TV Shows That Should’ve Stopped After One Season

Heroes

Heroes first aired in 2006 and was an immediate success. It was one of the first shows to adopt the superhero craze and told of several seemingly ordinary people who were revealed as having extraordinary powers. Heroes captured the imagination of audiences across the globe. The second season however, lacked the same sense of narrative urgency, and its third season was massacred by a writer’s strike.

Person of Interest

Starring Jim Caviezel and Lost’s Michael Emerson, Person of Interest was a well-made espionage procedural that went on to have five seasons. Although well-acted, the flaw, especially in the first season, was that there was too much focus on filler episodes that bloated rather than enriched the viewing experience.

Helix

Syfy’s Helix was a show whose runners failed to understand that less is always more. In this instance, the first season was a great partnership of science-fiction, horror, and most importantly, mystery. It followed scientists investigating a viral outbreak in the Arctic. A needless second season, which picked up fifteen months later, destroyed the mystique and got Helix cancelled, rendering the whole season a fool’s errand.

Falling Skies

Marketed as a high-octane science-fiction show that pitted man against alien, Falling Skies was a bitter disappointment from its genesis. Starring ER’s Noah Wyle, the promised war was kept firmly in the background, the emphasis instead on the interpersonal relationships within a small war-torn community. Although it has some occasional good moments, Falling Skies should have never survived for a second season, let alone five.

Prison Break

Prison Break quickly built up a reputation for being a must-watch show. The story saw hyper-intelligent Michael (Wentworth Miller) deliberately get sent to prison so that he could help his wrongly convicted brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), escape. Although this mission was completed by the season finale, Prison Break was dragged out for five seasons, with most trying to replicate the magic of season one and failing.

Sweet Tooth

Beginning life as a comic book, Sweet Tooth is set in the wake of a deadly virus where animal-human hybrid children roam the Earth. The story follows one 10-year-old boy who is part deer as he searches for his mother. Whereas the first season was intimate, in season two the world expanded too far, with an excess of characters muddying the plot.

American Horror Story

Although an anthology series in nature, American Horror Story should have perhaps been an only child. Whilst some of the chapters that have followed have been interesting, audiences and show creator Ryan Murphy have been chasing the high of Murder House ever since. The premise of a house whose tenants all die not long after arrival is genius, the execution wicked, and what followed were poor imitations.

Westworld

Originally starting life as a novel by Michael Crichton, Westworld was turned into a 1973 film before receiving the television treatment. The show arrived in 2016 and followed the uprising of sentient artificial intelligence made to work in a Wild West themed immersive experience. As an instant smash-hit, further seasons were greenlit, but each involved unpicking what was already a bold and beautiful ending.

Eerie, Indiana

Technically Eerie, Indiana only ran for one season in 1991. However, in 1998, after a successful re-run, Fox Kids commissioned spin-off series Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension. The show attempted to repeat the formula of Eerie, Indiana, but was a massive disappointment and proved that lightning cannot be bottled twice.

From

A third season of From is due for release in 2024, but it could – and maybe should – have stopped after its first. Starring Harold Perrineau, From explores a Middle American town that traps residents inside and pits them against nightmarish nocturnal creatures. Whilst season one had direction, season two cast the original focus aside in favour of new directions, causing loyal viewers to become frustrated and confused.

Big Brother

Originally meant to be a simple study into interpersonal relationships and psychology, reality show Big Brother became a British institution. Of all the iterations, only the first series genuinely worked. These contestants weren’t concerned with becoming famous and presented a more accurate exploration of group dynamics. Plus, it became very exciting when ‘Nasty Nick’ was revealed as having tried to manipulate nominations.

True Blood

Technically the first three seasons were all enjoyable, but when analyzed closer, True Blood could have easily concluded at the end of its first season. That season was adapted from Charlaine Harris’ novel Dead by Dark, each chapter forming one of the twelve episodes. This meant that there was a natural ending point in the story that could, and should have been adhered to.

Defiance

Whilst its setting of a post-apocalyptic future was a familiar one, Defiance’s narrative introduced aliens and lost all but a few viewers that understood its niche appeal. Going for either Star Wars or Star Trek on Earth, Defiance failed to launch, and although it generated three seasons and a video game, it would not have been missed by many had it been cancelled immediately.

