From the central premise to the show’s characters and everything in between, producing one excellent season oftelevisionis no mean feat. This reality applies even more so when it comes to maintaining a consistent level of quality across multiple seasons, forcing shows to constantly adapt and innovate in order to continue receiving positive reviews from fans and critics alike. It’s notoriously tricky to do, a key factor in why gold-standardshows likeThe Sopranos,Breaking Bad, andThe Wireare held in such high regard.
However, this often proves to be easier said than done in practice. Whether the show loses a vital character, makes a misguided change in direction or tone, or simply runs out of general creative steam,several high-profile exampleshave started great, only to go downhill fast in spectacular fashion.This includes even some oftelevision’s best shows, highlighting how difficult it is to pull off legitimately flawless series in sharp relief.
Set against the backdrop of the technology industry in the titular Northern Californian region, HBO’s sitcomSilicon Valleyran for six seasons. Critical response to the show was consistently positive; the third season received a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score. However, thedeparture of T.J. Miller’s Erlich Bachmanafter season 4 was the first of many changes that made the show quite different.
All 6 Seasons Of Silicon Valley, Ranked Worst To Best
Silicon Valley lasted for six raucously funny seasons, which can each be ranked from worst to best in terms of overall quality and laughs.
Erlich wasn’t main character material by any stretch, but he tied the room together in a manner that simply wasn’t there when the show returned without him. Proceedings sans his presence had a notably forced feel, a state of affairs that wasn’t aided by misguided attempts to redirect his charge’s eccentric energy into other ill-suited characters.Silicon Valleywas arguably running out of steam already given the nature of its repetitive premise, meaning that the show’s stellar critics' scores do not paint the full picture.
A modernized take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary fictional sleuth of the same name,Sherlockwas one of television’s most highly regarded mystery crime dramas at the height of its powers. The first three seasons of the BBC adaptation received near-universal critical acclaim, with the show still retaining an overall rating of 9.1 on IMDb to this day. In many ways, it’s a further testament toSherlock’searly qualitythat this remains the case, despite a notably dismal final season.
Virtually unrecognizable from earlier installments,Sherlock’sfinal two seasons were nowhere near as clever or entertaining as the first two. What had once seemed inspired and intricate now felt contrived and far-fetched, a pale imitation of the show that had once delighted audiences and critics alike. It’s a status quo reflected by the final season’s sub-par Rotten Tomatoes score of 54%; for context, the lowest-rated season prior to that had scored 91%.
Few shows have suffered quite as dramatic a fall off in quality as superhero dramaHeroes.Following an array of superpowered humans,Heroesseason 1saw the show labeled as one of the most promising new debutants that television had to offer, with high praise directed towards the series' pacing and casting. Unfortunately for Tim Kring’s brainchild, matters then proceeded to fall off a cliff in a manner akin to a person with a dumbbell melded to their foot.
The show’s inspired script writing and character building seemingly vanished overnight, leaving matters to get steadily worse until NBC inevitably pulled the plug.
Reviews forHeroeswent steadily downhill from the first acclaimed season to the point that the final installment has a disastrous Rotten Tomatoes score of just 29%. The show’s inspired script writing and character building seemingly vanished overnight, leaving matters to get steadily worse until NBC inevitably pulled the plug. One of television’s quintessential cases of a promising show collapsing in on itself,Heroesremains one of popular culture’s most notable “what if?” stories.
Beginning in a futuristic Wild West-themed amusement park that allows high-paying guests to interact with androids indistinguishable from human beings, the future appeared to be exceedingly bright for HBO’s dystopian sci-fi Western series,Westworld.However, despite arguably producing one of the single best seasons of television ever made with its debut installment, the show ran into problems as soon as the action left the park.
Westworldseasons by year
87%
85%
73%
Season 4 (2024)
74%
Swapping out the show’s Western roots for a futuristic setting outside the parks from the third season onwards,Westworldswiftly lost sight of what got it to the dance in the first place. Gradually replacing an inspired and unpredictable narrative with an abundance of sci-fi tropes and lazy script writing, reviews for Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s offering got worse with every subsequent season.News ofWestworld’scancelationonly confirmed what we all were already aware of; the demise of a once-great show.
Once regarded as essential viewing, few shows have witnessed as spectacular a demise as the BBC’s adaptation ofKilling Eve. Centered on the mutual obsession between a psychopathic assassin and a British intelligence officer, the first season of the Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer-led spy thriller received rave reviews. Despite a perceivable decline in quality beginning with the third season,Killing Everemained consistently watchable and entertaining right up until the final installment.
Killing Eveholds a rating of 8.1 on IMDb.
