Unlike films, which can be one-and-done, completely telling a story within a single runtime, television programs typically want to continue as long as they can, with each season driving enough people to tune in to justify another season.
The result of this is that whilst a film can be good once and be remembered as a classic, a TV series needs to consistently deliver as well (or better) than it has previously to maintain its reputation. On the flip side, it also means that if a TV show has one poor season, the creators have the opportunity to set things right and deliver good seasons subsequently.
10 American Horror Story Bounced Back After Freak Show
American Horror Story has a unique advantage in this regard. As an anthology series, it is not bound to its previous seasons. In other shows, subsequent seasons may need to try to fix or improve unpopular characters, relationships, or plot points, but American Horror Story can simply tell a completely separate story.
Freak Show is typically considered the show’s nadir, even with the perceived step down in quality between Asylum and Coven, panned for its lack of plot, overreliance on guest stars, and thin characters. Subsequent seasons have had their own ups and downs, but all are considered vast improvements over Freak Show.
9 Angel Completely Changed Its Format In Season 5
Angel was well-received once it changed into a more arc-dominated format in Seasons 2 and 3, with the longer running storylines allowing for deeper and more mature storytelling than its parent series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 4 took this too far, with nearly the entire season being a convoluted single plot, with twists and turns thrown every other episode.
Other issues included uncomfortable character dynamics and a perceived focus on character melodrama. Season 5 would undo this, going into a more episodic format with shorter arcs, while also having Angel Investigations join their former enemies, Wolfram and Hart. The result was one of the show’s most popular seasons.
8 American Gods Regained Some Ground
Season 1 of American Gods was beloved, seen by viewers as the best possible adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s esoteric source novel, with a confusing yet compelling plot, beautiful dialogue and design, and clever mysteries. Behind-the-scenes tensions led to showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green leaving the show, along with several of the actors.
Season 2 attempted to make something out of what was left behind and was considered a lackluster sophomore effort. Certain episodes like “Donar the Great” and “Treasure of the Sun” were well-liked, but the season as a whole was considered a waste. Although not up to the heights of Season 1, Season 3 was more liked by fans—in time for the show to be canceled due to ratings.
7 The 100 Got Back Fan Goodwill After Season 3
The 100 severely disappointed fans with its Season 3, due to its perceived lack of plot, interesting storylines amounting to naught, and the controversial deaths of Lincoln and Lexa igniting fan anger.
Season 4 of the show was unable to undo some of these choices but was able to tighten up the plot and benefit from the smaller cast to shine a spotlight on other characters, and the show’s quality was regained until Season 7’s controversial offerings.
6 Arrow’s Recovery Was Mixed
Seasons 2 of Arrow received critical acclaim, being considered even better than the well-received Season 1, and viewed as something of a standout amongst superhero media. From there, Season 3 would be viewed as good, but Season 4 would be considered a huge drop in quality due to its overwhelming focus on Oliver and Felicity, and declining quality.
Season 5 would drag the show back, although not to the heights of Season 2. Season 6 would descend again, but Season 7 would in turn be an improvement—although one with decreasing returns.
5 Lucifer Bounced Back To New Heights
Season 3 of Lucifer is widely considered disappointing, particularly after the show began to step up its game in Season 2. Although some additions to the cast were praised, the show overdid things with Lucifer and Chloe’s dynamic becoming stale, and supporting characters becoming less entertaining and less fun.
This would see the show get canceled, until Netflix revived it for a fourth (and then a fifth and sixth), which is widely considered to be the show’s best. Moving to Netflix forced the show to streamline and cut filler, and the looser censors allowed for more of the sex and decadence that fans thought a show about the Devil deserved.
4 Doctor Who Ironed Out The Kinks After Capaldi’s First Season
Peter Capaldi’s take on the Doctor would become a popular one with fans, but the first season for the new actor was not well-received. Issues with the dynamic between the Doctor and companion Clara Oswald would see much of the focus and character development of the series go to Clara, and left the Doctor as a too dark and dour figure, not given the chance to show much depth or develop.
Nonetheless, in the later special and Seasons 9 and 10, Capaldi would finally be given the chance to shine, with everything about the subsequent seasons of his tenure being considered a vast improvement, but in particular his Doctor.
3 How I Met Your Mother Pulled Out Of A Nosedive
How I Met Your Mother‘s early seasons were adored for their unconventional and unique forms of storytelling for a sitcom, their unusual focus on heavy character development, and excellently written main cast. Season 5 would drop the character development, focus less on its unconventional plotting and more on just making things wacky and strange, and have each character emphasize one or two traits, losing their complexity.
Tallied with the unpopular developments of Barney and Robin’s romance, and the season was largely considered a non-starter. Seasons 6 and 7 would win back fans through frantic, fast-paced plot development, and by shaking up the situations of all of the characters, although opinions on Seasons 8 and 9 are more mixed.
2 Buffy’s First Bad Season Led Into Its Best
Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer struggled with the development from a high school show into a college one, with some areas of the show’s premise shifting beyond what fans could stomach. It also suffered from a poor villain and a widely disliked love interest in the form of Riley Finn.
In spite of still having Riley and adding controversial character Dawn to the cast, Season 5 would go on to be a fan-adored piece of the show, with one of the show’s best villains, intriguing character development, and a fan-favorite season finale (initially the series finale) ensuring the show ended on a high note prior to its first cancellation.
1 Game Of Thrones Recovered — For One Season
The first four seasons of Game of Thrones are some of the most beloved television in recent history, with viewers becoming immersed in the show’s intricate plots, compelling characters, and deconstruction of the fantasy genre. Season 5 was—at the time—the least popular season of the show, with a perceived downgrade in nearly everything except the acting.
Season 6 would win back audiences with a more conventional story that nonetheless once again gave viewers somebody to root for, and lost some of the least-liked plotlines of the previous season. Nonetheless, Seasons 7 and 8 would leave Season 6 as the standout for quality in the show’s latter half.
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