Peppa Pig

Controversially, Peppa Pig, the queen of children’s television, should have been culled instantly. Whilst the show entrances preschoolers and provides parents with a much needed rest break, she is somewhat toxic. Whereas newer shows like Bluey and Hey Duggee present a strong sense of right and wrong, Peppa is repeatedly rewarded for brattish behavior that youngsters emulate, causing nightmare scenarios for parents everywhere.

Under the Dome

Stephen King adaptations have a very hit-and-miss success rate. Under the Dome initially appeared to fall into the former category, before quickly plummeting in quality during season two. The season one premise of a small town getting trapped under a mysterious dome-like structure presented a tantalising mystery. Later seasons over-complicated the reasons, and ultimately failed to stick the landing.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Inspired by the manga, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was an anime series that felt like a police procedural with added cyberpunk aesthetics. Although both of its two seasons are beautiful to look at, the subject matter and tone in the second is fractionally less palatable, suffering from some heavy retconning of its story.

The Big Bang Theory

Released in 2007, The Big Bang Theory followed the madcap adventures of hottie Penny and the science geeks across the hall. Though it wasn’t until the later seasons that the quality dipped, a fundamental aspect of the show – the group’s obsession with superheroes being uncool – quickly became dated. In 2008, Iron Man released, starting the Marvel machine which suddenly made comic book characters cool again.

The Strain

Director Guillermo del Toro, was both show creator and co-author of The Strain’s source novel. Taking place in New York, The Strain charted the rise of a vampiric disease and managed to be truly disturbing. However, when The Strain returned for round two it had lost its bite. Viewers quickly turned-off, fearing its lackluster approach would taint the original season’s brilliance.

Homeland

Season one of Homeland followed bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison as she tried to prove that former prisoner of war and American hero, Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis), had been turned. The espionage thriller was an award-winning success, but never needed to go beyond one season. Once it did, the story became far too convoluted, veering into farcical territory every now and again

Ted Lasso

The extremely popular Ted Lasso ended after three seasons having followed the ups and downs of an English soccer team coached by an eccentric American. There is an argument however, that it should have been confined to a single season. This would have given the viewer a purer boost of adrenaline, untouched by the darkness that crept in later.

Riverdale

Based on characters from the Archie Comics, Riverdale was a series that burned brightest during its debut season. After a Riverdale teenager was murdered, comic book characters Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead try to solve it. Critics praised the opening season, but subsequent ones were met with disdain due to a lack of coherent storylines.

Revolution

In the first season of Revolution, society had experienced a worldwide ‘blackout.’ Set in the year 2027, Revolution focused on one family’s mission to stay safe, whilst potentially possessing the key to restarting civilisation again. Dull and generic, the biggest surprise about Revolution is that it was granted a second season at all.

You

With a fifth and final season announced, You has become a parody of itself. Starring Penn Badgley, You follows the intense Joe, whose obsession with women leads him to some dark and disturbing places. Inspired by the books by Caroline Kepnes, the strongest season is Joe’s first outing, and by the end of the first season, his story was neatly tied up. Events since have repositioned You from seductive thriller to trashy melodrama.

The X-Files Revival

Dana Scully and Fox Mulder ruled the nineties. Their show, The X-Files, was a beautiful blend of conspiracy thriller and horror. In 2003 it ceased transmission, but in 2016 it was ill-advisedly revived. Though it tried to recreate the Mulder and Scully magic, it was unsuccessful. Its second season failed even harder, both seasons having been survival ordeals for loyal fans to suffer through.

The Returned

The first series of French supernatural drama The Returned was superb. Set in a sleepy rural town, townsfolk come face-to-face with lost lovers and relatives when the dead suddenly return with no memory of the intervening years. Spooky and mysterious, The Returned left viewers wanting more. Unfortunately, their desires turned to despair when the second series was a massive disappointment.

Bitten

Based on the fantastic book series by Kelly Armstrong, werewolf drama Bitten had the potential to be epic. Bitten followed the fate of solitary female werewolf Elena Michaels (played by Laura Vandervoort) as she is recalled to pack-life. The reality of Bitten was that, after the first season, the show started to deviate from the source material and watered itself down to a generic fantasy series.

Humans

The first series of Channel 4’s Humans got audiences talking. Tackling the hot button topic of artificial intelligence, Humans was set in a world in which ‘synths’ were treated as another gadget to have around the house. The show’s musings around what it means to be alive captured the imagination. Sadly, the follow-up series wasted its potential and muddled its messaging.

