasdar , Zachary Quinto , Ali Larter , Cristine Rose
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 4
First Season RT rating |
82% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
29% |
IMDb Rating |
7.5 |
High Point |
The whole first season |
Heroes ran for four seasons, with a one-season attempt at a reboot, Heroes Reborn. While the series was an original take on superhuman intrigue, it faced issues as early as its second season that began to turn viewers away from tuning in so regularly. The debut season of Heroes had incredible storytelling, but the burgeoning heroes' popularity pushed the show to scrap its original plans.
Instead, Heroes focused on characters who had already concluded their original stories. As a result, each season of Heroes struggled even deeper into an aimless mire of weak storytelling. Only Heroes' ongoing mythology and fans' curiosity about the fates of these once-beloved characters kept people along for the ride, but many of them were tuning in begrudgingly each week..
5 Weeds Ruined its Main Character
Weeds
When a suburban mother turns to dealing marijuana in order to maintain her privileged lifestyle after her husband dies, she finds out just how addicted her entire neighborhood already is.
- Release Date
- August 8, 2005
- Creator
- Jenji Kohen
- Cast
- Mary-Louise Parker , Hunter Parrish , Alexander Gould , Kevin Nealon , Justin Kirk , Elizabeth Perkins
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 8
- Number of Episodes
- 102
- Writers
- Jenji Kohan , Roberto Benabib
- Directors
- Craig Zisk , Scott Ellis
First Season RT rating |
79% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
40% |
IMDb Rating |
7.9 |
Low Point |
Nancy's deeds became unforgivable |
Nurse Jackie, Weeds Revivals in the Works
Hit Showtime series Nurse Jackie and Weeds are both getting sequels that will bring back the stars of each show.Showtime sometimes runs series into the ground, keeping them around for as long as possible. Weeds had a quirky charm when it started, following Mary-Louise Parker’s Nancy Botwin as she struggled to make ends meet for her family and found a solution in peddling marijuana.
However, Nancy’s problems spiraled out of control. Many view Weeds' abandonment of its original suburban setting, Agrestic, as its natural end. However, Weeds carried on for eight seasons, sent the Botwins to Mexico, and got further from its original mission statement than its creators could have imagined.
4 The X-Files Was a Certified Sci-Fi Hit
The X-Files
Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
- Release Date
- September 10, 1993
- Creator
- Chris Carter
- Cast
- David Duchovny , Gillian Anderson , Mitch Pileggi , William B. Davis
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 11
First Season RT rating |
83% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
22% (Season 9) and 77% (Season 11) |
IMDb Rating |
8.6 |
High Point |
Monster of the week stories |
The X-Files played a pivotal role in the development of mainstream genre storytelling and had a lengthy run of more than 200 episodes. With a love for quirky conspiracy theories and horrifying anomalies, The X-Files told a surprising number of great monster-of-the-week stories. The quirky buddy-cop feel of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's early relationship drew viewers in, with many of them hoping that the "out there" truth would turn Scully from a science-hardened skeptic into a true believer.
However, The X-Files' increasingly convoluted and changing alien conspiracy mythology exhausted viewers. Everyone wanted to know what happened to Mulder's sister, but taking the long way around it did little to keep fans interested. The loss of David Duchovny during The X-Files' later seasons didn’t, help and many viewers returned for the finale and revival just to learn what was going on.
3 Two And A Half Men Lost The Plot
Two and a Half Men
- Release Date
- September 22, 2003
- Creator
- Lee Aronsohn, Chuck Lorre
- Cast
- Jon Cryer , Ashton Kutcher , Angus T. Jones , Conchata Ferrell , Charlie Sheen , Holland Taylor
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 12
First Season RT rating |
80% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
33% |
IMDb Rating |
7.1 |
Low Point |
Both Charlie Harper and Angus T. Jones Became Boring |
Any TV show is going to wear out some fans over the course of more than 250 episodes, but Two And A Half Men could have ended its run much earlier. There was nothing particularly innovative about the sitcom's premise, where Charlie Sheen's lecherous Charlie Harper acclimates to life with his brother and nephew. Despite Ashton Kutcher coming in later, after Sheen's departure, the show had long worn out its welcome well before Sheen left the show.
Charlie Sheen, and later Angus T. Jones, both left the series, giving its final seasons a very different energy. Fans of Two And A Half Men were watching out of obligation and morbid curiosity by the end, but anymore than that would be generous.
2 Archer Has Had Many Transformations
Archer
Covert black ops and espionage take a back seat to zany personalities and relationships between secret agents and drones.
- Release Date
- September 17, 2009
- Creator
- Adam Reed
- Cast
- H. Jon Benjamin , Judy Greer , Amber Nash , Chris Parnell , Aisha Tyler , Jessica Walter
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 14
- Studio
- Floyd County Productions, FXP
- Number of Episodes
- 145
- Network
- FX
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
First Season RT rating |
95% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
100% |
IMDb Rating |
8.6 |
High Point |
Archer Vice |
Archer's Final Season Gets a Hilariously Action-Packed Trailer
The long-running FX show, Archer, is coming to an end, but the trailer for its final season promises plenty of action and comedy.Archer started out as a brilliant spy satire, featuring an entertaining cast of unscrupulous characters. After 13 seasons, Archer recently returned to its spy roots. For several seasons, Archer abandoned its core premise and transformed itself into a noir mystery, adventure serial, and space drama in turn.
Archer extended its shelf life by pursuing some extreme stylistic detours, but it lost the interest of a lot of fans along the way. Now that the series has returned from what felt like a multi-versal vacation, many fans have returned to see what they regard as the show's "real story." However, they're also looking for closure and feel obligated to see things through to the end.
1 Californication Lost Its Way
Californication
A writer tries to juggle his career, his relationship with his daughter and his ex-girlfriend, as well as his appetite for beautiful women.
- Release Date
- August 13, 2007
- Creator
- Tom Kapinos
- Cast
- David Duchovny , Natascha McElhone , Madeleine Martin , Evan Handler , Pamela Adlon , Madeline Zima
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 7
- Number of Episodes
- 84
- Network
- Showtime
- Streaming Service(s)
- Paramount+ with Showtime
First Season RT rating |
74% |
---|---|
Last Season RT rating |
44% |
IMDb Rating |
8.3 |
Low Point |
Hank and Karen's story |
Californication was essentially a vanity piece for David Duchovny, who effortlessly played egotistical womanizer Hank Moody. Hank's unrepentant behavior and his ability to fail upwards as he worked to maintain a healthy family life with his teenage daughter and ex-girlfriend had a sweetness at its core. However, the series started spinning its wheels surprisingly quickly.
Early on, fans wanted to root for him and see him pull his life together, but it became obvious that was about as likely as Hank finding the inspiration he needed to write. Hank was always messing up, and his revolving cast of temporary romantic partners blended together quickly. Californication's central story was lost in the process, leaving the series feeling aimless as it wandered through seven seasons and invaritbly ended on a whimper.