3 TV Shows That Quit While They Were Ahead (And, 3 That Didn’t)
Some TV shows are so great that the fans keep longing for more episodes and seasons but the shows still decided to quit. There are certain shows that keep on going for years that they lose all their magic and they should have quit long back.
Some showrunners feel it is better to quite gracefully on high rather than milking it out. Here are some shows that quit long before they should have and those that didn’t quit at all!
1. Did – Seinfeld
The show was suffering after Larry David left it for the final two seasons. But this didn’t stop the show from being America’s most popular TV Show. If the cast and NBC could have had things their way, maybe the show would have aired for a bit longer than it did. It was the “big” front-page news when Jerry Seinfeld announced on 25th December 1997 that the show would be wrapping up the next year after nine seasons.
It was quite a Christmas present for the fans. In an interview, Seinfeld told the New York Times that he wanted to end the show on the similar high note that it has been going on for years. He said, “I wanted the end to be from a point of strength. I wanted the end to be graceful.” Everyone might have their own opinions on the finale, but it did end with a bang. And over half of that evening’s TV viewers tuned it for a total of 76 million.
2. Didn’t – Pretty Litte Liars
Pretty Little Liars was not exactly a great show. And at a time, it was probably one of the “best” bad shows going on. The plot revolved around four teenage girls; Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer who are four estranged friends with some darkest secrets which are about to untangle.
They are taunted by a mysterious ‘A’ in the wake of their classmate’s death. There are some twists that are genuinely good but the show kept on getting ridiculous as it moved ahead. The show kept on keeping the mystery of “A” and by the time they finally revealed Mona was A, they could have revealed it much earlier. After that too, they could have saved the show.
3. Did – Lost
Unlike the other shows, fans of Lost had quite a few years to prepare for the show’s demise since ABC had announced it three years in advance. Damon Lindelof had explained back then that the fans were at the unease that they were making an investment in a show so it’s complicated without any sense of where that’s going to lead the fans.
He along with the co-creator Carlton Cuse revealed that they had planned out the show’s final few seasons and had insisted that the show was going somewhere and major questions had to be answered. It is nice to see that the showrunners and the network were willingly ending a popular show which could have been stretched out even longer.
4. Didn’t – Thirteen Reasons Why
The first season was quite controversial but it received well. The first season revolved around Hannah who commits suicide. Two weeks after her death, her classmate, Clay finds a mysterious box on his porch.
Inside the box, there are recordings made by Hannah, in which she explains “13 reasons” why she committed suicide. The first season’s rape scene was difficult to watch, but had narrative sense, despite the arch wasn’t closed as satisfyingly as fans would have expected. But then Season 2 was unnecessary. It just felt like they were showing Season 1 from a different perspective. And they ended up making 2 more seasons after that.
5. Did – Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under was HBO’s one of the most beloved shows. The show revolves around the Fisher family who runs their funeral home business. But the entire family is caught in conflict. Over the years, fans started loving the characters and the plot.
So when they announced the fifth season would be its last it was quite devastating. The maker said the show is about how everything comes to an end, hence the show must too. And he was correct. It had one of the most fulfilling finales in TV history.
6. Didn’t – The Walking Dead
The show is about how the various survivors are struggling to stay alive in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. There was once a time when The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones were going head to head as the best Tv show of the decade. But The Walking Dead lost the duel.
The show got slower and the fans consider Seasons 7 and 8 as the low points for the show. The show actually lacks focus. They kept building things and then faded away and the cycle keeps on continuing without too many people getting invested.