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers may have spawned a legion of spin-offs and variations of rangers, but it really should have stopped after its initial sixty episode run. After this, the show got confusing; three of the rangers were swapped for new ones, a new big bad turned up, and one of the hero’s abilities were stripped from him.

Altered Carbon

Based on a series of books by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon was a cyberpunk murder mystery in which deceased detective for hire, Takeshi Kovacs, is ‘re-sleeved’ into different bodies to solve crimes. Whilst the concept of a body-swapping protagonist works for the books, on screen it was too confusing to see Joel Kinnaman swapped out after one season.

The Walking Dead

Though it would go on to have eleven seasons and several spin-off shows, The Walking Dead should have never ventured past one season. The six episode arc devised by Frank Darabont was a tightly constructed homage to the zombie genre. However, after it proved so successful, AMC continued, even after Darabont’s departure. The result was many middling episodes with a sporadic flurry of brilliance.

Resident Alien

In Resident Alien, beloved comic character actor Alan Tudyk plays an alien in strife. After crash-landing on Earth, he had to assume the identity of a human. Hilarity ensued as he found himself in a variety of worsening scenarios. The concept, and humor, unfortunately ran out of steam fast.

Glee

It’s unclear if a show’s popularity has ever fallen as spectacularly as Glee. The first series, which charted the journey of a high-school glee club, became a world-wide phenomenon. The cast were catapulted onto the A-list, and even went on tour. Sadly, as Glee progressed, storylines and characters became so toxic it is now hard to believe anyone could have ever loved it.

Colony

It may have starred actors from both Lost (Josh Holloway) and The Walking Dead (Sarah Wayne Callies), but 2016’s Colony failed to enrapture audiences. This is partly because the story, which saw Americans living in an alien-controlled society, lacked originality. Somehow it managed to get a second and third season, but most viewers quite rightly gave up after season one.

Mr. Robot

Starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater, the first season of Mr. Robot was a mend-bending thriller that followed hacker Elliott as he was enlisted by anarchist Mr. Robot. The first series was rich in realistic hacking code and principles, and featured an enjoyable conclusion. Tempted back to reopen the story, Mr. Robot forgot itself, and later seasons, though good, left the audience wanting.

Scream Queens

After the success of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy became the go-to person for horror television. His creation, Scream Queens, was a heady mix of horror and comedy, combining slasher movie tropes with a sorority full of mean girls, with excellent results. The popularity demanded a return, but the sparkle had gone and proved that maybe Murphy was better suited to the anthology format.

Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies amassed a short two season run. In reality though, it never needed a return. Though the phenomenal cast which included Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, and Meryl Streep were on top form, the story was rounded out nicely during the season one conclusion. Continuing the story drained its potency, though thankfully it was denied a further third season.

Stranger Things

Whilst rabid fans eagerly await Stranger Things’ final chapter, in reality the show would have worked better as a stand-alone series. The first season kick-started the eighties nostalgia wave, and made household names of its young cast. The show worked as a beautiful love letter to Steven Spielberg, E.T., and Amblin Entertainment. Each successive chapter, though enjoyable, has struggled to connect as intensely.

13 Reasons Why

13 Reasons Why does not work beyond its opening season. The controversial show, based on the novel by Jay Asher, told the tragedy of teenage girl Hannah Baker across a journal of cassette tapes, each addressed to a key figure in her life. Without Hannah’s guidance, 13 Reasons Why lost its identity, and a later season handling of Hannah’s attacker felt disrespectful to her memory.

Fortitude

From the outset, Fortitude was a weird show. A snowy symphony of science-fiction, horror, isolation and paranoia, it had its audience scratching their heads. The plot followed the peaceful Arctic community of Fortitude as it came unstuck after the discovery of a prehistoric mammoth carcass. Whilst the mystery worked initially, the decision to continue this tactic – never fully explaining anything – eventually became its undoing.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

A spin-off of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was a way for the studio to keep viewers hooked between movies. It began the awful trend of MCU spin-off shows which release at such frequency that it is impossible to keep up. For this reason alone, it should have been stopped after season one.

The Masked Singer

Who knew a show that sees celebrities obscure their identity within giant costumes so they can sing anonymously would be so popular? Initially written off as a fad, The Masked Singer’s popularity shows no sign of waning. However, each year the term celebrity becomes a looser description of contestants, and perhaps it should have been a one-off novelty.