Regrettably, that was where the bottom completely fell out. Failing to provide any meaningful sense of closure to a story that had already run out of steam,Killing Eve’sfinal season was widely decried. “Hello Losers” is widely viewed as one of the worst television finales of all time, attracting troubling accusations of perpetuating the"Bury Your Gays" trope.Killing Eve’sfirst two seasons hadn’t dipped below a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%, with season 4s “Rotten” 53% rating highlighting just how far the show’s standards had fallen.
Following the eponymous forensic technician who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer,Dexteris one of the most successful crime dramas of all time. Running for eight seasons and spawning an array ofspin-offDextershows, the Michael C. Hall-led series received consistently positive reviews for the vast majority of its run until a calamitous sixth season marked the beginning of a notable decline that saw an indelible black mark placed on the show’s previously unsullied reputation.
…a calamitous sixth season marked the beginning of a notable decline that saw an indelible black mark placed on the show’s previously unsullied reputation.
While Season 6’s notably uncompelling lead villain and an uncharacteristically drab storyline had fans panicking, a drastically improved Season 7 went some way to reassuring audiences thatDexterhadn’t gone downhill. In many ways, that made the show’s abysmal final outing all the more upsetting, with fans lamenting the demise of the once-great show following a universally maligned final showing.
Centered on a group of young offenders working in a community service rehabilitation program who are mysteriously gifted with superhuman abilities following a mysterious electrical storm,Misfitsserved as the breakout role for the likes of Iwan Rheon and Robert Sheehan. The show’s original cast of colorful and compelling characters and wicked British humor served as the foundation for a string of highly positive reviews, marking Howard Overman’s project as one to watch.
Preacher stars Ruth Negga and Joe Gilgun also appeared together on Misfits as Nikki and Rud respectively.
Unfortunately,Misfitsproved to be a victim of its own success. With bigger opportunities on the horizon as a result of the show’s acclaim, Sheehan’s fan-favorite charge Nathan was the first departure, with the entirety of the original core line-up following him by the end of the third season. New cast additions in the vein of Karla Krome’s Jess or Matt Stokoe’s Alex couldn’t capture the witty magic or outrageous shock factor of earlier outings, withseveral bad storylinesleading to the show’s cancelation in 2013.
Chronicling the adventures of the titular family of adopted superheroes,The Umbrella Academy’ssudden drop-off in quality is made all the more maddening by the fact that the show had arguably gotten better with every subsequent season up until that point. Of course, that was before the show’s maligned fourth and final installment debuted, a season decried by fans and critics alike as a deeply unsatisfactory end to proceedings.
77%
91%
55%
Replacing the usual ten-episode season format with six rushed and overstuffed installments,The Umbrella Academyproceeded to go downhill like an anvil on roller skates. From Five and Lila’s contrived romance toUmbrella Academy’s lazy “everybody dies” ending,everything about the show’s final entry seemed to be specifically designed to provide the least cathartic conclusion imaginable; which was disappoiting given that it happened just asThe Umbrella Academyappeared to have finally found its feet.
WhileThe Officegamely soldiered on for as long as its flagging legs could carry it, losingSteve Carell’s Michael Scotttowards the back end of the show’s seventh season proved to be a blow that the long-running mockumentary never recovered from. The departure of the acclaimed comedy’s beloved leading man left a void that proved too vast to be filled, a state of affairs that wasn’t aided by James Spader producing one of the least compelling characters in sitcom history in an attempt to replace him.
Without Carrell’s presence to spearhead proceedings,The Officewent from television’s most entertaining sitcom to just another bang-average comedy virtually overnight. This is exemplified by the show’s Rotten Tomatoes score almost halving between season 7 and season 8, a sad testament to how quickly matters had gone downhill. While a considerably better final installment softened the blow of the wider show’s decline, this one still hurts many fans to this day.
The quintessential example of a television show that started out great then went downhill,Game of Thrones’spectacular self-implosion in the final season was actually preceded by a more gradual, but no less noticeable, drop off in form as soon as the show caught up with George R.R. Martin’s source material. Unfortunately, this subtle decline in quality only foreshadowed what was to come; a rushed and deeply unsatisfactory end to proceedings that saw the show’s prestigious reputation left in tatters.
Why Jon Snow Killed Daenerys Targaryen In Game Of Thrones
Jon Snow killed Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones season 8, episode 6, “The Iron Throne,” and the choice was due to other members of House Stark.
Rather unsurprisingly, cramming roughly two seasons' worth of content into six episodes proved to be a disastrous choice. Riddled with plot holes and implausibilities, seven seasons of story building and character development went up in smoke quicker than King’s Landing. Rounding things off,Game of Thrones’decline culminated in a finale so bad that itshouldn’t even be considered part of the wider show, an ignominious end for a series touted by many as one of the greatesttelevisionshows ever made.
