21 TV Shows That Nosedived After a Single Season

An acclaimed series can take a number of different paths on its way to decades-long institution or merciful cancellation. It’s a rare property that can maintain a high level of quality throughout its entire run, but it’s been rumored to have happened. More often, it takes a show a season or two to find its footing, but after that, it’s a straight line to the Emmys. Other times, it’s all over the place. Looking at you, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The most disappointing configuration, however, is a show that starts strong only to immediately and irretrievably fizzle out. When a show is bad all the way through, well, there’s nothing that can be done. It’s just a fundamentally unworkable premise. But a stunning first season proves that a show could have been great, it just couldn’t live up to its potential, much like your loser cousin whose only takeaway from prep school was an Adderall addiction.

Reddit clearly feels the same way, as it demonstrated when user D4RTHV3DA asked r/AskReddit, “What TV show stopped being great after only one season?”