24

With its real-time setting and split-screen visuals, 24 helped revolutionise television and film. A taut crime thriller, 24 followed a brutal day in the life of CTU agent Jack Bauer. As great as the series was as a whole, the amount of bad days one man could have pushed 24 dangerously close to silly territory.

Santa Clarita Diet

When Santa Clarita Diet launched on Netflix, it was a breath of fresh-air. Drew Barrymore played a real-estate agent who, after accidentally becoming a zombie, tried to maintain an air of normalcy whilst attempting to fix her situation. The show was hilarious, but ended after three seasons on an all-mighty cliffhanger; were it to have stopped sooner, we could have been spared some heartache.

Veronica Mars

Teenage super-sleuth Veronica Mars initially ran for three seasons before eventually getting a film and revival series. Veronica Mars made Kristen Bell a star and was a provocative teen crime thriller that went to some very dark places. In all honesty though, season one is tied off so neatly that further exploration into the town of Neptune wasn’t strictly necessary.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow

A spin-off from both Arrow and Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow struggled from the outset. Featuring supporting characters from both shows in leading roles, Legends of Tomorrow always felt second-tier. The constant revolving door band of heroes denied true connections to be formed between audience and programme, and so it was a blessing when its cancellation was finally announced.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class

After the cast of Saved by Bell moved on to greener pastures, the show continued in the form of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Try as they might, this new crop always felt inferior to Zack Morris and co. The inclusion of Screech as Principal Belding’s assistant made things worse. Though the fun left early, The New Class somehow continued for seven seasons.

Lost

Along with 24, Lost was a TV show that changed the landscape of television forever. The first season stole the attention of the world as audiences tuned in week after week to discover the fate of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Although it remained popular, Lost always seemed to be chasing the high of its first season and never quite achieving the goal.

Naked Attraction

Quite how Naked Attraction got past the commissioning board at UK’s Channel 4 is mind-boggling. The premise of the dating show is that contestants chose a new suitor by judging their naked bodies. Whilst Naked Attraction does a great job at showing the human body in all its shapes and sizes, basing selection on appearance is still quite damaging.

Wolf Creek

2005’s film Wolf Creek was intended as a harrowing tale of backpackers tormented in the Australian wilderness. Somehow, the antagonist, Mick Taylor, became a favorite of horror fans, and his appeal granted a two season television show. Played by John Jaratt across both films and the show, Mick returned to carve his way across Australia as he hunted down escapee Eve.

Clueless

When Amy Heckling’s 1995 film Clueless became an instant hit, a television show was immediately commissioned. The show managed to retain some of the movie’s original cast (Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, Elisa Donovan), but the lack of Alicia Silverstone was an issue. Rachel Blanchard tried hard to make the character her own, but failed to step out of Silverstone’s iconic shadow.

Yellowjackets

Although still in production, it would have been great if Yellowjackets were to have been a one season limited series. The female-centric multi time period story of plane crash survivors turned cannibal cult survivalists is riveting. A second season aired recently, and whilst it retained the magic of the first season, the longer Yellowjackets continues, the greater the chance it will spoil itself.

Dallas Revival

In the eighties, millions tuned in to watch the escapades of the Ewing family in Dallas. Then, in 1991, Dallas ended in the most frustrating manner, ultilizing the cliched dream ending. In 2012, Dallas returned with some new and old faces, but working around such a silly finale proved too hard and the show never quite took off in the same way as the original.

Black Mirror

Although Black Mirror retains its popularity, it is amazing that it has lasted this long. The first season provided viewers with three perfect episodes of technology enhanced horror, and whilst some later episodes have matched these, most of them fall short. Plus, on a daily basis, society journeys closer to the world in Black Mirror, taking the show from escapist fiction to terrifying fact.

Pokémon

Having finally become a Pokémon master after twenty-five years (!) Ash and Pikachu’s story has concluded. Pokémon became a world-wide phenomenon and spawned several movies, and yet in all that time, Ash still couldn’t complete his training. A show aimed at children should not require a life-long commitment and should have finished far sooner.

Fear The Walking Dead

Much like its parent show, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead should have been a short one-off series. The premise was that it would focus on the early days of the apocalypse, filling in the blanks left in The Walking Dead. However, it eventually caught up with the timeline of The Walking Dead, rendering it a little superfluous to requirement.

End Of the F****** World

This show was a refreshingly dark British comedy that pushed the boundaries. It told the story of James and Alyssa, two classmates who end up on the road-trip from Hell. The beauty of season one was that it was a surprising departure from the norm, sadly the same could not be said of the subsequent series.

