20 TV Shows That Got Their Formulas Down to a Science

When TV shows last as long as a streamer is willing to pay for them, it can be hard to keep a series fresh. You can change locations, give your characters new challenges, and/or kill off old ones, but there’s always a risk of alienating your audience. And so, sometimes, it’s best to just stick to what you’re good at.

But you can go too far in the other direction, too. Some shows get their formulas down to a science, and at that point, they pretty much write themselves. It’s not great when your audience can recite a Mad Libs version of your script beat for beat. That’s why user Itchy-Year-9159 asked r/AskReddit, “What’s a popular TV show that every episode follows the same predictable formula?”