10 Great TV Shows That Went Downhill

In the golden age of television, becoming a hit is a remarkable accomplishment. With 400 original television series currently on the air and many more in development, it has never been more difficult to stand out.

But the challenge doesn’t end once you make it to the top. It can be difficult to keep fans happy, especially if a show lasts longer than originally intended.

Some shows can keep quality going throughout their runs, but some simply run out of gas.

Scroll through to see 10 television shows that went downhill after making it big.

‘The O.C.’

It continued for four teen-angst-filled seasons, but it is the first cycle of Fox’s The O.C. that felt like a never-ending Chrismukkah morning for viewers.

The show couldn’t quite recapture the magic in later batches, thanks to oodles of new characters and odd story lines such as lead Marissa Cooper’s season three death.

‘True Detective’

We’re still confused about what happened to the quality of HBO’s True Detective. It earned critical praise and loads of buzz for its first season, including for the epic performances by stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. But season 2 — which starred Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams and Colin Farrell — moved from New Orleans to L.A. and had trouble exciting viewers.

Hopefully the upcoming third season, starring Mahershala Ali, will bring the HBO drama back to its former glory.

‘Heroes’

Before he was capturing the hearts of millions on This Is Us, Milo Ventimiglia was saving a cheerleader in NBC’s Heroes.

The show earned eight Emmy nominations after the first season, but zero for the subsequent three, and Heroes Reborn — a miniseries reboot in 2015 — never caught fire.

‘Scream Queens’

Ryan Murphy’s serial killer horror comedy was not a hit in any way, but its niche fandom fell in love with its genius first season. The Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis-led Fox series told the story of a serial killer haunting a sorority house, and with a stellar cast, the first season was one of mystery, laughs and lots of silliness.

The series couldn’t deliver a proper continuation to the series in season 2, after moving the drama from a college campus to a hospital, ultimately leading its cancellation.

‘The Killing’

Fans will probably never get over The Killing‘s season one ending plot twist.

When the season ended without solving the murder of Rosie Larsen, fans were ticked off and stopped tuning in. The drama lasted three seasons on AMC, plus a fourth on Netflix, but none were as widely beloved as the first collection of episodes.

‘Lost’

The mystery-ridden ABC show retained a fervent fan base throughout its six-season run, but Lost watchers may have felt a bit like they themselves were the ones stuck in purgatory throughout all the red herrings, loose ends and, yes, even the head-scratching existence of those polar bears… and don’t even get me started on the finale.

The show was nominated for the best drama Emmy for four of its seasons, but it only won for season 1.

‘New Girl’

Despite the show’s smart writing and consistently hilarious episodes, the Fox comedy’s ratings were never nearly as high as they were at the start of its run, and many fans weren’t pleased when Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson) started dating at the end of season 2, forever changing the dynamic among the four roomies.

Loyal fans however will get to say goodbye to the popular comedy during its final season starting April 10.

‘Empire’

Fox’s music-industry drama remains a popular one, but it has had trouble retaining its status as the guilty pleasure hit it once was.

Despite big name guest stars, the series has lost much of the audience it once held. The season 1 finale was seen by more than 17 million people when it aired, while the final season 2 episode was caught by just 10 million viewers.

‘Pretty Little Liars’

There are certainly plenty of fans who loved Pretty Little Liars from day one through its entire run. But some devotees quickly got frustrated by the many changing identities of “A,” along with concern as to whether the Freeform show could end in a satisfactory way.

Given the divisive series finale paired with a shocking twin reveal, their concerns might have been right.

‘Glee’

No one thought a musical series could be taken seriously until Glee became a bona fide phenomenon in 2009.

However, the buzz proved tough to sustain, particularly when the Fox show tried to introduce a new cast of students in season 3.