Nashville

Starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, Nashville was a glossy, soapy drama that told all about fictitious characters competing in the cutthroat industry of country music. A show that started small, Nashville went on to focus on too many characters, making the first, stripped back season, its best.

Silicon Valley

Although it eventually fell into a loop of repeating itself, the first season of Silicon Valley was brilliant. The perfect antithesis to the very silly The Big Bang Theory, Silicon Valley cast a different set of nerds into the spotlight. Set within the world of tech enterprises, the series followed one coder’s journey as he tried to develop his own software.

Batwoman

Another spin-off from Arrow, Batwoman was destined to fail from the start. Original Batwoman, Ruby Rose, was injured on set and ended up leaving the show after the first season. This would have been a perfect place to stop, but the showrunners continued, finding all manner of excuses to explain why Batwoman looked different come season two.

Castle Rock

Castle Rock is an anthology series set in the fictitious town of Castle Rock, a staple location in the works of Stephen King. Castle Rock explored the lives of several residents, straying into several of King’s classic stories. Lacking the spark to hook the viewer, had a second series not materialized, Castle Rock would not likely have been missed.

Smallville

It took ten seasons for Clark Kent to learn how to fly in Smallville. The show was meant to chronicle the teenage years of Superman as he traversed hormones and mastered his powers. However, by the time he had all his abilities, Clark was an adult working at The Daily Planet. Smallville worked best during its early seasons when school-life was the focus.

Grimm

In Grimm, homicide detective Nick Burkhardt discovers that he is descended from storytellers The Brothers Grimm. Nick’s lineage comes with great responsibility as it is revealed that the Brothers Grimm were monster hunters who fought a variety of ‘Wesen.’ Initially Grimm had a rather strict ‘monster of the week’ narrative, which was enjoyable enough, but the continuation of this formula in later seasons grew tiresome.

Emily In Paris

Starring Lily Collins, Netflix’s Emily in Paris caused a stir when it arrived on the streaming platform. Critics immediately disliked the show’s flimsy plot, characterization, and stereotypical portrayal of Paris. Audiences however embraced its cheesy romantic-comedy elements, cheering for American Emily as she adjusted to life in Paris. Even still, the audience were surprised to hear of its renewal.

Teen Wolf

Inspired by the 1985 movie of the same name, Teen Wolf followed the lycanthropic adventures of young Scott McCall. The TV show was vastly different to the film, it was far darker in tone, and riddled with teen angst. After keeping it simple for its debut season, Teen Wolf quickly jumped the shark, throwing too many supernatural creatures into the mix.

Zoo

Based on James Patterson’s novel, Zoo saw animals start to take over the world. After a spate of violent animal attacks across the globe, a small group of experts including a zoologist, reporter, and French intelligence agent had to work together to save humanity. A silly premise from the outset, Zoo consistently struggled to find its feet, and its eventual euthanization was a welcome reprieve.

Killing Eve

Killing Eve, which starred Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, had the world gripped with its taut relationship between intelligence agent Eve and assassin Villanelle. The writing team behind each season was headed by a different female writer, and many believe that as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s first series was perfection, she should have remained at the helm.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery was the first Star Trek television show after a thirteen year hiatus and was welcomed by Trekkies with open arms. However, it didn’t take long for the shine to wear off, with viewers frustrated by season two and almost universally hating season three. Competition from Picard, which features the return of several fan favorite characters, has also not helped Discovery’s appeal.

The Flight Attendant

The Flight Attendant was The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco’s first new venture post sitcom. She played an alcoholic flight attendant who has to solve a murder after finding a dead body in her hotel room. Its trashy murder-mystery mystique got audiences talking. Sadly the show was ruined when it made Cuoco’s character a spy in its ill-fated second season.

12 Monkeys

2015’s 12 Monkeys was a loose television adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s 1995 film of the same name. The film is near-perfect and it’s hard to understand why anyone felt like a refresh was necessary. As the show progressed, it pulled further away from the source material and became a bland and generic science-fiction story that needed more bite.

Riviera

Neil Jordan’s Riviera saw teen icon Julia Stiles take center-stage as art curator Georgina Clios. After her billionaire husband dies in a yacht accident, she finds herself drawn into the luxurious, but seedy world of the French Riviera’s elite. Played as a murder-mystery, Riviera’s main plot was tied up in the first season finale, and subsequent attempts to restart it felt cheap and unnecessary.