7 Great TV Shows That Were Terrible by the End

Television history has seen some truly exceptional shows come and go across audiences’ collective small screens. The nature of TV allows for long-form storytelling over a number of years, delivering a narrative in smaller instalments on an episodic basis. This format has proven both incredibly engaging and successful, with viewers typically tuning in week on week to catch up with the latest on their favorite shows. This level of dedication often requires years of loyalty from fans eager to see how a show’s story pans out, and while this has seen some TV shows deliver genuinely perfect endings, there are many examples of others who were unable to do so.

In some cases, shows that were once great are unable to keep that quality consistent over the course of their run. This has seen successful TV shows go from great to garbage in a matter of years, ruining reputations and souring opinions in the process. Though it is sometimes attributed to elements outside of the showrunners’ control, the simple fact is that not all great TV shows are able to stay that way until the very end.

1) Two and a Half Men (CBS, 2003-2015)

Many TV shows fell apart when the main character left, but Two and a Half Men had arguably already begun its decline before Charlie Sheen’s departure cemented it. The show’s initial premise, which involved two comically dissimilar brothers living together with an impressionable pre-teen boy, earned it the status as one of TV’s hottest sitcoms. However, as the years progressed, the premise began to wear thin, and the public implosion of the relationship between star Charlie Sheen and executive producer Chuck Lorre simply sealed Two and a Half Men‘s fate as a TV show that rapidly declined.

2) Prison Break (Fox, 2005-2017)

Although it isn’t uncommon for TV shows to take unexpected turns, the way that Prison Break‘s story played out was not something anyone saw coming. After the exceptional first season ended with the successful escape teased by the title, subsequent seasons delved into a conspiracy-laden plot involving several more prison breaks and shady organizations controlling the government. The show’s quality simply never recovered after the end of its first season, and though Prison Break tried valiantly, it simply couldn’t recapture its initial glory.

3) How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005-2014)

In its early seasons, How I Met Your Mother stood out as one of modern television’s most innovative sitcoms. Its premise gave its plot a single, driven purpose, while its inventive approach to resolving that premise saw it employ clever visual and narrative flourishes that earned it a stellar reputation. However, as its seasons went on, it lost much of the charm that defined its beginnings, and it culminated in a disappointing last season that only delivered on its promise in the most cursory of ways.

4) The Walking Dead (AMC, 2010-2022)

The Walking Dead started out as a show that seemed destined to redefine the zombie genre, adapting the comic book series of the same name and bringing a bleak, post-apocalyptic tale of survival to the small screen. While its first few seasons made for exceptional viewing, the show soon became mired in a relatively predictable narrative cycle that saw fans sour on the experience. By its final seasons, The Walking Dead‘s reputation had suffered massively, making the show a mere shadow of its former self.

5) Heroes (NBC, 2006-2010)

During its first season, Heroes delivered a groundbreaking and deeply gripping superhero story that cemented it as one of the most promising shows of its day. The success of its first season gave way to a divisive second, as the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike massively impacted the show’s narrative. Though its third season attempted to get the show back on track, its story had become helpless jumbled, and its fourth and final season was largely dismissed as wholly disappointing, especially in comparison to the show’s early promise.

6) Dexter (Showtime, 2006-2013)

There are many great TV shows with awful finales, and few of them continue to sting as keenly as Dexter‘s. For a show that began with a brilliant premise and was bolstered by excellent performances from its cast, Dexter simply went downhill over the course of its run. Almost every narrative aspect of the show suffered over the years, resulting in a final season, and a final episode, that were hugely disappointing and utterly terrible. Considering Dexter was once considered one of the best shows on TV, its final year was a notable fall from grace.

7) Lost (ABC, 2004-2010)

Practically from its very first scene, Lost gripped audiences with its mysterious story and gripping survival action. The show’s central mystery kept viewers on the edge of their seats for several seasons, at least, that was, until Lost‘s narrative twists and turns began to wear thin. By the time the show’s final seasons rolled around, many of the show’s early fans had lost all faith in its ability to conclude its story in a satisfying way, leading to one of the most infamously poor endings in the history of TV.